Before you know it, you’ll wake up with winter over and the spring season in full bloom. If you have a garden, you would be busy again with sowing your seeds, growing your plants, and waiting for them to come to life. If you still don’t have a plan in mind, use these last few weeks to plan for the coming gardening season. Below are some tips on how you could prepare the garden for spring.
1. As early as now, order bulbs and seeds that would bloom flowers for you.
If you don’t know, according to Thompson and Morgan, you may order summer-flowering bulbs and seeds this winter just in time for planting during the early spring. There are flowers like ranunculi, lilies, and gladioli that are available for ordering.You may use this time to browse digital and print catalogs so that you could already organize in your head and notebook what you want to be in your garden when spring comes.
2. Clean flower beds and borders.
While the snow is starting to subside, get rid of leaves and debris from your garden’s flower beds and borders. Deciduous grasses and herbaceous perennials could have grown dead and old—these you could already cut by now. Know though that this is not friendly to wildlife so you might decide to leave them until it’s already early spring.Return to bare soil by clearing the flower borders and beds. The organic matter you’ve just cleared can be added to your compost pile and let it break down on its own.You can also remove the weeds by now and burn them or you may opt to keep them in your brown bin. In any case, do not compost these seeds because they will germinate and cause problems in the long run.If you could already work with your soil at this time, don’t hesitate to dig a 5cm layer of organic matter. These can be compost, manure, or recycled green waste that could be made into garden borders.
3. Thoroughly clean your greenhouse.
These days are perfect for giving your greenhouse that much-needed cleaning. You could already prepare it for the seedlings that will be growing in the spring season. The first thing you could do is to watch your greenhouse from the outside. Use detergent or a disinfectant for the removal of accumulated grime, moss, and algae. When the greenhouse is cleared of this dirt, it could allow more light to enter in the growing months. These dirt spots are also homes for pests so removing them protects your greenhouse from parasites. Do not forget to also disinfect the glass interior, even the tiniest nook, and cranny of your greenhouse.On the floor of your greenhouse, there might be plant debris. Even the benches might be filled with them. Sweep all of them with a trusty broom and then wash after with a hot garden disinfectant. Take the time to also wash the pots and seed trays so that you could protect your future plants from diseases that could develop from dirty pots. After your thorough cleanup, ventilate the greenhouse for the next few days to let it dry thoroughly.When the greenhouse is clean, it will be easier to check for any structural damages in the glass or the vents. Now you can take action so that the broken parts could be replaced.
4. You could start sowing the seeds of plants that need a longer time to grow.
There are plants that have longer growing seasons. You have to be familiar with this so you’ll know which ones to plant ahead of time. You could start to sow these as early as January and February. According to Thompson and Morgan, some of these plants are geraniums (pelargoniums), begonias, antirrhinums, peppers, and aubergines. You have to start them in a heated propagator or something similar to this so that you’ll be rewarded with good growth.
5. Scour the garden for pests and make sure to remove any signs of them.
If you don’t want to be hassled come spring and summertime, then you should make use of the last few moments of winter to hunt down hibernating pests. Look at all the crowns of your perennial plants and thoroughly check if they have any slugs, snails, and aphid colonies that took shelter during the winter season.Clear your pots from last year of any summer bedding. Check if there are white-vine-weevil larvae that may have resided in the compost and could possibly feed on the roots of plants. Get rid of these larvae and use parasitic nematodes or chemical drenches for vine weevil treatment.
6. Do maintenance jobs for your fences, gates, and trellis.
Now that it’s still wintertime, make use of it to have a look at your fence panels, trellis, and gates. You should check if there is any damage caused by the weather or decay. When your structures are all good to come spring and summertime, you will be able to give more time to your plants and spend more minutes attending to your garden. Make sure that all the segments and the structures are taken care of.To get rid of any dirt, mildew, and moss that have been accumulated over the winter season, pick up a power washer and thoroughly clean those fence panels and gates. If there’s anything that’s being stubborn, use a stiff brush. Dry out the wood completely then you could do your painting jobs. When you notice that it’s a dry day outside, you could apply two coats of stain, paint, or wood preservative.
7. Your gardening tools must be cleaned and sharpened.
During the long days of winter, you should make time to preserve the lifespan of your garden tools. You save money if you help these tools be prevented from becoming a transfer agent of pests and parasites to your plants.You could sharpen them by using a strong detergent, hot water, and a scourer that will thoroughly clean these tools. They will be easier to work with if you apply oil to the blades and hinges after you have sharpened them. Keep these tools in the garage where you have smart solutions installed such as garage hooks from FlexiMounts.
1. As early as now, order bulbs and seeds that would bloom flowers for you.
