Gardening Tips: Getting ready for your Spring Garden

As the buds bloom on the trees and the birds return to the forests, it’s time to start thinking about your spring garden. If this is your first time gardening, here’s a fair warning: some plants will grow, some will die, but you’ll learn something new every time you tend to your greenery. 

If you’ve been gardening for a while, perhaps you have new seeds or methods you want to try out this season. Either way, gardening is for everyone, so here are five tips to prepare for your spring garden.

Buy what you need

As simple as you may think gardening is, you will need a few more items than just seeds and dirt to build a garden. Some required items may be soil, topsoil, compost, pots, fencing, chicken wire, trowels, gloves, and plant food, to name a few. (If you plan on growing roses, I highly suggest suitable gloves; whether you have a green thumb or not, thorns hurt).

Make a Plan 

Decide what, when, and where you’ll be doing your planting. You may say, “I’ll do that next week,” but a month later, you realize it still hasn’t been done. For most things, that’s no big deal, but if you have a four-season climate or live in a place like Texas where the spring is lovely, but summer can be brutal, a month can make the difference between ripe veggies or shriveled tomatoes. Look up the zone of where you are living so you know optimal planting times. Planting corn in April may have a different result than in March, whereas Broccoli is pretty hardy and can survive a few frozen nights before it heats up consistently. 

Study the Light

Look at where the light is in your backyard. Perhaps afternoon light is perfect for your Lemongrass, but your Rosemary will thrive in the hot midday sun. Depending on what you are planting, you may need to build a box, have pots, or have an in-ground garden. Whether it’s strawberries (careful, they spread), vegetables (that you need to keep your pets away from), or beautiful flowers, each carries unique needs that you can look up to to give yourself the best possible chance of them growing. 

Prepare the Area

Take time to prep the space you’ll be working in. Prune as needed, brush away dead leaves, and remove weeds. Make sure that the site is tilled and ready for your spring garden. Depending on what you are doing, it can be a whole day of getting seeds and seedlings, digging holes, planting, and spreading the layers of soil. The last thing you want to do is bring plants home and realize the ground isn’t ready yet.

Whatever your spring garden plans, from our green thumbs at MilHousing Network to you, we hope all your plants flourish and that your garden is plentiful. Let us know in the comments below what you plan on planting in your garden this year, and what you do to prepare for gardening season!

Written by Aj Smit

Aj Smit is the author of the book Red Thread: Weaving an Embodied Life of Joy, speaker, glitter enthusiast, and professional weaver of Joy. She is a military spouse in S. Korea with a pup and houseplants galore. Aj has led various Red Tents, retreats, and workshops internationally over the last ten years to help others discover how to weave creativity and curiosity into their lives. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram at @TheJoyWeaver and TheJoyWeaver.com