Michael Jenkins | March 24, 2022
For many of us, spring is here and it’s time to start thinking about what the coming seasons will bring for our gardens. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just starting your journey into gardening, ever year brings its own challenges and learning experiences. With that in mind, there are a number of dos and don’ts to ensure that you have the best possible garden this year. So, what do you need to do to help your garden be the best that it can be? Let’s take a look at some basics, both things to do and things to avoid.
Things to Do for Your Spring Garden
- The first step is to take some time and plant your garden for the year. This can be a pleasant chore: make a cup of coffee or tea and walk through your garden space. Whether it’s a yard or just some containers by a window, take a moment and get a sense of how your space feels this year, what you’d like to do with it, and the best way to do so. Where does the sun fall? Are there shaded areas? How will you water your plants? A bit of planning for layout and organization goes a long way towards making your spring and summer garden the best it can be.
- After you’ve planned, it’s time to prepare your garden. This will mean different things for different gardens, but in general it might include weeding, refreshing the soil with compost, removing winter cover crops, or putting in new raised beds or new containers. Getting the right tools you need to do your gardening may also be part of this step.
- If you’re still a few weeks out from planting time, you may want to start some seeds indoors. This is a simple and fun way to get a head start on your garden for the year. By starting seeds indoors in appropriate seed starting trays and by giving them plenty of light and water, you’ll begin the year with beautiful, thriving young plants.
- Finally, make sure you have some fun in your garden this season! Grow something you’ve never grown before, plant some flowers just for the beauty of it, or build a new bed or a new trellis. Gardening can be a lot of work, but it should be enjoyable too!
Things to Avoid in Your Spring Garden
- Don’t start planting too soon! It’s easy to get enthusiastic and want to do everything at once, but putting out plants too soon can damage them, stunt their grown, or even kill them. Different plants, seeds, and seedlings need different conditions to thrive, so make sure that you’re not putting plants out before the weather is consistently warm enough and there’s no risk of frost.
- Don’t forget to harden off your seedlings! “Hardening off” refers to the process of lettings new seedlings acclimate to the outdoors. After you’ve started seeds inside, they get used to safe and comfortable indoor conditions. Hardening off helps them adjust to outdoors. You harden off seedlings by moving containersoutside for a few hours every day, gradually increasing the time until they’re outdoors full time and ready to go in the ground. Do this after the weather is warm enough during the day to keep the seedlings healthy.
- Don’t worry! With so much going on and so many things to do as you start your spring garden, it’s easy to start worrying about what might go wrong. Don’t do it! Take a breath, and remember that gardening is an adventure and that we’re all still learning. Don’t worry, don’t rush, and just do the best you can and enjoy the journey!
We hope these tips will help you get started on your spring and summer gardens! If you’re still looking for the tools, containers, and accessories you need to make your garden shine this year, please check us out. We offer a wide variety of products designed to make gardening easy and fun!
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