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Spring Gardening Tips

Take Care of Your Garden by Following These Helpful Hints

Getting ready for gardening in springtime – Adapted from “Spring Garden Tips” on pallensmith.com

Spring will soon be here, depending on where you live, but now's the time to start preparing for working outside in the garden. Whether you're a beginning gardener or a pro with a trowel, award-winning garden designer P. Allen Smith has some great tips to help you get ready for the spring gardening season.

These practical tips cover topics such as preparing soil, starting seedlings, proper pruning, preventing unwanted pests, keeping your garden safe in the event of a cold snap, and fertilizing your lawn. Following them should arm you with the necessary knowledge to get to work. Some of the tips are geared toward rolling up your sleeves and getting "down and dirty," others focus on planning and preparation needed for the bigger picture. We hope you benefit from P. Allen's years of experience.

Tip #1: Prepping
One of the more important planning steps you can take is to make a good list of your gardening supplies and tools. It may help to mark tools so they can be easily found "in the field." Once you've taken inventory, gather a large plastic bucket, the five-gallon kind, to keep larger items in. This can double as a seat when needed.

It's important when beginning a project in the garden to do a bit of housekeeping. That includes clearing away unnecessary materials, testing soil, and properly nourishing the soil in critical areas.

Tip #2: Planting
Starting plants from seeds is a snap. Make sure to read the labels, follow packaging instructions and check for a date that indicates the seeds were packaged for the current growing season. Also, you can make good use of leftover containers to start seedlings. Plastic pots are especially good. Before starting the seedlings, however, make sure that the containers are properly sanitized. Use a soilless seed starting mix and pay special attention to the newly planted seeds during the initial phase of growth.

Tip #3: Pruning
For proper pruning, make sure to prune broken and damaged limbs on deciduous trees before they show buds. Be careful to maintain the general outline, and don't make your cuts to close to the trunk. Lilacs and forsythias should be pruned after blooms appear. Evergreens need to be attended to before any new growth appears.

Tip #4: Pests
Make sure to head pests off at the pass. Dormant oil is best for deciduous trees and shrubs to keep problem pests at bay. Wrap the base of tomato seedlings with aluminum foil to discourage cutworms. Mix 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid with 1 cup vegetable oil, and dilute 1 tablespoon of this concentrate in 1 cup of water to rid your garden of aphids, spider mites or mealy bugs. Spray the mixture on infected plants and that should take care of the problem. Be sure the plants are hydrated before spraying.

In the event of any predicted frost threats, cover your more delicate annuals. Make sure to uncover when the temperature warms up enough on the following day. An extra layer of mulch around the base will provide emerging perennials some protection.

Tip #5: Lawn Care
Spring is also the time to fertilize your lawn. Do this after mowing and make sure the grass is dry. Load your spreader on a paved surface to avoid spilling excess fertilizer on your grass. And be cautious when setting spreader gauges, a low setting will help prevent fertilizer burn. You should make multiple passes over the area to be fertilized. Overlap lanes each time a bit to make sure there are no gapped rows. When it comes to watering, it's better to deep soak for your lawn rather than lightly watering. Doing this will help grass root deeply so it can weather dry spells better. Finally, use a pre-emergent weed control, which will keep seed borne weeds from sprouting.

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