Spring Garden Tasks
Spring is for laying the foundation for a bountiful summer harvest. For sowing the seeds for a slower life. For taking time to appreciate all the waking days of spring has to offer. Lay the groundwork in your growing space with the following spring gardening tasks:
- If you didn’t spend the winter garden-planning, now is the time to take inventory of what seeds you have from last year, decide what to grow this year, and shop for seeds and starts.
- Give your greenhouse, garden shed, and/or garden box a spring cleaning. Brush away the cobwebs, dispose of cracked trays, clean your tools and containers and take inventory of what supplies you have and need.
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Amend soil. A simple soil test will tell you what your soil is lacking so that you can replenish it, creating a strong foundation for your plants to grow.
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Weed garden beds so they are ready for seeds and starts. I use the no-till method of gardening which allows the layers of your soil to decompose naturally, thus preserving the natural ecosystem of the soil and the worms living in it. Additionally, I've found that refraining from tilling helps keep the soil from drying out as quickly and helps with drainage, leading to more plentiful harvests.
- Sketch out your garden space to determine placement of your plants and begin direct sowing seeds as soon as threat of frost has passed.
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Harden starts by exposing them to the outdoor elements a couple hours at a time over the course of a week leading up to transplanting.
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Plant starts out after your last frost date has safely passed and you have hardened them off (if you grew from seed indoors). If you purchased your starts from a nursery, they are likely already hardened off and ready to be safely transplanted.
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Label your plants with durable plant markers. Find my favorites HERE.
- Use an organic fertilizer to give your starts, perennials, and fruit trees a jumpstart.
- Turn on and assess your drip irrigation system for damage from winter weather.
- Keep turning that compost pile so you can continue to use it to supplement your soil.
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Harvest your spring blooms and bring them inside to enjoy or gift them to a loved one. Trust me, it will make their (and your) day.
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Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, invite your children to join you every chance you get. Yes, it will be messier. It will take twice, if not three times as long to complete the tasks at hand. And it may even cost you a seedling or two along the way. But the moments you will create with them? They are priceless. They are motherhood. They are love. And your children will remember them forever. When you garden with children, you are teaching them a skill they can nurture throughout the lives. You are encouraging a strong relationship with the earth. And when you give them their own dedicated space to grow, you are giving them a sense of independence, ownership, and accomplishment.
For a list of all my favorite gardening supplies, visit my To Grow A Garden Amazon affiliate page. For high quality garden tools, I highly recommend those by Barebones Living.
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Disclaimer: This article may contain Amazon affiliate links. Cedar House Living LLC receives a small commission for sales generated through these links at no additional cost to you. I use the commissions to further expand my garden, floral, and herbal knowledge so I can continue to share what I learn with you.