Spring weather, while usually quite mild and a little frosty from time to time, is much warmer than winter. On the whole, you’re going to see the natural world spring back into action after dormancy and hibernation, and the same goes for your own garden.
But now that spring is on the way and there’s a lot more sunshine to go around, what should you do to prepare your outdoor space for the year ahead? If you’re an avid gardener, you already know how busy this period can be! If you’re a beginner, it’s best to make a list of the work you should get on with to ensure you don’t forget about anything.
And that’s what we’re here to help with. Some essential jobs will need to be done now we’re into March; here’s a little guide to the most pressing elements of spring garden prep.
Check on Your Soil
The soil in your garden will go through a lot over the course of 12 months. It’s going to get warm and dry, humid and heavy, and then cold and frozen. This is a natural cycle for the soil to go through! But, seeing as climate change has made the seasons a little more topsy turvy than we’ve ever seen them, you may need to step in to regain some balance.
Make sure the soil you’re dealing with this spring has the right hydration level, nutrients, and is able to support life until the winter comes again. If you’ve put mulch down, now’s the time to remove it and check what’s going on underneath. There should be some much healthier and happier soil there, filled with worms that keep it soft and usable, but you can’t be certain.
Check on it now to ensure there are no problems to tend to; you can use this time to ‘repair’ the soil if you find any.
Get Rid of the Weeds!
Weeds have a literal field day during the winter season! In those dark, cold hours when you’re sure nothing could really crop up from the ground below, the weeds somehow find a way to push your paving slabs up. As such, now’s the time to get yourself a proper weed wacker to use and get rid of any intrusive plants you don’t want to see.
Weeds are essentially anything you didn’t plant and don’t want to keep growing, so anything that fits the bill should be cut back here. Even grass can be considered a weed, if it’s sprouting in an area you don’t want it. Getting a proper tool for the job will cut the time required in half, and make it far less exhausting to go over your garden in the space of one day.
Once the weeds have been removed – and be sure to double check you’ve pulled the roots up as well – you can get on with the other steps on this list.
Do a General Tidying Up
Gardens can get quite dirty over the course of winter. A lot can be blown in and then freeze over, and that can leave your deck, yard, patio, and lawn really quite filthy. Dead leaves are likely to still be around, as are dead offshoots of plants you couldn’t cut back in time. You may have various bits of debris and waste around as well, especially if you’ve been having a home clear out over Christmas too.
So, now’s the moment for a general tidy. Get rid of the bigger waste first, which will be anything you have to take to a garbage dump or recycling center. Once you’ve cleared all that stuff out of the way, you’re going to feel ten times better about the space in front of you already!
Work methodically on the rest of the waste, going from the top of the garden back towards your house. This way you’re not refilling space you’ve already cleared with refuse bags and old tools.
Prune Everything
Spring is the season for pruning. Make sure you’ve got a hardy pair of secateurs and get to work on any plant that is still growing in your garden. Even if it’s been ‘dead’ for the season, cut back what’s left of it to allow it to grow bigger, better, and stronger as the summer comes in.
You’ll want to trim back only to a certain length, and get rid of any clearly dead leaves and branches. Anything that’s discolored or fraying at the ends, for example, is much better chopped off and totally removed.
Get Your Seeds Ready
Then we move onto the seedlings you’re planning to plant this year. Get them started in pots inside the greenhouse, if you’ve got one, or in a window box inside your kitchen if you don’t. Let them grow into small buds that are much stronger, and have an already established root system, before you transplant them into the ground.
In doing so, you give your seeds a much better chance at literally taking root. This is especially important if you’re planting straight into the ground, although we do recommend getting some planter boxes and beds in place. This gives your plants an advantage over any critters that may want to take a chomp, and it’s usually much more temperate for them too!
Are You Ready for Springtime Gardening?
Spring gardening can be hectic. It’s a lot of maintenance work, above all, with little creativity and plenty of toil! However, getting these tasks out of the way will ensure you can enjoy your garden throughout the summer and autumn, and have laid the groundwork to keep it healthy in winter too.
So, make sure you’ve checked on your soil’s health, tidy up any debris (and that includes all the overgrown edging!), and whack those weeds away before they truly sprout into lawn eyesores. Then you can head into your greenhouse and get those seed starters ready – prepping them for planting outdoors ensures a much more vivid and longer bloom!