Tips for End of Winter and Early Spring Gardening Care

The days are getting longer, temperatures are getting warmer and spring is on the way. And this time of year is perfect for getting your garden ready for the growing season.

In this post, we’ll cover four things you should be doing now to get your garden in shape for a prosperous growing season: 

1. Start with a Spring Cleanup

The first thing you’ll want to do after the winter thaw is give your garden beds a thorough cleanup. Put on your gardening gloves and grab a lawn bag, and clear out any branches, leaves, debris or even any plants or flowers that maybe you didn’t get to last fall. While you’re performing your spring cleanup, also be sure to inspect any plants for cold or snow damage and fix any walls or fencing that may have shifted during the winter. This is an ideal first step to ensuring you have a prosperous garden and growing season this spring and summer.

2. Feed Your Soil

Next, you want to put some focus on the soil that you’ll be growing in. It’s a good practice to spend some time assessing whether you need any new soil to add to your garden beds or whether you need to feed any existing soil with a compost or manure mix. Even if your soil is in good shape from last year, it’s a good practice to top-dress your soil with an inch or two of compost or a specialty mix right before any bulbs start to emerge from the ground, which is normally in early spring. The health and overall quality of your soil are key to a fruitful growing season.

3. Have a Planting Plan

What’s your planting plan? If you don’t have one, this is something you want to determine prior to spring. Are you starting any new gardening beds? Do you need to move any perennials or shrubs? Are you trying to grow something new this year? Everything that you’re planting is likely to differ based on what weather conditions they like and what type of soil they prefer. Certain plants may also need more room to grow than others or may need to be transplanted to other areas of your garden over time. The bottom line is that you need to have some sort of planting plan heading into the spring or else you’re not likely to have a successful growing season.

4. Have Supplies, Accessories on Hand

Lastly, late winter and early spring are still unpredictable periods of the year from a weather perspective. That said, you may not be completely out of the woods when it comes to frosts and freezes — and failure to cover your plants during these periods could derail your growing season before it even truly begins. If you don’t have any garden covers, opt for any old sheets or towels to cover your plants during these periods. Refrain from using any plastic sheets or tarps. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure that you have any trellises, stakes, and other garden accessories handy early in the season so you can quickly address plant needs as they begin to sprout up from your garden beds. 

Contact Keleny Top Soil Today

For more information on early spring gardening tips and to purchase topsoil, compost or any specialty mixes to help fuel your garden this year, contact Keleny Top Soil today at 608-833-4835.