The Knowledge Base

Just before springtime begins, it's time to bring the garden pots out of the shed and ready them for the coming planting season.

If the late autumn chore of emptying and cleaning the gardening pots was completed, it will be quick and easy to make them ready for all the springtime plantings. 

In the fall, I stack the pots by size - larger pots with the smaller pots fitting losely inside, then stacked with 2x4s working as makeshift shelving. Then, I bring them out and line them up by use on the patio deck. I check for cracks, but having put them in the shed over the winter, the damage should be minimal.

In my gardening diary, I plan out how many pots I will need for which type of food I want to grow.  Then I begin the task of putting stones or clay chips in the bottom of each pot to cover the drain hole without plugging it up. I collect broken pottery througout the summer to use for this important step in planting prep. Next the pots are ready to be filled with potting soil and compost.

It's all good exercise and a fun exchuse to get outside after a long winter of backyard inactivity.

• Posted by Danne

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