Spring Has Arrived!

Suddenly spring is here! Not sure how that happened, but everything has broken loose. It was just a few weeks ago that we had snow!

I believe that gardeners always try to get in front of spring. We try to prepare and plan so when the weather breaks, we aren't crazy with chores. But in my estimation, all the planning and preparedness can never take away the craziness we feel when things begin to change, and that's not a bad thing. We are lucky to live in an area where we have seasons, and each season brings us new looks, new challenges, new excitement, and new projects!

October is my favorite month, but April is a close second. Bulbs that were planted last fall are now showing their pretty colors. We begin to see birds we haven't seen all winter, the insects begin to buzz around, giving us action in our ever-changing gardens.

With the change of the season comes a new outdoor planting project. Last year we had a wedding at our place to prepare for. That required things to be cleaned up or thrown away, annuals to be planted for instant color, lots of container gardening to designate different areas in the yard, as well as mulching to manage weeds - lots of mulching. That was last year…

This year's project is a meadow. For the past 15 years, we had two goats. Both are now gone, and the pasture in which they grazed is now available to do something with, and a meadow it will be. Since it was a grazed pasture, we know that there will be soil compaction to deal with. In addition, managing weeds prior to our planting will be a chore as well.

Although this project began last fall with a fence removed, plant lists made, and some targeted weed control using herbicides, this spring will bring a new facet to the project. Plans were made this winter and implementing those plans has already begun. We have started some seeds that will give us a jump start on planting. These have been started under grow lights, indoors.

The supplies needed to start your own indoor growing environment include just a few things: plant flats, cells, or some type of container with drainage; lights and potting mix; a humidity dome and heat mat are helpful, something to catch the water as it drains through the containers, and a watering can.

When starting seeds, read the seed packet. It tells us when to sow seeds, whether indoors or outdoors, and how long it will take to germinate. After determining the timing of the germination of seeds, setting up the system is the hardest part.

The lights can be LED or fluorescent bulbs - I have used shop lights in the past, and now I have LED grow lights. Both work. The heat mats go under the seed trays. This provides warm soil for quicker seed germination. The length of lights I use are 4 feet long, enough to put four trays under. There are different lengths available, some shorter, some longer.

The soil used is dependent on the seeds you are growing as well as your watering frequency. I have used a seed starter mix, which is very light, for vegetable and annual seeds. In my experience, this seed mix does dry out much quicker than a courser mix, and the peat (which is the main ingredient in seed starter mixes) will repel water once it dries out, adding a little extra attention needed on my part. However, for perennials and grasses, which I'm starting now, I use more of a "growers" mix. It's coarser, has 55% bark in it, and larger pieces of perlite for good drainage. This mix is the same mix I use for containers outdoors, as well as my indoor plants. I don't have to be quite as diligent with the watering, as it does seem to retain moisture better, and for longer periods of time.

The humidity domes are not a necessity, but do keep in moisture, add humidity, and hold in heat; all things needed for good seed germination. After the seeds have germinated, the domes can be taken off. I use seed mats to keep the soil temperature warm, and once those plants are above the ground, I typically remove those mats.

After these plants get bulkier and rooted well into the growing mix, I will transplant them into larger pots, probably 4 inch or quart sized containers, and let them live in our cold frames for a few weeks, to acclimate to the outdoors. The cold frames allow me to cover if temperatures dip too low at night, or shade, if the sun gets too hot. Even though these plants are hardy native perennials, all plants need some time to get used to the outdoor temperatures and sunlight when started inside.

At this point, we will need to prepare the pasture for planting. Since we did do some preliminary weed control in the fall, we will spot treat with herbicide for the hard to control weeds or may cover with cardboard and mulch. Not all weeds must be gone from the meadow; just those can be invasive. Those weeds are plants like thistle, Japanese stilt grass, and plants that will take over an area.

Remember I mentioned earlier that compaction is a problem? This will be addressed through core aeration. This is something that is often associated with turfgrass. Aeration pulls plugs of soil to allow for air pockets, which will reduce compaction. For our meadow project, we want to reduce compaction so the roots of the plants we are planting will spread and get established in this area.

In addition to planting these plants we are starting indoors from seed; we will be direct sowing as well. There are seed mixes available for all types of meadows, so do some research before purchasing a seed mix. Know what kind of soil you have and what the sun exposure is. Many seed mixes will have both perennials and annuals, as the annuals will give immediate cover and flower the first year while the perennials begin to get established. Look for mixes that have native plants. It will take three years for a meadow to get going when starting from seed. We're hoping that the mix of plants and seeds will give us cover quicker, and the color won't be far behind.

The other thing necessary is water. When seeding, we will be sure to time it so that there is rain in the near future. This pasture isn't very close to a water source, we carried water to our goats twice a day, and I'm not really wanting to do that for these plants that we're putting in. So, the seeds will need to rely on rainwater. The newly planted plants will get water at installment; we'll carry buckets of water to the area, then, depending on the rain, maybe once or twice after that. In our gardens, any of our gardens, plants are on their own after initial planting.

I think after planting the perennials, we will probably add some mulch to the drifts of plants, to help retain moisture until the plants get established.

Plant selection becomes very important when beginning a project like this. The plants must be tolerant of the soils, the sunlight, and the moisture that will or will not be provided. Management of invasive weeds also becomes an important part of maintaining a meadow. Even after established, invasive plants can quickly take over an area. That's why they are called invasive. Recognizing those plants and removing them is the best practice.

Meadows do change over time. This is our second meadow we are establishing, and we've learned a few lessons from the first one. For us, switchgrass, a beautiful native grass, has become a bit of a bully, so in this new meadow, we will not be planting any of this particular plant. Other grasses we are including in this area are Indian grass, broom sedge and blue stem. Perennials include: liatris, showy goldenrod, penstemon, bergamot, obedient plant, and evening primrose, to name a few.

I'm very excited about this new project. My husband and I share this love of plants and enjoy bringing nature into our lives. Rebuilding habitats and ecosystems has kind of become our thing at our home. Although I love visiting places like Longwood Gardens and Ladew Gardens, our gardening style is far that. But that's just the way we like it.

Mary Ann Ryan is the Consumer Horticulture Educator for Penn State Extension in Adams County. The Penn State Cooperative Extension of Adams County is located at 670 Old Harrisburg Road, Suite 204, Gettysburg, phone 334-6271.

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