Spring Garden Prep Overview
Anatomy of Spring Garden Prep
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GARDEN PREP IN SPRING
This year is the perfect time to plan to spand more time in the garden. You can plan to do chores that otherwise would be contracted out. Perhaps it is even time to create the vegtable and flower garden you always wanted.
5 TOP GARDEN PREP STEPS YOU CAN START NOW
1 PERENNIALS
This year it also the perfect time to expand the garden by dividing existing perennials–Hostas, Sage, Tupips, Pacysandra, Lillies, Orchids, Creeeping Flox to name a few. This much needed division will improve the general health of the plants. There are plenty of articles written on how to successfully expand your garden using this method. Also, plant to trim back your phlox and sage / lavender plants.
2 TRANSPLANTING SEEDLINGS OUTDOORS
Some plansts are cool weather plants and can grow and thrives in colder Zone 3-4 regions such as Turips, Collards, Kale and Lettuce. So, after germinating indoors from February, plan to transplant to outside into various containers and directly into the well prepared garden soil.
3 GRASS TRIMMING & BED EDGING
A sharp spade along with a little elbow grease, can have those flower beds in razor sharp shape in no time. The spring moist soil is much easier to cut and trim than in the summer. Just a couple hours a day or weekends will provide you more time for summer enjoyment.
4 PRUNE THE SHRUBS
Get out that sharp pruning shear and hack-back all the those overgrown shrubs and hedges. Shape this into a smaller more compact form. In addition to bringing much needed order to the landscape–prunning will help with returning more plant nutrients and energy to help produce more foliage and blooms on the shrubs.
5 MULCH AND COMPOST
Plan to add fresh mulch to brighten those dull areas in the landscape. But more importantly, prepare to add some rich compost and cow manure to any vegetable garden areas in the landscape.
CRAB GRASS CONTROL
Early spring is the ONLY time you can defeat grab crass! There are four considerations:
• 1-the soil temperature must be a steady appx 50°
• 2-when trees just starting to show new buds
• 3-because crab grass is a prevention–it must be stopped before it starts to germinate
• 4-once crabgrass has germinated, it is to late to kill in the summer when you see it.
6 BUILD CUSTOM CONTAINERS
It only takes a few planks of fence board to contruct a flower box. It can be used for vegetablels or flowers or a combination of both. It is cheap and quick, plus you'll gain needed points with the spouse. Estimated cost is abot $10 vs $50 from retailers–finish with paint or stain as preferred.
LINKS TO GET YOU STARTED:
MSU Seed Germination - Detailed