I've started spring clean up in some of the gardens that I maintain and I've also been busy getting soil samples recently.  It still feels like winter but I want the gardens to be ready when the first warm spring weather arrives.   

Yesterday, I spent some time out in my own garden.  It was cold but sunny and I turned over the winter rye cover crop that I planted in the fall.  Cover crops, also called green manure, can add either nitrogen or organic matter to the soil and since I have a no Rototill policy, I just scoop up shovelfuls of rye grass and turn them upside down.  This method has been working for me; it doesn't detroy the soil structure and it provides aeration to soil microbes. 

Signs of life are apparent and the soil seems to be waking up.  My son helped me plant blue podded peas and I planted another variety called 'Little Marvel'.  We also planted three types of beets, two types of kale, arugula and carrots.

Also, I inoculated all my seeds for myself and my clients with beneficial fungi and bacteria.  This will help the plants get a head start and I'm hoping that they are more disease and pest resistant later in the season.  I also planted onions seeds, two local varieties named 'Southport Globe' and 'Wethersfield Red'.  You may know that during the 1800's Fairfield, Connecticut was mostly onion farms and we shipped onions to Union troops to prevent scurvy during the Cival War.   The two onion varieties that I planted are heirloom seeds and I wonder if they will be easy growers just like their ancestors.  Along with the onions, I started tomatoes, peppers and brussels sprouts in seed trays on my back porch.  Seed starts need more heat than light and since the temps have dropped it may be a little longer until I see their little green faces peeking out of the soil.

Bundle up and get out there and start digging.