Are You Ready For Spring Gardening? The Almanac Checklist
As winter begins to give way to spring, find out what you can do now to prepare for a new season of gardening.
Quick Reference
- When to start: the moment ground is workable, roughly 4 to 6 weeks before your last average spring frost.
- Do first (indoors): plan beds, order seed, service the mower, sharpen pruners.
- Do while soil is dormant (outside): clean lawn, prune dormant trees, transplant shrubs, edge beds, weed young shoots.
- Do once soil is 45 to 50 F: soil test, amend with organic matter, direct-sow cold-hardy crops (peas, spinach, radishes).
- Frost dates: check the Farmers’ Almanac average last spring frost dates by state before you commit tender seedlings.
- Almanac tradition: plant above-ground crops in the waxing moon, root crops in the waning moon. See the Gardening Calendar for the current cycle.
After a long, cold winter, every gardener is itching to get outside. With the last of winter still lingering, though, you have to be careful not to get ahead of the weather. Almanac editors, working from the classic Old Farmer’s Almanac frost-date guidance and our own long-range spring forecast, sequence the season the same way every year. This is the checklist we run through as soon as the ground is workable, expanded from the original list so you can walk out the door and start.
Make A Plan
Decide now what you want to grow this season and design your flower and garden beds accordingly. Remember to take into consideration the soil, water, and light requirements of each plant. Do a little window-shopping at your local nursery to get ideas and ask advice. A rough paper sketch beats a blank spring, and it keeps you from ordering three flats of tomatoes when you only have room for one.
Lawn Cleanup
Once the snow has melted and the lawn dries, get outside and pick up fallen limbs and other debris from the yard. Rake up dead grass, twigs, and leaves. Getting rid of this winter rubble helps your lawn get the light and air it needs for healthy grass growth. Wait until the ground is no longer soggy underfoot. Walking a wet lawn compacts soil and slows spring greenup.
Prep Lawn Equipment
Now is the perfect time to service the lawn mower. Change the oil and sharpen the mower blades so you are ready when the grass begins growing. Perform necessary maintenance on your weed trimmer, blower, and edger as well. Also sharpen other bladed gardening tools, such as pruning shears. A sharp bypass pruner is the single largest quality-of-life upgrade a spring gardener can make. Every cut closes cleaner and the plant heals faster.
Re-Seed Bare Areas Of Your Lawn
Keep the newly seeded patches watered well until new growth is established. According to University of Massachusetts Extension, cool-season grass seed germinates fastest when soil sits between 50 and 65 F, which lines up with April and early May across most of the northern half of the country. In warmer zones, patch bare areas in early March.
Transplant Shrubs
Do any transplants while the plants are still dormant, before the season of new growth begins. Water them in deeply the same afternoon and again every third day for the first three weeks. A shrub moved on a dry March day will spend the summer replacing its lost root mass; a shrub moved with a full watering will barely notice.
Clean Bird Feeders
Get rid of old seed and thoroughly wash feeders with warm water and a stiff brush. Do not use soap or other cleaners, as these may be harmful to the birds. Songbirds are drawn to a fresh feeder as much as gardeners are drawn to a fresh seed rack, and the daily traffic is one of the best natural pest-control lines you can set up. Bluebirds and wrens eat their weight in beetle larvae every day of the spring.
Repair And Clean Outdoor Furniture
Now is the time to spruce up the patio furnishings so you will be ready for an early-season barbecue. A soft brush, a bucket of warm water, and a light coat of teak or exterior wood oil keeps hardwood furniture out of the landfill for another decade.
Build Window Box Planters
Building a window box is easier than you may think, and window boxes full of colorful flowers add charm to your home. Cedar and redwood scraps handle spring rain best. Pre-drill drainage holes every 3 inches along the bottom, and line the box with landscape fabric before adding potting mix.
Prune Trees, Shrubs, And Perennials
Prune while trees and plants are still dormant. Cut back to a bud that faces outward, at a 45-degree angle, and never remove more than a third of the plant in one season. Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs (lilacs, forsythia, azaleas) until immediately after they bloom, since the flower buds are set on last year’s wood.
Get A Jump On Weeding
Weed roots are shallow in early spring, making them easier to pull. Get out the day after a soaking rain, and a single afternoon of hand-weeding will save you a full month of catchup in June. Pay special attention to dandelions and thistles, since both send taproots deep once the ground warms.
Enrich Garden Soil
Add organic material to dry soil and till it in several inches to a foot deep. Follow with fertilizer. Aged manure, leaf mold, and finished compost all add organic matter and open up heavy clay. If you are planting a vegetable garden, spread compost at a rate of two to three inches over the bed and work it into the top six inches.
Establish Edging
Using an edger, create sharp trenches between the lawn and flower beds to keep unruly grass under control. Permanent edging may be installed if desired. A crisp bed edge is worth an hour of weeding every week through August. Steel, brick, or a hand-cut 4-inch trench all work.
Start Plants From Seed
Starting from seed is cheaper, and there is a much wider selection of plant varieties than you will find at a garden center. Start tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your average last frost. Lettuces, spinach, peas, and radishes go directly outside as soon as the soil can be worked.
Have Soil Tested
A soil test can be done at your local home and garden center, or through your state’s cooperative extension service (typically $15 to $25 by mail). It tells you the best fertilizer mix to use to maximize growth in your unique garden. Most northern soils run acidic and need a light spring dose of dolomitic lime. Southern soils tend to run alkaline and can benefit from elemental sulfur.
Raised Garden Beds
Raised beds are a popular garden choice for growing flowers and vegetables. They drain faster, warm earlier, and let you skip the annual battle with compacted soil. A 4 by 8 cedar bed at 12 inches deep grows almost every vegetable in the Almanac’s planting chart. Fill with a 50/50 mix of quality topsoil and finished compost.
Regional Timing: When Is It Really Spring?
The calendar says the first day of spring is the vernal equinox, but the soil says something different in every region. Rough guidelines from the Farmers’ Almanac frost tables:
The Almanac Angle: Best Days To Plant, Prune, And Weed
Almanac tradition holds that above-ground crops go in during the waxing moon, root crops during the waning moon. Pruning is done on the third and fourth quarters. Weeding is best on the waning moon, when sap runs down and disturbed roots are less likely to regrow. The Farmers’ Almanac Gardening Calendar stamps every day in March, April, and May with a recommendation tied to the same 200-year-old formula the Almanac still prints for weather and Best Days.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can I actually start spring gardening?
The moment the ground is workable, which is roughly 4 to 6 weeks before your average last spring frost. Check the Farmers’ Almanac average last spring frost dates by state to peg your window.
What is the very first outdoor task each spring?
Lawn cleanup: rake up dead grass, twigs, fallen limbs, and leaves once the ground is no longer soggy. It is the single fastest way to help the yard green up. Wait until you can walk across without leaving a footprint.
Can I prune anything in early spring?
Yes, most trees and shrubs, but not the spring-flowering ones. Prune lilacs, forsythia, and azaleas only after they bloom, since flower buds are set on last year’s wood. Fruit trees and deciduous shade trees are pruned while still dormant.
What seeds go outside first?
Peas, spinach, radishes, lettuce, and kale are cold-hardy and can be direct-sown as soon as the soil can be worked. Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost and transplant after all frost danger passes.
How do I test my soil?
Take samples from four spots in the bed, mix them together, and send the composite to your state cooperative extension service (typically $15 to $25 by mail). Home and garden centers also sell quick pH kits. Results tell you which nutrients to add and whether to lime or add sulfur.
Are raised beds worth the setup work?
Yes for most gardeners. Raised beds drain faster, warm about two weeks earlier, and eliminate the annual fight with compacted soil. A cedar 4 by 8 bed at 12 inches deep costs $150 to $300 in materials and lasts 8 to 12 years.
This article was published by the Staff at FarmersAlmanac.com. Any questions? Contact us at questions@farmersalmananac.com.
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
