Have you been planning your flower and vegetable garden for the season? There are still weeks left before the actual growing season begins for many of us. However, there are plenty of chores that can be done now to begin to get your garden ready for planting. Gardening really involves so many activities during the year. Here are some of the things that you might want to do to get your garden ready for spring.
Early Spring Chores to do in Your Garden:
Clean Up the Winter Debris
There is always so much winter mess to clean up around your yard and garden. There are the piles of leaves that blew in after the fall cleanup…thank you sycamore trees. You will usually have broken branches, pine needles, and cones. If you left any perennials standing for winter interest and seed pods they need to be pruned back. I usually leave some black-eyed susan and coneflower stalks for the birds. Winter can be messy, so cleaning up needs to be the first thing that you do.
Assess damage to Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials
Now is a good time to assess your trees and shrubs for winter damage. Broken branches need to be pruned off. You should cut back dead flower heads and stalks of any plants left to winter over. Some of your plants might not have survived winter and you might need to remove them completely. This is also a good time to move small shrubs and perennials. You can also divide perennials such as daylilies and hostas when the ground has thawed out. Be careful when pruning flowering shrubs. Now is not the time to prune back spring flowering shrubs such as forsythia, quince, lilac or magnolia. Wait until after they flower to prune them or you could lose all of your flowers.
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Clean up any tools that you didn’t clean in the fall
If you neglected to clean your shovels, spades, and rakes last fall, now is a good time to clean up the grime and to sharpen them. Just use a scrub brush to loosen any debris and then rinse them off. Empty watering cans and clean off your potting bench.
Clean out your pots and fill with new potting soil
If you didn’t clean up your pots in the fall then now is a good time. Empty the old soil into your compost bin and use a brush to scrub out the residue. Then refill the pots with fresh potting soil. Your plants will thank you for it. I have a number of large pots that I usually do not empty completely. It would be too expensive to refill all of them. So instead I scoop out the top 6-8 inches and refresh the pot with new planting mix.
Make repairs to structures like fences, railings and plant supports
Since your plants have not started growing yet, now is a good time to assess whether you need to repair garden structures like fences and deck railings. Make any necessary improvements. If you wait until your plants are growing and filling in you are much more likely to damage them.
Clear and prep garden beds
After removing the debris from your garden beds, this would be a good time to prep them. Clear out any weeds and rake up the dirt. Spread compost on top of your beds and till it under. You don’t need fancy equipment to do this. All you need is a shovel to dig into the soil and turn it over, mixing in the compost as you go. If you don’t have your own compost you can use store bought compost or steer manure. After adding manure, you need to wait several weeks before you begin planting to allow it to break down. Otherwise, you could burn the plant roots.
This time of year we normally are chomping at the bit to ‘get our garden on’ and so we’re happy to begin doing things outdoors. I’ll let you in on a little secret however. We are still in the middle of the house painting process and neither my husband nor I have had the opportunity to do much outdoor work. What about you? Have you gotten started on prepping your yard and garden for spring? If not, you might use these 6 suggestions as a starting point.