Spring Garden Prep – Get Ready for the Growing Season
Spring garden prep is important whether you grow veggies or flowers. The groundwork you do now for spring will absolutely determine how successful your garden is this coming year. With that in mind, there are some things you can do in your spring garden prep to help you get a jump start on your beds.
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Spring Garden Prep can Make or Break Your Garden
If you’ve done any amount of gardening, you know that proper preparation is the key to any kind of successful garden. Whether you grow your own vegetable or fragrant blossoms, laying the groundwork now will produce strong plants later.
Get the Compost
If you have a compost bin or pile, now is the time to get all the good stuff into your beds. When the weather has warmed enough to turn the soil in your garden bed, get that compost turned in. It will help add much needed nutrients to the soil so your plants can grow big and strong. If you have flower beds, a full bed tilling won’t be an option, but you can still carefully work in the compost around your plants or even just lay the compost on the top of the earth.
Corn Gluten Meal
I’m willing to be that many of you haven’t heard of this all-natural method of weed control, but it can play a key role in your spring garden prep. As soon as the ground begins to warm, spread an even layer of corn gluten meal all across your bed or in between your flowers. Corn gluten meal is completely natural, and it controls weeds by preventing them from forming roots. For vegetable gardens, put out the corn gluten meal about a week or two before you plant seeds like beans or peas. You want to kill the weeds, not your veggies.
Make a Plan
This is so important for vegetable gardeners. As with any farming, you need to rotate crops. Doing so will allow different parts of your garden to recuperate from different vegetables grown during the previous season. For example, tomatoes are heavy feeders, so growing them in the same spot in your garden every year will deplete almost all of the nutrients. You need to rotate your veggies to allow the soil to recover as well as to prevent the spread of plant specific disease.
Stock Up on Now
Part of Spring garden prep is being prepared, scout style. If you need fertilizer of any sort, new garden tools, or any other garden related implements, get them now. The last thing you want to do is get caught in the middle of gardening without the proper tools.
Spring Garden Prep Will Make or Break Your Growing Season
Spring garden prep is the foundation for every single thing you’ll do as the months go on. Be sure you’re on point, and your garden will show it. Get the compost ready, stock up on supplies, and give corn gluten meal a try. These things will help ensure that your Spring garden prep leads to fruitful growing season.
41 Comments
Pam
It’s so important to prep your garden for spring! These are great tips, thank you for sharing them!
Catherine S
These are great tips. I need to make a plan and time to prep my garden.
Sarah Bailey
I really need to do something with our garden it is looking a bit worse for wear at the moment and unloved! Not sure what to do though as it’s mostly just grass! x
jEANINE
Our backyard has some small gardens along the sides of the yard. I am planning to tackle them soon. Just waiting for all the snow and all the freezing rain to stop around here.
Lynda Cook
This is great to know, first I heard of this
Rachel
I love the corn meal idea. I usually use something else but can’t think of the name right now.
Heather Cain
It is such hard work, but at the same time its so satisfying knowing that all your preparation is doing the best thing for the future of your garden. I love my spring flowers – its an awakening of happiness for the year
Sarah Kurtz
Great tips. I live in an apt and grow out of planters.
Melody
We have a compost pile. We also keep a bag of things for my husband’s uncles worms.
marthalynn
We have very little gardening room around our townhouse, but it’s fun to play! I can’t wait to start planting and getting my hands dirty. I should’ve started sooner than now, but it’s never too late. Thanks for the great tips to try!
Aishah Bukhari
This is the first time I read about the corn meal method. Thank you for sharing these!
Kim Tanti
I want to have a bigger veg. garden so I can have some veggies with less chemicals. Last year I only got about 10 tomatoes out of 12 plants. My chives died and even a plant I had for over 30yrs. Then I found out I had cancer. It is amazing how our body chemistry affects plants.
Natalie
I never knew that I should rotate my crops each year!
Betty Butler
Thank you for the useful info
Kathleen Kelly
Hubby used to do a garden every year but since he had his chemo he just doesn’t seem to be interested in it. Thank goodness he planted flowers that come back every year!
Ann Bacciaglia
I am excited to plant a vegetable garden this year. I will have to give corn gluten meal a try.
Dotty J Boucher
Great list here and I just went and grabbed me some fresh soil for my garden
@tisonlyme143
Amy Green
I think it’s really cool that thanks to public efforts, like the First Lady’s, people have recognized in recent years how fun and beneficial having your own garden can be! That was something neat growing up, that my family and I did together. I really enjoyed having our own flowers and tomatoes!
Michelle Bartley
These are great tips for any gardener!
RT
Corn gluten meal is a must have for those with pets and children. No need to keep them away after spreading it, as it’s safe.
Sue Mullaney
I never knew about using corn gluten meal to control weeds! These are really helpful tips, thanks for posting!
Jeanna Massman
Thank you for the information, especially the corn gluten meal to help eradicate weeds.
nancy burgess
Great tips and can use all this help.Thanks for sharing all this.
Lisa Joy Thompson
I have a totally black thumb, but I’ve been reading gardening articles and trying to get the nerve up to actually start a garden! Thanks for the practical tips. If I can get over my fears, I just might dive in to this gardening thing! 🙂
Leslie Crosbie
I live in an apartment in the city and the main thing I miss is having a garden!!
Now I just help a old neighbor whenever I can!!
Dawn McAlexander
Spring is always the perfect time for gardening. We finally got our garden planted last week. It frosted a few days later, so we are hoping none of the plants got ruined!
Mark Chamberlin
I only have 1500 acres. I’ve been preparing for spring since last year.
Nena Sinclair
This is great information! Thank you!
vicki lorenz
Great information! I am now ready to plant!
Pamela James
Thanks so much for this! I don’t ever seem to have alot of luck with planting it this is awesome article! You always hear “prepare your beds” but don’t always get alot of info on how! I’ve never even heard of using corn gluten meal. I’m not even sure what it is LOL but I’m gonna get some 🙂
Bailey Dexter
Wow, great info! I’ll have to start prepping my garden soon, thanks for sharing! I’m always reading about how to have a better garden, this helps so much!
Amy Green
I like the idea of using corn gluten meal to prevent weeds from taking root. These days, they seem impossible to get rid of. I first learned about composting from actress Julia Roberts on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”: she is very passionate about doing it.
sheila ressel
I’m in the process of prepping for my garden right now and appreciate the tips. The corn gluten thing is new to me!
Sarah L
Makes me wish I had a garden to use these tips on.
Barbara
I hadn’t heard of corn gluten meal being used for that. I’ll have to try it this year, anything to cut down on weeding!
Debbie Welchert
My husband does all of the gardening here. I will be passing the information about the corn gluten on to him. I have never heard of that one and anything to help with weeds will help him.
Gabrielly
These are great tips for any gardener. Thanks for sharing.
Renee Rousseau
Great Springtime advice! I am so excited about Spring and can’t wait to implement some of your suggestions!
sherry butcher
Good advice, I forgot about about using Corn gluten meal, my folks did that stuff year and year. Thanks for sharing.
clojo9372
These are great tips! I do collect compost along with manure to help with gardening and it does wonders with both flowers and vegetables! 🙂
Sue E
I liked the fact that the corn gluten meal is completely natural, and it controls weeds by preventing them from forming roots.
I don’t have to worry about the animals or the grandkids then!!