It’s March. Correction: It’s March in Wisconsin. That can mean anything, weather -wise. So of course, what am I doing? I’m planning my garden.

I was reading about blueberries when I stumbled upon a fact that I hadn’t known: blueberries like acidic soil. Raspberries prefer a less acidic bed. Last summer we planted raspberry canes salvaged from the area behind the garage (pre-garage replacement) back into the topsoil salvaged from the same garage project. We bought a few raspberry starter plants from the Plant Station to supplement and maybe cross pollinate the originals. As long as they were on sale, we bought a few blueberry canes, too.

Oops. If my research is correct, one berry will grow well and the other won’t. I haven’t tested the soil for pH yet (duh, it’s still frozen!), and maybe I won’t. I bought myself a soil pH meter last year as a treat – gardening for geeks! Yea! – so I will probably measure at least the pH in the main raised beds. I like to rotate “crops” anyway, and this will help me place my vegetables where they’ll grow best.

But seriously, I’ve never gone to the trouble of testing my soil. I just stir in homegrown  compost, dump the rabbit’s litter boxes (now there’s a source of acidic fertilizer), and plant away. Maybe the best plan is to watch the berry canes for a year and see what really thrives.

I’ll monitor the berry situation – eventually. For now, the snow has to melt.