Soil management advice for a successful garden

Maybe a better title would be what not to do in March. First of all, never work with wet or damp soil. With the continual rains that we’ve had since November, we can forget about the last 5 years of drought. The ground and gardens of Georgia are soaked-maybe even close to the saturation point.

With the warmer weather and hint of spring the age old urge to work the soil and plant the next crop is bearing heavily on any type of gardener. Dahlia lovers are probably at the top of that list. BUT DON’T!! Push back the urge and wait until your garden soil has dried enough so that when you scoop up a handful, the soil will crumble into small, loose particles. If it balls up and maintains that shape, leave it alone and wait for more drying to occur. The damage done to soil from digging and planting too soon can harm the garden throughout the growing season and even into future years.

Soil in most of Georgia is a mixture of top soil, sand, clay, rocks, air, moisture and a lot of organic material. For this mixture to support the root systems of dahlias or any other crop, it must have plenty of air and a loose combination of small pieces of its components in order to absorb moisture. When you try to work damp soil you drive out the air and force the components to stick together, negating space and air needed for future roots. As an aside, you should never walk on the soil that surrounds your plants because that too will drive out the much needed air.

One other urge you need to resist is, even when the soil is dry enough for planting it still may be too cool to encourage growth. Dahlia tubers planted in cool, damp Spring soil will quickly rot and leave you without dahlia plants in the summer. A rule of thumb is to delay planting dahlias until the soil reaches 70 degrees Fahrenheit. That usually occurs in the Atlanta area around the middle of May. Tie the planting of dahlias to when you set out your tomato plants and you should be safe.

Still got the urge to plant some dahlias? Then pot up a few inside and place them on the top of a refrigerator or water heater. Keep the soil on the dry side until you see new sprouts then water and place the pots in a southern window.

One of the lessons of gardening is to teach patience. If successful then the ultimate lesson, that of humility, may be easier to withstand.