4 Ways to get Ready for Spring
Spring is approaching quickly and here at Copper Creek we can hardly wait! It is exciting to think about the green grass poking through and the beautiful blooms that will soon fill the up Garden Center! Are you itching for spring like we are and wondering what you can do to prepare yourself before Spring is in full swing? Here are 4 ways you can prepare to ensure a happy and healthy kick-off to the spring season!
1. Spring Materials and Seed Starting
There are many Spring materials that you can start collecting and even put into production, one of them being seeds! Vegetable garden seeds are typically sown indoors roughly 6 weeks before the last frost. This puts our timing around mid-March to late May. Vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, pumpkins, cauliflower, head lettuce, and peppers are typically planted around mid-March and kept indoors for approximately 9-11 weeks, until the potential for frost has passed.
Flowers are another great seed to jump-start indoors. In mid-March you can start bells of Ireland, cosmos, petunia, sunflower, morning glory, dianthus, marigold, zinnia, poppy, nasturtium, sweet pea, strawflower, sweet alyssum and the list continues!
You can find a wide variety of seeds, from Seed Savers Exchange, in The Market here at Copper Creek. We have plenty of vegetable and flower seeds. Each seed packet provides detailed instructions on planting depth, germination rate, soil, watering routines and other tips for growing. With the purchase of your seeds, you may also need to get your seed trays, soil and fertilizers which are conveniently located next to our seed rack! Be sure to find some space for your seed trays that allow lots of natural light.
2. Prune Trees
Get your shears out! Now is the time to start pruning/cutting back your woody trees and shrubs for the new growing season ahead. Pruning in the late dormant season is one of the best times for shaping and trimming many trees and shrubs in our area. Disease, insect damage, weak or crisscrossing branches and over-all plant health are just a few things that can be improved with late-winter pruning. This promotes bigger, healthier plants which leads to more abundant blooms, stronger stems, and amplified fruiting. Best time for pruning trees is in late-winter in the time frame of February – April, when the likelihood of extreme cold has passed. It is best to prune trees while they are young considering this is when shaping and branch growth is most significant. Some of these plants include, but are not limited to: oaks, apple (and other fruit) trees, honey locusts, hedges, pine trees, spruces, firs, maples, etc.
3. Take Inventory
Now is a great time to start going through your materials from last year. Throw away and recycle old flowerpots that you won’t use again, winter pots, damaged hoses, as well as old bags of soils and fertilizers. Make your checklists for new items needed so you are prepared. Go through your garden inventory and see that you have all the proper tools that you will need throughout the next couple seasons. Things like watering cans, soils and fertilizers, and gardening tools are all great things to make sure you have on hand when you need it.
4. Design your Garden
What better time than now to start designing your garden?! Determine the kind of garden you want and how much you want to maintain for the approaching seasons. Whether it be a vegetable garden, a pollinator garden, container gardens, or maybe even some landscaping; you will want to have a plan to know what kind of materials you will need. Not only should you start your list of materials, you will also want to make sure you have adequate space for your plans. A great starting point we recommend is sketching out your plans and ideas while also taking into consideration light and soil requirements your desired garden needs. If you find doing that to be difficult or intimidating, we have many garden books that offer new ideas, things to look out for, more ways to prepare, photos and designs! These books can assist you in forming lists as well as gain some necessary research to plan out your perfect garden! After you have created your lists, sketched your ideas, and gained some knowledge about your future garden, you will be ready for spring!
If you are replanting a former garden or maintaining a perennial garden, you’ll want to prep for some Spring clean-up. Get your gardening gloves and tools lined up and ready! It is important to clean up wintered plants, leaves and other debris right away in spring. This will promote healthy new growth for your perennials and remove any over-wintered diseases and molds. When the temperatures reach 50 degrees or above for at least a week, you’ll have the full go ahead to start cleaning up. However, be careful not to start cleaning up too early as you can disturb lots of beneficial insects. When the time is ready you can start cutting down plant stems, cleaning up dead leaves, straw used for bedding plants down, any garbage that blew in over winter and other debris.
WARNING: By completing these steps you may become unbelievably eager for Spring!! If you experience the need to plant seeds, see green plants again, smell a flower, discover new gloves, tools and gardening books, or find yourself day dreaming about your garden please do not hesitate to swing in or call us here at Copper Creek!
Use this time to get a huge jump on Spring gardening. Doing these simple steps will leave you more time to enjoy the fun parts of getting in the garden. There is still plenty of time to start planning and get things ready for when you can really dive in. We hope these simple steps can help kick start the beautiful process of creating your gardens this Spring and Summer. We look forward to hearing about your garden! Happy growing!