7 Ways to Prepare Your Garden This Spring
Inside: Preparation for the garden is not the easiest task, knowing when to start is important. Here are ways to prepare your garden this spring.
As spring approaches, it is time to make sure your garden is ready for the new season. Preparation is key to ensuring your garden provides you with the necessary produce for the months ahead. Preparation for the garden is not always the easiest task, and knowing how and when to start is important. Here are ways to prepare your garden this spring.
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7 Ways to Prepare Your Garden This Spring
Let's go over some essential tips and tricks to help you get your garden in tip-top shape and ready for the spring season. From soil preparation and weed control to planting options and tools, these steps will help ensure your garden is healthy and vibrant throughout the warm months ahead.
While we want to just get out there and plant our seeds and seedlings, we need to make sure that everything is ready for us when we finally get to that point. You don't want to get out there with your seeds to discover that your raised bed wood is rotten or your greenhouse roof has a hole in it.
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Clean Up
Give your garden a good sprucing up by taking away leaves and other messes from the flower beds and borders. If you'd like to, you can trim back the old, dead foliage of deciduous grasses and herbaceous perennials – but if you're looking to be a bit friendlier to nature, it's best to wait until early spring.
Now is also the time to tidy up trees and bushes so they stay tidy and don't take over your property. Do something with all those fall leaves.
Stop Weeds Now
If you know an area was prone to weeds last year, do something now. I know that I am going to sprinkle cornstarch along my basement wall in my flower beds because this is where weeds tend to pop up. I am also going to make sure the weed barrier we have in place is covering everything it is supposed to.
Work smarter, not harder
Check for Damage
The very first thing you want to do is check for damage. Over the winter, soggy soil from rain and snow can put a strain on the wood frames of a raised garden bed. You want to make sure all your beds are structurally sound and ready to house plants and soil.
Make sure your greenhouse is hole free. Winter winds and storms can cause damage.
Look Over Your Tools
Make sure nothing has walked off during the winter. Yes, that sounds stupid, but it happens, especially if you live rurally and people think they can get away with it. Whether it is somewhere else on your property because it didn't get put away in the correct place, or it's seriously gone missing.
If rusty, soak the tool in 50% water and 50% vinegar. Then, give them a good scrub with steel wool. If your tools have wooden handles and are showing signs of splits and cracks, rub them down with boiled linseed oil.
Add Compost to Your Beds
For healthy soil, mix the finished compost into the top layer of the soil. This will provide your soil with the essential nutrients it needs to nourish your plants.
If you're running low on homemade compost, don't worry. You can still give your soil a nutrient boost by adding some from a local farmer or buying bags of manure from a garden center.
And if you planted a winter cover crop, now is the perfect time to till it into the soil before planting your beds.
Divide Perennials
We are moving into the time to transplant perennials or move plants around. If you don’t have room for your new divisions or want something new, share or trade some of your plants with neighbors and gardener friends.
If you are still looking for ways to pass the time until you can get outside and garden, check out these winter garden projects!
Early Sowing of Cool Temperature Vegetables
Once the soil is workable, direct sow any early spring vegetables. Cool-weather veggies like lettuce, cabbage, radishes, and scallions will germinate in cooler soil.
With careful planning, you can have vegetables in the spring, summer, and fall. Dedicate a section of your garden to speedy vegetables for the harvest that you can turn over throughout the growing season.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I prepare my garden bed in early spring? Pull out all the weeds from your garden, along with fallen branches and large plant debris. Please remember that if the soil is still wet from the winter wait until it is dry enough before attempting heavy weeding or tilling.
Should I prep my garden in the fall or spring? Fall is a great time to connect with nature in your yard and prepare your garden for the colder months ahead so you can look forward to a glorious spring garden.
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