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Garden Economics, Let's Invest for Spring

© Mary Henry

Every fall when I am preparing the garden for winter, I think of a quote I read somewhere about fall being such a melancholy time. It has never seemed that way to me. The things I do in fall are in anticipation of spring, not the end of summer. To put it in terms that most of us now find familiar, I am investing a little now so that my capital will grow into a large return when the garden comes to life again in the spring.

One of the most important things we can do at the end of summer is to make notes on this summer's performance in the garden. We all need to note the return on our investment this summer - what did well, what did not and some thoughts on what we liked or did not. As conditions change so must our investment strategy. Next spring I must rearrange things in one of my borders because the neighbor has removed a tree and changed the light. I want to remove some plants I no longer care to grow to make room for new favorites. This makes it necessary for me to list what will still be in the bed to allow for winter planning and next spring's new start. I also need note things that need to be fixed, sharpened, replaced or bought for spring. Any plans I had made but didn't get to implement will be noted too so that I can be ready for a fast start when the weather permits.

Another investment in spring is doing the weeding now. Make it a mission to remove all the weeds that you can from your garden before leaving it for the winter. Many people think that because it is all going to be killed by the frost shortly they can walk away and leave it for spring. That's like putting your money under your mattress. Not only do you not make interest on it, you lose value to inflation. The perennial weeds will have larger, stronger root systems in the spring to quickly gain the upper hand. You'll even have the early ones crowding your tulips and daffodils at a time when it is still not pleasant to work in the garden. In addition, all weeds, both annual and perennial, will add their seed to the soil seed bank for more problems later. In truth, the most important weeding you can do is the fall weeding.

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