DATE:     9/18/97
WRITER:   Bob Polomski, (864) 656-2604

Now's The Time To Prepare Your Garden for Next Spring

     Whether you garden year-round or hang up your hoe at
summer's end, this is the time to be tidying up the garden and
taking steps that build the soil for next spring.
     With spring two seasons away, some might wonder why they
should be fooling with gardens now.
     The reason is certain insects and diseases overwinter in
plant debris. Any time you spend now plowing under leftover plant
stalks, debris and mulch eliminates winter havens for pests and
can help you get a handle on controlling these problems next
year. Burying or composting these winter havens for pests
naturally will help reduce these problems. 
       To replenish your garden soil, plant a cover crop 
or "green manure" in your garden. By preventing water and wind 
erosion, these plants will help hold your garden's valuable
top-soil in place, while improving soil fertility and structure
when you turn them over in the spring.
      Green organic matter improves water and 
nutrient retention in sandy soils and air and facilitates water 
movement in clay soils. Also, earthworms and other beneficial
organisms benefit when organic matter is added.
     Cover crops are divided into legumes and nonlegumes. Legumes
are associated with "nitrogen-fixing" bacteria called rhizobia.
These bacteria reside in the plant roots and capture (fix)
nitrogen from the air and make this nitrogen available to the
legume.
     When tilled into the garden, the next vegetable crop will
benefit from the addition of nitrogen and organic matter. Cool
season legumes include crimson clover, Austrian winter pea, rough
pea, or common, smooth and hairy vetch. 
     Nonlegumes provide less nitrogen than legumes, but make up
the difference with more organic matter. Cool season nonlegumes
are mainly grasses like oats, wheat, rye and barley. 
     If you plant a legume, inoculate the seed with a commercial
nitrogen-fixing bacteria to improve the legume's ability to fix
nitrogen. The rhizobia bacteria are usually mixed with black
peat. Mix this black inoculum with the seed just before seeding.
Then next spring, turn or spade under your cover crop three to
four weeks before planting your garden.
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     If you have gardening questions or comments, write to 
Agricultural News & Publications, Clemson University, A-101 Poole 
Agricultural Center, Box 340311, Clemson University, Clemson,
S.C.  29634-0311.
                               END