(918) 576-1579

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(918) 576-1579
info@fairoutdoordesign.com

Integrating Fertilization, Weed Control, and Drainage from the Start: Pro Garden Planning

by | Jul 22, 2024 | Fertilization Services | 0 comments

Use fertilization, weed control, and drainage to plan your garden.

It’s much easier to prevent problems in your garden than it is to get rid of them once they’ve taken over. So, if you build your garden from the ground up with prevention methods in mind, you’re much less likely to have any issues. In order to do this, it’s important to recognize that gardening takes work, and there is planning involved. The three most important aspects of a healthy garden are:

  1. Nutrient density (which is established through fertilization)
  2. Weed prohibition (which is established through weed control)
  3. Water retention (which is established through proper drainage, ensuring your plants get no more nor less than what they need)
The trick is to plan a garden that allows for proper fertilization, weed control, and drainage, and this article will tell you how to do just that. Fertilization, Weed Control, and Drainage Planning Step 1: Fertilization
Fertilization strategies and weed examples when preparing for fertilization, weed control, and drainage. How to Prep Your Plants for Proper Fertilization Fertilization is a crucial component of flourishing yards, but it can be a tricky thing to do correctly. Like anything else, you don’t want to add too much fertilizer because that will burn your plants–but it is crucial to add some for your lawn’s health and performance. Here are some things you can do to help get your yard ready for proper fertilization:
  • Test your soil: this will help determine your soil’s basic fertility level, which in turn helps you decide how much fertilizer you’ll need.
  • Use compost: compost improves soil structure, water retention, and it adds nutrients to your soil. Adding compost and a slow-release fertilizer a month before planting can help the soil break down the fertilizer before the plants ingest it.
  • Control weeds: remove any weeds before fertilization, so all the nutrients go straight to your plants.
  • Water properly: water and fertilize together to prevent runoff and to keep the water and nutrients in the root zone.
When to Fertilize Your Plants This depends on whether you’re working on edible or inedible crops and what kind of soil you have. Generally, for edible crops, you want to fertilize in early spring or fall, leafy greens in the spring, and crops like corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and squashes in midsummer or fall. For inedible crops with clay soil, fertilization should occur once every 4-6 weeks after planting. Inedible crops with organic soil should be fertilized once every 3-4 weeks. Fertilization, Weed Control, and Drainage Planning Step 2: Weed Control
Weed control strategies and weed examples when preparing for fertilization, weed control, and drainage. Weed Prevention Strategies Along with ensuring your garden is weed-free before planting, here are some other weed-prevention strategies:
  • Mulching: mulch not only looks great, but it also chokes weeds and blocks their growth.
  • Hand pulling: this strategy is pretty self-explanatory–when you see a weed, pull it out! This is easiest to do before it flowers and while the soil is moist.
  • Cover crops: cover crops ensure that weeds won’t germinate in any empty soil space
  • Screening: putting screening devices along irrigation lines will keep weeds from getting to your garden through irrigation water.
  • Drainage structures: proper drainage ensures that weeds won’t travel across your yard
Common Weeds In Oklahoma Unfortunately, Oklahoma sees quite a lot of weed growth from several varieties. There are grassy weeds like crabgrass, sandbur, and Kentucky bluegrass, as well as broadleaf weeds like dandelions, American aster, and clovers. Fertilization, Weed Control, and Drainage Planning Step 3: Drainage
The Importance of Proper Drainage Everyone knows that plants need frequent watering in order to survive. But it’s just as important to remember that overwatering can cause some serious damage. When water pools in the roots or at the bottom of a pot, it leads to bacteria, fungus, and rot. On a landscaping scale, it also prevents erosion and structural problems and protects your home’s foundation from water damage. Drainage strategies and weed examples when preparing for fertilization, weed control, and drainage. Drainage Strategies There are tons of methods for improving your drainage system ranging from installing creek beds, to building rain gardens, to installing underground drainage pipes. One of the most versatile strategies for improving drainage is installing a French Drain. They’re so effective because they can solve a variety of drainage problems, and because they disperse water over a large area in a sustainable way. Conclusion Whether you’re landscaping, hardscaping, or simply gardening, you want to position your lawn to be the best that it can be. It’s easiest to do that when you start with the basics: fertilization, weed control, and drainage. These methods are highly recommended because, on top of being so beneficial, they’re so easy to implement in your garden planning.