Winter seasons leave the backyard in a mess. Sticks, debris, and half-dead vegetation are scattered everywhere.
Truthfully, a garden requires a bit of grooming just before the spring/ summer gardening as the spring season is knocking around the corner.
Have you prepared your backyard yet? Here are tips to help you prepare your garden for spring/summer.
Weeding
Eliminate the unwanted plant structures(weeds) from the garden. It is easier to eliminate these weeds when they are still young and the ground is soft immediately after the winters.
You can decide to either uproot using your hands or seek the help of a gardening tool like a hoe, trowel, or any other device that fits the purpose.
Ensure to remove the weeds just at the end of winter because, by this time, the root weeds are still shallow deep, so they require less effort to uproot them.
Inspection.
You inspect soils, trees, and shrubs to check out any damage to them during the winter season.
Check properly to expel any broken, lifeless, or storm-affected branches from your backyard. Trim the tips of any plant that is suffering from tip diebacks caused by the cold winter season.
Raking winter-killed perennial leaves.
Raking is the simplest and easiest method of collecting frost-killed perennial flowers browned foliage from the last seasonal fall.
With this, you clear the way for the proper growth of new plants in the spring season. Next, tamp back down any perennial roots sprouting from the ground due to winter freezing and thawing.
Pruning the blooming flowering shrubs
Full-grown shrubs harbor many insects and pests that hinder the growth of our backyard crops. Therefore, early spring is conducive for removing excess branches from shrubs that bud from late June through the fall.
Fertilize the backyard beds.
Upon the thawing of the ground, spray granular fertilizer in the entire garden to improve its fertility, follow a soil test that fits the granular fertilizer with the plant type and nutrient needs.
Revival of the soils.
Since winters significantly affect the soil structure and texture, you need to find out the state of your soils as you get ready for spring/summer growing.
Test the PH levels of the soil. For example, are the soils more acidic, or do they have more alkanes? Use a PH tester to find out and just in case you encounter some issues, enrich the soils accordingly.
Use a hollow core aerator to improve the soil structure; this improves soil aeration drains stagnant water. The plant roots easily penetrate the soils to access different soil nutrients.
Installation of required services.
To collect rainwater that facilitates irrigation in your backyard, place water tanks to harvest the rainwater.
Harvesting rainwater is an eco-friendly method of storing water for moistening the plants during the dry and hot summer times.
Just in case you expect to need to grow lights if you reside in places with insufficient light. Install electric connections to enable the provision of light to your plants—all plants respond to light while growing.
Perennials division.
Before new growth begins, dig and divide plants growing beyond the required size. Then, you can decide to cultivate the divided clumps, dispose of any excess, or compost them to get manure to act as fertilizers for the following spring season.
Trimming edge beds.
The start of the spring season is the perfect time to trim sharp edges along the garden beds to avail a lip to accommodate mulches supplied once the soils are warm enough for the new season.
Maintenance of fences, gates, railings, and trellis
Put a fascinating facial uplift on your backyard fences, gates, and railings as you get ready for summer gardening.
Fix the broken fence parts and gate screws repaint the fences, gates, and railings. It is okay to change the paint color for the former season.
You have the choice to either fix a new gate in case the old one is faulty or apply fresh paint with bright contrasting colors.
Remove winter protection materials.
To prepare effectively for spring gardening, let the stacks for new trees rest until the next winter season.
Stacks can be frost wanes, burlap barriers, wraps, or other protective material spread over the landscape plants to protect them from snow.
Problem elimination.
Avoid past plant diseases like crabgrass and weed by applying Green View Crabgrass Control Plus lawn food.
The latter gives forsythia full blooming bushes, and the former gives blooming dandelions.
Service gas-powered equipment
Take gas equipment for fill up, repair the mower blade, replace new engine oils, and set all the equipment to perform their tasks efficiently.
Repairing gardening tools and organizing their store
Please clean up the garden tools and the store. Disinfect it when you find some insects. Sharpen and oil the metallic gardening tool, remove rust with the help of steel wool.
If you have tools with broken handles of shovels, spades, hoes, and forks, it is cost-effective to replace the handles rather than purchasing new gardening tools.
Sorting seeds for the spring growing season.
Always buy high-quality seeds from reputable growers, or you can carefully breed your seeds for sowing during the summer season.
New tool treatment.
Show yourself some love by buying a new tool for your unique gardening work, so you increase your hype for the beginning of the spring season.
It is hard to buy new equipment at once; make it a point to always purchase a new tool or equipment before a new growing spring season.
Construction of a compost pile pit
A compost pile pit is a hole where garden residues and organic kitchen wastes decompose. We use these residues in the form of fertilizers later for soil enhancement.
Final Remarks
Get reading material that can help you learn about native plants that can quickly adapt to local environmental conditions. They will help you save time and money by growing the right plants in the right place at the right time.
Did you enjoy reading with us? If yes, keep up with The Backyard Grow Kits to keep informed on the various aspects we address about gardening in your backyard.
Are you looking for a hassle-free gardening experience in your backyard? Then, feel free to check out the options for the grow huts we sell that simplify your gardening and cut down costs in the long run.