Spring garden tasks start filling those days as they get longer and nature begins to stir… time for gardeners to get the ball rolling!
Fresh sunny days are perfect for gardening after the long winter wait.
Here is a short recap of tasks to work through for each different zone of the garden.
Starting in March, an in-depth makeover is called for to heal blemishes left behind in the lawn by a harsh winter. If you can get your hands on fine, sifted compost, go ahead and topdress the lawn to give it nutrient boost before spring.
It’s the time to remove moss and air the earth with a de-thatcher before mowing for the first time of the year.
In April, you’ll be able to sow new grass on bare patches.
The time has come to clean the beds and prune roses and summer-flowering shrubs.
In April, prepare seedlings for annuals that will give color to your flower beds – nasturtium, wallflower, petunia, sweet pea, marigold, etc. – and plant summer flowering bulbs, too – dahlia, gladiolus, lily, crocosmia, balisier, etc.
Planted together, they will provide for magnificent multi-colored patches. If your soil is clay, cultivate them in pots. Also plant perennials – peony, lupine, gypsophila, etc. – or divide those that may already be in place.
Make the most of February and sow cover crops that will serve as green manure once tilled. In March, spade the earth to aerate it and add organic fertilizers.
In April, you may sow spinach, lettuce, cabbage, pea, carrot, onion, radish, leek and new potato plants.
Prepare your summer vegetable seedlings inside, where it is warm – tomato, zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper, herbs and spices, etc. They can be transferred in May, after the feasts of the Ice Saints.
Be on the lookout for caterpillar pests like large white. Pest control at the beginning of the season will ensure you won’t have large infestations later on.
Starting in March, prune or crop fruit trees and mulch their base.
If your apple tree and pear tree have fallen victim to scab in the previous year, apply Bordeaux mixture once the buds have burst, then follow it up in April with a spraying of sulfur.
Are you up to a few red berries this summer? Plant raspberry bushes, blackcurrant and red currant bushes, too.
Laure Hamann
