Prepping your garden for big rewards - Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

What can you do in your garden now that will bring big results later? Melodie McDanal stopped by with a few tips to get your garden ready!

A Little Effort Now, Big Rewards Later

There are little things you can do in your garden now that will pay off soon.  Here are a few tips:

• Cut Branches Now for Indoor Flower Arrangements in a Few Weeks
  • There are many flowering trees and shrubs that have buds that will soon burst into bloom
  • Now is the time to cut several branches from these trees and shrubs, bring them indoors and place them in water
  • The branches will bloom faster indoors since the temperature is warmer
  • Here are some great tree & shrub branches to cut now:
    Forsythia
    Spiraea
    Fruiting Trees
    Saucer Magnolia & Star Magnolia
    Quince

• Apply Pre-Emergent Now for A Weed-Free Lawn Later
  • Apply a pre-emergent like Pike Crabgrass preventer now, before lawn weeds germinate
  • This will prevent lawn weeds come spring
  • However, if you plan on reseeding your lawn in March, don't apply a pre-emergent now
    
    
• Prep Your Beds Now for Healthy Gardens Later
  • The best investment you can make in your garden is the soil
  • Now is the time to get your garden beds ready for spring
  • Our Georgia red clay is very dense, so it's hard for roots to grow and get the nutrients they need
  • Amend your soil at a 50/50 ratio of the native soil to Pike Planting Mix
  • If you are preparing a garden for vegetables, fruits or herbs, add in a rich compost
    • Mix the native soil, Pike Planting Mix & Foothills Compost in equal thirds

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