By Sally McCabe
PHS Associate Director, Community Education
Testing Your Soil
Let’s find something we CAN control in our lives right now. Let’s start growing together!
It’s time to assess what’s going on out there and start making plans. Let’s start with a soil check, using the Ball Test: Take a chunk of freshly dug soil and squeeze it in your hand to form a ball. Poke it gently with your finger and see if it flakes apart. If it stays in a ball, it’s too wet and you should check again in a few days; you should have done more soil prep in the fall. If it falls apart, you’re good to go and can start to think about your next steps.
Plan A: Plant something! Many plants and seeds bear the caveat: can be planted AS SOON AS SOIL CAN BE WORKED. That means as soon as you can dig without making mud or ruining the soil structure. So let’s get digging and plant things that don’t mind March’s cold soil -- peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach, radishes, beets, lettuce, mustards, and chard.
