Have an existing garden? Things you need to do

The temperatures are finally coming down and not only does it mean that we will soon be able to play outside in the afternoon but it also means that its time to garden.

Last week we planted a new garden in my backyard that we named the Smart Family garden. But what to do if you have an existing garden? Greg Peterson from Urban Farm came over to my house to help me with my own.

First thing Greg said I needed to do was to clean up my garden, which means pull out the weeds and things that are not needed. If you have dried-up leaves in the garden go ahead and leave them there because they will eventually break down. Which leads to his next little bit of advice, add mulch or compost to your existing plants and lay the dirt over your leaves.

Greg also noted that I have existing plants planted in my garden that are year round. I have tomatoes, egg plants and bell peppers and they produce year round so no need to pull those out. Also in my garden I have shade that I put up for the summer season so my garden does not get over-exposed do to the sun. This time of the year get rid of shade so your garden can get the most amount of sun.

If you want to add some new or old things to your garden do it now. During this planting season Greg said broccoli, cabbage and snow peas are awesome to plant. In addition, greens are good to plant like lettuce, spinach, kale and collard greens. Also root plants, like beets and carrots. If you want to find out when to plant certain things most nurseries offer a free planting chart and Greg Peterson also has a free year round chart which is really easy to read you can print it out for free at Urbanfarm.org .

When it comes to planting plants versus seeds, Greg says seeds cost less and would recommend planting Heirloom seeds because the plant will create seeds that you can reuse. But if you plant plants they will grow faster since the plant is already past being a seed.