Although we are just entering the winter months with the temperature dropping more each day, it’s never too early to plan on your 2021 spring garden. The remaining months of the year will just pass by in a jiff that suddenly you will find yourself greeted with the relaxing breeze of spring.
While quarantining more for the next coming months as we all wait for the Coronavirus pandemic to subside, why not put more effort into your spring garden planning? That way, you’ll be sure your lawn and backyard will look lovely when spring arrives.
Also, getting your garden ready for spring is a good way to get your mind off negative things brought about by this pandemic and other life stressors. Apart from this, once you see the results of your gardening efforts, you will realize life can still be rewarding despite the hardships we are all currently facing.
Here are some helpful pointers in preparing your garden for spring:
Get Your Tools in Order
Before you start anything, go over your gardening tools and check if they need cleaning or upgrading. Sharpen blades, shovel edges, hoes, and trowels. Remove rusts using cleaning oil. Ensure as well that your tools are free from any fungus and insect eggs that might spread into your garden.
Cleaning your garden tools will not only make the whole gardening process a lot easier, but it helps them to last longer.
Take time as well to replenish your garden supplies. Make sure you have enough soil, fertilizer, and mulch to work on your garden. Go over your plant support and structure supplies. It is better to get those things ready while the weather is still cold, rather than waste an opportune time during spring preparing those.
Do a Big Clean up
Another important thing to do before planting for your spring garden is to tidy up the area. Though cleaning might seem like an endless chore, it would not take too long if you do your cleaning regularly.
Collect and remove dead leaves, fallen branches, and stalks, and dead plants as these objects could harbor diseases and bacteria that might infect your plants. Consider hiring a stump grinding contractor to remove a dead tree stump as it could also become a source of disease and bacteria harmful to your garden.
Start Pruning
A lot of trees and shrubs can use good pruning during late winter or early spring. That way, you can shape your woody ornamental according to your preference before the plant could invest energy on the buds growing on its branches.
Flowering Dogwood, Crepe Myrtle, Honeysuckle, and Rose are the best plants to prune during the later part of winter or early spring. Plants like Bigleaf, Lilac, Magnolia, Mountain Laurel, and Weigela need to wait until after the bloom season to be pruned.
It is necessary to practice safety precautions as well when you prune your plants. Sterilize your pruners every each cut using a clean cloth and some isopropyl alcohol. That way, you help prevent any infectious plant disease from spreading in your garden.
Prepare Garden Soil
Start working on your garden beds once the snow melts and the soil becomes workable. Loosen up the soil by tilling it. You could use a sharp spade or a tiller to help you with the task. Remove weeds as well using weed killer products or just using your hands.
After you have loosened the soil and removed all the weeds, you may start adding compost and amendments to your soil mixture. Test if the PH level of your soil is good enough for your plants. If your existing soil is particularly poor, you may consider working on raised garden beds.
Get Rid of Pests
Despite how you regularly clean and maintain your garden, you cannot avoid pests from being drawn to your plants.
As a precautionary measure to prevent any disease from spreading in your garden, thoroughly check for bugs and flies underneath leaves. Though most pests can be scraped off easily, others would require an expert’s help.
Prepare Your Seedlings
Before you could go ahead and start planting in your garden, you need to give your seedlings some warm-up. Plant your seeds indoors using starting trays and potting soil.
Follow the direction on the seed packet on how to plant your choice of seed. Place them in a warm room where they receive enough sunlight. Keep the soil moist to facilitate their fast growth.
A week before planting them outside, help your seedlings adjust to the outside environment by increasing their outside exposure every day. By following these pointers, you will surely have a lovely spring garden coming 2021.