Planning
• Prepare garden soil for spring
planting. Incorporate generous amounts of organic materials and other
amendments, using the results of a soil analysis as a guide. Compost can be left on top, especially if weed
seed free.
• Prepare raised beds in areas where cold
soils and poor drainage are a continuing problem. Add organic matter if
possible. Structure is not necessary,
but prevents soil from slumping out of bed.
• Write in your garden journal throughout the growing season.
Maintenance and
Clean Up
• Allow foliage of spring-flowering bulbs
to brown and die down before removing.
• Apply compost or fertilizer to cane, bush, and trailing berries. Mulch to prevent weeds and moisture loss.
• Place compost or well decomposed manure
around perennial vegetables, such as asparagus and rhubarb.
• Cut back ornamental grasses to a few
inches above the ground, in early spring.
• Cover transplants to protect against
late spring frosts.
• Optimum time to fertilize lawns. Apply no
more than 1 pound nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn. Reduce risks of
run-off into local waterways by not fertilizing just prior to rain, and not
over-irrigating, and keeping fertilizer away from drainage or very wet areas. Click here for more information about fertilizing lawn.
• Optimum time of year to dethatch and
renovate lawns. If moss was a problem, consider shade tolerant plants or scratch
surface prior to seeding with perennial ryegrass.
• Prune and shape or thin spring-blooming
shrubs and trees after blossoms fade.
Planting/Propagation
• Plant gladioli, hardy transplants of
alyssum, phlox, and marigolds, as long as soil is not saturated.
• It's a great time to start a vegetable
garden. Among the vegetables you can plant now - broccoli, brussels sprouts,
cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, chives, endive, leeks, lettuce, peas,
radishes, rhubarb, rutabagas, spinach, and turnips. See Planting Chart
Pest Monitoring and
Management
• Use traps or pet safe baits for slug
control near susceptible plants. Read
and follow all label directions prior to using any chemical control.
• Monitor strawberries and other plants for spittlebugs
and aphids; if present, wash off with water. Click here for a great article about aphids.
• If necessary, spray apples and pears
when buds appear for scab. Click here for more information.
• Cut or pull weeds near the garden to
remove potential sources of plant disease. These are ok to compost if they haven't gone to seed. Turn pile if they begin to grow.
• Use floating row covers to keep insects
such as beet leaf miners, cabbage maggot adult flies, and carrot rust flies
away from susceptible crops.
• Help prevent damping off of seedlings
by providing adequate ventilation.
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