On a day Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow and predicted an early spring – Central Kansas Extension Agent Jason Graves stopped into the KSAL Morning News with a look getting your garden soil ready.

“Soil is a great thing to focus on during the off season,” Graves said.

“Consider that if you have not done that in the last couple of years we do that down at the Extension Office. You can bring your soil in we can get it tested for you and get results back.”

Graves recommends taking samples from six different areas in your garden.

“Go down six inches or so, pull out a slice of soil in six different areas and mix those all together to get an average.”

Graves added they only need two cups of soil to make the analysis.

Graves also encouraged gardeners to add organic matter into the soil. “Grass clippings, old rotten leaves you have just till them in or bales of peat moss is a great thing to be doing,” he said.

He also cautioned gardeners that the last frost date in Kansas is typically April 15th.

https://soundcloud.com/ksal-radio/jason-graves-2-2-16