Spring is here, and with that comes garden prepping! I have a variety of tips for preparing your garden in Spring listed below. To have a thriving garden means you need to put some love and prep work into it, and I am here to help.
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When we have those few warm days mixed in with the chilly days, it just gives me that gardening bug! I just want to get outdoors and start planting, even though I know it is too early.
Just because it is too early to plant doesn’t mean you can’t prep your garden for the spring. If you are like me and get overeager, you might head out a few weeks before the off-season ends and tackle some chores that need to be done before you can plant.
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Tips for Preparing Your Garden in Spring
Tool Time
Even if you have your tools in a shed, a cold winter can cause cracks in the handles of some tools. Make sure to take out your tools, dust them off and give them a good look over. Make sure they are nice and clean, blades are sharp and they are ready for a new year of gardening. Clean any flower pots that were put up and not cleaned, so that if you need them for the year, they are ready to grab and be used. Look over your mower, weedeater, leaf blower, and make sure they are in working condition and ready for the season as well.
Clean Up Beds
Fallen leaves, debris and more can leave your garden beds less than presentable. Clear out your beds and remove any leaves, broken branches, and debris that has collected over the winter. Spring bulbs will begin to pop through the ground soon, so it is important to make sure things are cleaned up. If you have dead leaves from last years plants, make sure to get all that removed as well. If you have trees or bushes, make sure to remove any dead or broken branches, and shape bushes.
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Mulch
Organic mulches can decompose over time, or get washed away so making sure your mulch is around 2 inches thick is key. Take a rake and brush over the mulch to make sure it is even and level. Add fresh mulch if needed for your beds, and make sure it looks nice and clean. If you have bulbs that will be blooming make sure to leave that area open, so they can break through the ground easily.
Gutters
Over the winter you might get quite a bit of those last bits of fallen leaves, small branches, and debris that has built up. Make sure to head up on a ladder and clean out your gutters so that when the rain does fall, your gutters will work properly. Then it will provide water for your plants if they are in the area where the water falls. If you don’t clean the gutters and your freshly planted flowers or products are in the line of your gutters, they might get drowned by the water.
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Soil Test
Checking your soils pH levels is a good idea, you can buy home soil test kits. They will give you a reading of your soil, and then you will know if you need to enrich it, to help give your plants the optimal soil for growing.
Prep New Beds
If you are looking to plant more it is a great time to clear and work on prepping new beds. Work the ground, remove any weeds, debris. Spread out some compost or fertilizer like manure to help enrich the soil, and then work it in a bit. Allow this to sit to really help add nutrients to the ground and to let it mellow out before you go to planting your flowers or plants.
Plan Ahead
Make sure you know what planting zone you are in, (find your planting zone) so you know when it is safe to begin planting. Then create a plan of where you want your flower or produce to go. By planning it will help you to know how many plants you need to buy for optimal spacing, and give you a great idea of what the overall look will be for the year.
Do you have any other tips for preparing your garden in Spring?