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   Gardening as a Hobby
 
    Gardening is a year-round hobby, which requires specific tasks at certain  times of the year - often planning for several months ahead. In order to be  ready to plant in your garden during next spring, you need to start preparing  the soil sometime in the fall.  
 To prepare your garden for planting next spring, one of the most important  things is to spread and till compost or peat moss over your garden, especially  if it is a new garden. Adding fertilizers and nutrients several months ahead of  the actual planting will help to ensure healthier plants.  
 Apart from preparing the soil, the winter months can also be used for  removing of leaves and other debris and disposing of any dead plants. Some  gardening experts recommend creating a calendar of planting dates so when spring  is here you will know when to plant each variety.  
 Once spring arrives, your planting timetable will depend on where you live,  your soil type and your local climate. Even though spring officially begins  around March 20 th , you may have several more weeks of winter weather. Plants  and vegetables that thrive in warm weather should not be planted until after the  date that you can realistically expect no further frost. After that date, you  can also safely remove any protective winter covers from plants.  
 Many varieties of annual flower seeds and vegetable seeds should be planted  in March or April for best results. Try to sow seeds on a warm dry day as the  soil may still be damp during this time of the year, thus causing the seeds to  rot. 
 One tip for spring planting is to plant different varieties of crops and  flowers in different parts of the garden than they were previously planted. Crop  rotation helps to improve the health of the soil as well as preventing soil  disease from spreading. 
 And before you even start planting, early spring is also a good time of year  to perform basic outdoor maintenance tasks such as repairing fences or  trellises, sharpening and cleaning tools. Spring is also the time to cut back  unruly growth on most shrubs, before leaves begin to grow again.  
 
About the Author:    About the Author: 
  Written by Joe Castro for GardenJunkie.com.  For more articles, auctions, blogs, forums & more visit www.gardenjunkie.com 
 
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