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Preparing your seeds in December is a crucial step in ensuring a flourishing garden from the very first days of spring.
By properly cleaning your vegetable garden, enriching the soil, and taking care of your seeds, you ensure a fertile space ready for growth. This article will guide you through the essential steps to follow.
Cleaning the vegetable garden
In December, it is essential to clean up the vegetable garden by removing all traces of diseased leaves and plants, especially those affected by the mildew.
It’s best to burn them to avoid the proliferation of these diseases the following year. In addition, clear the soil of weeds and debris left over from the previous year.
Loosen and enrich the soil
To ensure that your vegetable garden is in tip-top shape come spring, you’ll need to spade the soil. This step involves breaking up clodsloosen and aerate the soil in depth. Once the soil has been worked, add compost or well-decomposed manure to enrich it with organic matter, thus promoting root growth.
Optimum conditions for sowing
Make sure that three essential conditions are met to optimize the success of your seedlings: air, heat and water. Placing seeds in a warm, sunny spot promotes rapid, even germination. Watering from below can be useful for controlling soil moisture.
Using cloches and frames
If necessary, use cloches or frames to protect your seedlings from bad weather or excessively cool temperatures. This approach maintains the ideal temperature for germination.
Preparing seedlings indoors
Placing your seeds in a cold place before germination may prove beneficial. Once prepared, remember to transplant them into larger containers, covering them lightly with the same potting soil. Then water them gently.
Choosing seeds to sow in December
There is still time to sow some vegetables during the winter. Plants such as certain varieties of peas or broad beans can be sown as early as December. Just make sure your soil is well loosened and enriched for these seeds.
