The warm weather is the start of the growing season – is your garden ready for spring?

This season is the perfect time to organize your gardening tasks, prepare the plots for planting, and clean the garden for new growth. In this guide, we’re outlining tips to prepare your garden for the spring season:

Spring Gardening Checklist

It is important that you get this gardening checklist to prepare yourself and your garden for spring.

Plan your gardening tasks: A few weeks before the spring season, plan your gardening tasks. List down the crops you’d like to grow this year, what projects you’d like to try, and what materials are needed to support plant growth and improve the garden’s look. Planning your tasks well in advance helps organize your gardening duties once the spring season comes.

Clean your garden tools: If you’ve prepped your garden tools for storage properly, then you can expect these to be in excellent working condition come spring. Go to the shed or storage and prepare your essential gardening tools. That includes the hoe, rake, trowel, pruning shears, and weeder. These will come in handy as you clean and organize your garden for planting.

Clean and organize the garden: Time to tidy up. Start with these gardening tasks:

1. Clear the garden of unwanted debris like sprouting weeds, fallen leaves, broken twigs, rocks, etc.
2. Inspect the beds for dead, dying, and diseased plants and branches.
3. Use a rake to clear the garden beds of unwanted growths and debris, then till the soil.
4. Consider installing landscape fabric to control weed growth and preserve soil moisture.
5. Define the plant beds and keep the edges neat. Prepping the soil will be much easier if you use raised beds.
6. Amend the soil with compost or natural fertilizer. If structures are damaged and require repairs or installation, now’s a good time to do these.

Prune and trim the plants: With your trusty pruning shears or hand pruner, it’s time to cut back the plants to encourage new growth and promote healthy foliage. Whatever pruner you use, be sure the blades are nice and sharp to minimize pruning trauma. Don’t cut off the buds that produce flowers; trim the dead or excess growth.

Start planting: After prepping the plant beds or raised beds and the soil has warmed enough for planting, you can start sowing seeds for different crops, such as:

• Flowering bulbs
• Cool-weather crops
• Wildflowers
• Reseeding grass areas
• Herbs

For seedlings grown indoors, the weather should be warm enough to transplant these in proper garden beds. Houseplants and other plants taken indoors during the winter can be taken out to receive sunlight.

Best Plants to Grow in Spring

Thanks to warmer weather, you can start growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs in spring. Here are some of the best plants to grow in spring:

Vegetables to grow in spring include:

• Beans
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Lettuce.
• Potato
• Pumpkin
• Spinach
• Radish
• Peas

Always consider your garden’s local climate, soil type, and sunlight conditions before planting early in the spring for the best results. The crops listed above are best to grow in spring because they thrive in warm, mild weather. Beans and carrots, in particular, are fast growers and versatile. Like most cool-weather crops, lettuce, spinach, and radishes are best planted early in the spring, so you’ll have a pantry full of greens before the summer.

Flowering plants to grow in spring include:

• Daffodils
• Crocus
• Helleborus
• Muscari
• Fruit tree blossom
• Hyacinth
• Tulip
• Iris
• Meadow sage
• Lavender
• Lenten Rose
• Candytuft
• Carnations
• Creeping Phlox
• Forget-Me-Not

Do not plant flowering plants until the threat of frost has passed. Check the local weather channel for chances of frost and plant only two to three weeks after the threat of frost has passed. You can start growing perennial plants when the soil has softened enough to be tilled. Hardy and half-hardy flowering plants can be planted early in spring, but tender flowers should only be grown once the weather warms up.

Herbs to grow in spring include:

• Calendula
• Chamomile
• Dill
• Lemon balm
• Parsley
• Sweet marjoram
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Cilantro
• Peppermint
• Chives
• Sage
• Oregano
• Dill
• Thyme
• Lavender

Some herbs can be grown early in spring; others are best grown late in the season. Most herbs can withstand chilly days, and others can even survive frost. For example, cold-hardy herbs like dill, chives, and lavender will do well even on cold spring days. On the other hand, rosemary, cilantro, sage, basil, parsley, and mint are best grown late in the spring when the weather is warmer and there’s plenty of sunshine.

How do you prepare the soil for spring planting?

Preparing the soil is essential in providing the ideal growing condition for different plants. Below is a step-by-step guide on preparing the ground for spring planting:

Conduct a soil test: You need to check the soil’s pH level and nutrient content to see if it can support plant life. You can buy a home test kit or have a professional at a local extension office check the soil for you. After the test, you can decide whether the soil needs amendment to achieve the desired growing condition.

Work the soil: Clear the plots of unwanted debris like dead leaves, rotten twigs, rocks, etc., and start tilling the soil. Till the soil to a depth of 8 to 12 inches. This helps aerate the soil and break compacted areas for optimal water absorption. Use a rake to clear the plots and eliminate clumps. Use a trowel to define the beds and edges. The plots should have a level surface for planting.

Amend the soil: Amending the soil boosts its nutrient profile and improves soil texture. We suggest using natural fertilizers like water-soluble humic acid, compost, well-rotted manure, and worm castings to improve soil fertility. Mix these materials into the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches.

Add landscape fabric or mulch: After amending the soil, you can install landscape fabric or add a layer of mulch to suppress weed growth and improve the garden’s look.

Start planting: After amending the soil and adding landscape fabric, you can plant different crops. If you’re starting early, go for plants that can withstand the chilly spring days. Do note that prepping the soil is an ongoing process. You must monitor the plants to ensure the soil can support plant growth. That includes amending the soil when necessary to ensure the health of your plants.

Spring Gardening with ECOgardener

Are your gardening essentials complete and ready for spring? ECOgardener offers a range of eco-friendly gardening supplies and tools. Some of our bestselling products for spring gardening include:

Garden tools: High-performance pruning tools and weeders made from environmentally-friendly materials. Our pruners and designed to be durable, easy to use, and reasonably priced.

Compost bins: Amend your soil and improve the health of your garden without buying compost; make it yourself! ECOgardener’s compost bins let you turn kitchen and yard scraps into nutrient-rich compost.

Herb kits: Build an herb kit with ECOgardener’s herb kits. Each kit comes complete with non-GMO seeds, plant markers, biodegradable bamboo growing pots, and coir soil discs to build a sustainable indoor or outdoor herb garden.

Landscape fabric: Protect the soil from weed growth and harsh weather conditions with the ECOgardener landscape fabric. Our landscape fabric is made from needle-punched woven material for unparalleled weed control.

Raised beds: Organize your spring garden with defined plots and beautiful raised beds. ECOgardener raised beds are made from non-treated wood and come in three styles: classic raised bed, tiered raised bed, and elevated raised bed.

From herb kits to landscape fabric, raised beds, and compost bins to pruning tools, ECOgardener offers a complete line of gardening products for a beautiful, sustainable garden you’d be proud to show off. Check out our online store for eco-friendly gardening products and solutions today.