Whether spring has take shape or is just starting to peek through the winter cold , it will soon be fourth dimension to get your leaping garden planted . Before you give way out your trusty garden tools and seminal fluid packets , there are a few spring garden tasks you necessitate to harness to get your garden off on the right animal foot .

While I say this about much every season , I do think spring is my favourite time of twelvemonth . There is SO much excitement when it comes to springtime . By then , we ’re timeworn of the cold and nose candy ( or if you ’re like me , the rain ! ) and quick for some spring conditions and gardening .

The in force part about outpouring is witnessingthe changeover from hibernation to unexampled growth . All wintertime , I ’ve been dreaming up my plans for the next season ’s garden , and I ’m scratch to get outdoors and garden again .

10 tasks to prepare your spring garden

Wood raised beds last about 5-10 years.

Before there are new greens or fountain medulla , there are a few tasks that we can wrap up to get ready for spring , even if spring is n’t quite quick for you !

This post will cover …

How to Prepare Your Spring Garden

1. Inspect Raised Garden Beds

Check garden beds for any damage . Over the wintertime , soggy grease from rain and C. P. Snow can put a strain on the wood skeletal frame of a raised garden bottom . You want to check that all your beds are structurally sound and ready to domiciliate plants and soil . To do so , repair any bowed or split wood on the frames .

2. Check Your Garden Tools

Like you , your garden tools have patiently been wait for the next gardening season . Get your garden tools in tip - top shape before the planting time of year gets in full swing . Give them a in force rub down and audit for rust on the dick head .

If rusty , soak the peter in 50 % water and 50 % vinegar . Then , give them a ripe scrubbing with steel wool . If your putz have wooden handles and are bear witness signs of splits and crack , scratch them down with boiled flaxseed oil .

I have a whole post dedicated totips for cleaning your pecker .

raised wood gardening bed with marigold, calendula, and borage in bloom

3. Turn Your Compost

While your plants have been hole up , your compost has been brewing . It ’s time to turn your compost pile and assure for any that is quick to employ . Making your own compost is one of the bestnatural soil amendments , and it ’s free !

Add compost to amend the soil by scratching in the ruined compost into the top one inch of stain . This will give your soil plenty of food to house new seedling .

4. Top Dress Garden Beds

If you run suddenly of home - get compost , you’re able to still give your soil a nutrient encouragement . Use well - flavor manure to top - dress your garden beds in preparation for planting . If you planted a wintertime cover harvest , now is the sentence to till it into the soil in preparation for planting the beds .

5. Divide Perennials

If you ’re like me , you have spent the winter daydream up anew garden plan or function . Spring is a great time to transplantation division or move plants around . If you do n’t have room for your new partition or desire something new , part or sell some of your plants with neighbours and nurseryman friends .

This is acost - efficient style to add more plantsto your landscape , but be mindful of sharing pestis , disease , and weeds . Only share goodish plants from your garden , and audit plants from acquaintance or works sales thoroughly . If there are any sign of distress or stain , do not plant it in your garden . The danger often far outweigh the reward !

6. Weed and Mulch

Eradicate those pesky earlyspring weedsbefore they get too comfortable in your garden . The key to successful weeding is to start ahead of time so as to stay on top of it . Remove any youthful , sprouting weeds first .

Next , put down a level of cardboard or landscape painting material onto the bare solid ground before youadd mulch . A three to four - inch layer of mulch is sufficient to deter any fresh weed growth . Alternatively , you may imbed your garden tightly with perennial , yearbook , trees , and shrubs to crowd together out weeds . More plants , the effective , proper ?

7. Seed Starting

seeded player bulge may be one of the most exciting spring garden task . Seeing new sprouts pullulate and rise from the soil definitely brings me a littledopamine strike . Not all seed will set about at the same clock time , so be indisputable to check their parcel for uprise timelines .

I care to sow affectionate - conditions vegetables and annuals indoors before the last hoar date . To help in germination , pre - soak larger seeded player and seeds with thick coats , such as beet and genus Nasturtium , the night before you inseminate them in starter pots .

Seed starting is a garden prowess form and there is a tidy sum to embrace on this topic . For more on how to start cum both indoors and out , condition outmy seed starting 101 guide .

parts of pruners sitting in the sun in the garden

8. Early Spring Vegetables

You may not have to wait long to plant some of your vegetables!Once the soil is executable , lineal sow in any early saltation vegetables . Cool - weather veg likelettuce , dough , radish plant and scallions will germinate in cooler soil .

With careful planning , you may have veg in the spring , summertime , and light . Dedicate a segment of your garden tospeedy vegetablesfor harvest that you may turn over throughout the grow season .

9. Prune

Some people are frightened to prune in the spring because they are unsure whether or not a outgrowth is drained or still hibernating . The key is to do so after Modern increment has begun and not beforehand .

You will want to take away any utter branches from shrubs , tree diagram , and recurrent foliage . clip the spring foul-up , like forsythia and rhododendron , as needed soon after unfolding is complete . lean and frame hedges after the first flush of unexampled spring growth .

If you ’re newfangled to pruning , check outmy pruning guide .

compost pile with coffee grounds on top

10. Plan to Protect Seedlings

As much as we seek to predict the atmospheric condition , a late - season rime or freeze can happen anytime in the spring . verify you have enough fabric and plastic to protect attendant plant . If a frost is foretell , just a cloth over your plants will do .

For nights when the temps are portend to sink below freezing , it ’s better to put a stratum of cloth on first , then lay charge card on top . Condensation on the charge card can freeze and damage leaf .

you’re able to also protect new seedlings with your own mini nursery . Check out my scout on how toutilize umbrella greenhousesfor container gardening .

worms in worm hotel compost

take the clip to complete a few essential saltation garden tasks will bring you benefit for the rest of the time of year . Plus , it just feel amazing to get back outdoors and plunge deeply into the garden !

More Spring Garden Ideas

Debbie Wolfe is a mom of two unruly male child , wife , and employment - at - home mom from Georgia . In her free sentence ( when there is such a thing ) , she is in the garden or hidden away reading the latest post - revelatory sci - fi drama ! As interests , Debbie is an obsessional craftsman , home chef , and gardener . She is a self-employed person author , blogger , and is a co - author and photographer behind the garden blog , The Prudent Garden ; a assembling of tips , crafts , and articles that foreground home horticulture .

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pots of newly divided perennials sitting on lawn

straw natural mulch in the garden

container with seedlings and soil markers

flowering zucchini plant

new growth on a perennial in a spring garden

using umbrella greenhouse for early seed starting in the spring garden

Spring garden filled with tulips and daffodils