Last year I ventured into offering suggestions on New Year’s Resolutions for homeowners to consider. I’d like to offer three new goals in 2025 when it comes to your lawn, garden, and landscape.
If you missed my January 2024 article, the goals were to evaluate your landscape, get your soil tested, and do research from reputable sources. They’re still good suggestions, but let’s move on.
Goal #1: Resolve to plan your vegetable garden before planting it. Planning a vegetable garden can be a fun winter activity. Decide what you want to grow, considering what you and your family like to eat. Browsing seed catalogs can ignite a gardener’s imagination. Next, prepare a garden layout on paper. Taller vegetable plants should be positioned toward the north of the garden to prevent shading. Perennial plants, like asparagus, should be in an area best suited to growing that crop year after year. Group cool-season crops together, and consider subsequent plantings of warm-season crops. Some early harvested warm-season crops can be followed by a late summer planting of cool-season crops for fall harvest. Consider staggered planting dates to spread out the harvest. If you do this year after year, consider crop rotation, planting crops in different areas of the garden each year. Admittedly, this may be somewhat of a moot point for small gardens. If you did a soil test last year, it should inform your choices for fertilizers and other soil amendments. A good Purdue Extension publication to consult on this goal is the “Home Gardener’s Guide” at www.edustore.purdue.edu.
Goal #2: Resolve to improve your lawn. The importance of this goal will vary among homeowners, which is okay. Some folks like to hire lawn service companies to manage their lawn, while others are do-it-yourselfers. Last summer and fall, the drought left many of us with thinning lawns. So, overseeding or renovation next year may be needed. Based on your situation, one of three strategies may be employed: 1) lawn improvement through fertilization and weed control, 2) improving your lawn through overseeding, or 3) improving your lawn through complete renovation. For the DIY individual, all of these are best accomplished in late August or very early September in this region of Indiana, but the first two may have some success starting in early spring of next year. Find Purdue Extension’s “Lawn Improvement Plans” and “Seeding a Turf Area in the Spring” for more detailed information at the above website.
Goal #3: Resolve to consider native plants first when adding to your landscape. You may be surprised to learn that some of the plants you have previously considered are invasive plants you should avoid. Do some honest research before choosing a species. Go to https://ag.purdue.edu/reportinvasive/ as part of your research, and search under “Species Information.” Another good place to look is the Indiana Department of Natural Resources website, https://www.in.gov/dnr/rules-and-regulations/invasive-species/. Two prime examples of popular plants that have become invasive include callery pear (cultivars of ornamental pear) and winged burning bush. Remember that native trees and shrubs support native insect populations which support songbirds. Two Purdue Extension publications to consult are “Protecting Pollinators: Recommended Indiana-native Plants for Attracting Pollinators” and “Commercial Greenhouse and Nursery Production: Alternative Options for Invasive Landscape Plants.”
If you would like to stop and talk person-to-person about a landscape issue, have a pest identified, or check about another related issue, the local Purdue Extension office is a great place to start. You are welcome to stop by our office Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at 524 Branch Court in Columbia City. As I am frequently out of the office conducting programs, it is best to call first to make an appointment at 260-244-7615. For those outside Whitley County, consult the Purdue Extension office in your county.
Good luck with forming and keeping your resolutions in 2025.