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49494| O akville B eaver | T hursday,M ay 31,2018 insidehalton.com Make a smart investment, choose Pollard I'm known for making smart investments that's why I chose Pollard for my home. SCOTT McGILLIVRAY HGTV HOST & REAL ESTATE EXPERT Looking for windows and doors? Pollard offers products of exceptional value with the largest selection of design options. Expert advice, professional installation, and 70 years of Canadian manufacturing - that's why Scott chose Pollard for his own home. Ca l l 1 . 8 0 0 . 5 8 5 . 5 5 6 1 P O L L A R D W I N D O W S . C O M GET UP TO $5000 PER HOMEWITHGREENONREBATES C E L E B R A T I N G 7 0 Y E A R s Buy and sell in your neighbourhood. Tradyo Turns Your Clutter Into Cash. Chat Call orText Lifejacket Posted by MikeToolGuy $15 Visit www.Tradyo.com HOME &GARDEN Preparing garden beds for spring and beyond Gardening enthusiasts may have been thinking about their landscape plans throughout the winter, eager to once again get their hands dirty with soil. Whether a home gardener is making preparations for edible crops or beautiful � owers, he or she must take time to make the soil amenable to planting. To establish hearty, durable plants, gardeners can focus on three main areas: addressing soil composition, culti- vating and adding nutrients. Soil composition Many gardeners prefer growing a va- riety of plants in their gardens. Such an approach requires taking inventory of the type of soil in one's garden and making the necessary modi� cations so that the types of vegetables, herbs, shrubs, or � owers that will be planted can grow in strongly. In fact, according to the plant company Proven Winners, the most important step to developing good roots is preparing the soil. Take a sample of the soil and examine it to see what is present. If the soil is too full of clay, too sandy, too dense, or too loose, that can lead to problems where plants cannot grow in strong. Work with a garden center to add the right soil amendments to make a rich soil. This may include or- ganic compost or manure, which will also add nutrients to the soil. Cultivation Cultivating the soil can involve different steps. Removal of weeds, errant rocks, roots, and other items will help prepare the soil. Mother Earth News suggests working on garden soil when the soil is damp but never wet; otherwise, garden soil can become messy and clumpy. Use a digging fork or shovel to lightly turn the soil when it's mostly dry. Gentle tillings also can open up the soil to incorporate the nutritional amendments and relieve compaction that likely occurred from freez- ing temps and snow pressure. Tilling also helps with drainage and oxygen delivery to roots. The DIY Network suggests turning over soil at a depth of 12 inches to work the soil -- about the length of a shovel spade. However, the resource Earth Easy says that existing garden beds have a complex soil ecosystem and simply top- dressing with compost or manure can be enough preparation for planting. Garden- ers can experiment with the methods that work best for their gardens. Nutrition Testing the pH and the levels of cer- tain nutrients in the soil, namely nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, will give gar- deners an idea of other soil additions that may be needed. Soils with a pH below 6.2 often can bene� t from the addition of lime several weeks before planting. Soil tests will determine just how much fertilizer to add to the soil. Complete fertilizers will have equal amounts of nitrogen, phospho- rous and potassium. Individual fertilizers can amend the soil with only these nutri- tional elements that are needed. Top-dressing empty beds with a layer of mulch or compost can prevent weed growth and preserve moisture until it is time to plant. If existing shrubs or plants are in garden beds, use more care so as not to disturb roots or dig too deeply. Preparing garden beds takes some ef- fort initially, but can be well worth the work when plants � ourish throughout the grow- ing season.