If you love to garden, spring can’t come fast enough. Sure, you enjoyed the change of season and spending the holidays with family members and friends. However, the garden was always on your mind. These gardening prep tips will help you grow healthy plants, whether fruits, vegetables, herbs, or flowers.
Organize the Shed
Start by focusing on the shed where you keep your gardening tools, supplies, and equipment. Not only do you want to organize it but also identify anything broken or that you need to stock up on.
Perhaps you forgot about the damaged handle on your favorite shovel. Maybe you realize you need a few more tomato cages. Then again, you’ll need to buy fresh potting soil, pesticide, and plant food. With everything in order, you can then tackle some of the other prep work.
Declutter the Garden
Before you even think about planting anything, you’ll need to declutter the garden. That includes clearing out leaves, twigs, and other debris, as well as last year’s mulch. In addition, you’ll need to eliminate any weeds that somehow survived the winter.
Now, if you use compost in the garden, then you don’t want to remove any organic material. If you don’t but want to start, you can use the natural debris to start a compost pile.
Prune Plants
Depending on what you grow, you might need to prune some plants. The best time of the year to do this is right when winter begins to transition into spring. At that time, you’ll find it easier to see the structures of the branches. That way, you’ll know the exact area to cut back. However, before you do this, there are a few things to consider:
- Always sterilize your prunes before using them. Simply wipe them off with isopropyl alcohol and a clean cloth. Otherwise, you could unintentionally spread disease throughout the garden.
- Remember, not all plants require pruning. If you’re relatively new to gardening, spend a few minutes online researching the types of plants you have and whether they need pruning or not.
- At the same time that you prune the plants, add a small amount of fertilizer to the soil. That’ll provide them with nutrients to heal quickly.
Soil Preparation
Next, use a tiller to loosen the soil about 12 inches down. After all, it’s common for garden soil to become compacted during the cold winter months. When finished, you’ll want to test the soil’s pH level. If it’s not properly balanced, add the appropriate chemicals to achieve the correct level.
Choose the Garden Layout
A lot of people focus more on growing healthy plants than they do the garden’s aesthetics. However, if you want both, you can find ideas and inspiration by visiting countless websites dedicated to gardeners like yourself.
Decide What You Want to Grow
This is where the fun begins. With all the other tasks complete, you can make a list of the things you want in your garden. Again, take advantage of online gardening sites to help you select plants that work the best together.
Putting the Plants in Your Garden
After there’s no more risk of frost, you can start putting the plants in your garden. Regardless of what you selected, be sure to space them correctly and put them at the appropriate depth. For smaller plants, consider adding a cone until the roots are strong enough without support.
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Add Mulch
For the final step, you’ll want to add mulch to your garden. First, mulch helps to prevent weeds from growing. Second, it makes gardens more beautiful to look at.
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