6 Things You Should Do Now To Prep Your Garden For Spring

One thing is for sure: there are plenty of tasks to complete in a garden before the spring planting season. Tasks you should tackle now include stripping away dead growth, deciding which flowers will add spring color, checking your soil, and more.

"There are a couple of things that you can do now to help prep it for an incredible garden," says Shelby DeVore, based in Fort Worth, Texas, a multigenerational farmer, gardener, and owner of Garden Farm Thrive.

“It is essential now to set up your plants to have the healthiest year they can have,” says Birmingham-based Daniel McCurry, owner of Father Nature.

Here’s a garden guide on where to start and what to do before spring officially arrives. 

Test Your Soil

"Think of the soil as a living ecosystem that can help your garden thrive when it's healthy," explains DeVore. There are ways to improve your garden soil for planting by testing it to see how healthy it is. "You can do this yourself with a soil testing kit, or you can collect soil samples and have the soil professionally tested," she says.

Although it takes some work and time initially, having a flourishing garden will be worth the work in the long run. "Go to the plant groups in question, pull back the mulch and organic matter from the top of the soil, and get the soil in which the plant is living," explains McCurry. Retrieve a few cups of soil for the sample, then submit it for testing. Your local cooperative extension has more information and kits on testing your soil professionally.

Amend Your Soil

"Amending your soil prior to spring will get you a head start on all your gardening activities," says Jennifer Hatalski of North Richland Hills, Texas, who is Vice President of Marketing at Calloway’s Nursery. For many gardeners, soil is the first thing to start improving before the spring season.

"Test, amend the soil, and protect your plants," says McCurry. You’ll want to be intentional about improving the health of your soil before spring plantings. "Compost and manure are organic amendments that don't just add nutritional value and improve the soil ecosystem, but they can also improve other problems with your soil (i.e. holding too much water, draining too fast, and texture issues," says DeVore.

Add specific elements to the garden soil based on your testing results. "Soil stabilizers and microbial and organic fertilizers feed the microbes in your soil," says McCurry. 

Prepare Garden Tools

Garden tools need care, right along with the garden. Late winter is an ideal time to spruce them up and be sure they’re in good working order before spring. You can sharpen garden tools at home if you have a sharpening stone, or you can have the tools professionally sharpened.

Additionally, garden tools need basic maintenance to stay in good working order. First, clean the dirt off each tool, especially after each use. "I also like to store them in a bucket that is filled with sand, with the sharps down in the sand. This helps prevent rust and also can keep the sharp edge on your tools longer," says DeVore. 

Selectively Prune

Limited pruning should take place in late winter or very early spring. "Removing crossing, sickly, and dead is essential to give space for this year's growth and reduce the chances of widespread disease," explains McCurry.

Pruning gives them time to heal before new spring growth starts. "It also removes the unneeded growth, making your mulches easier to install in the coming month," he explains. 

Plan Your Garden 

Let the garden planning fun begin. If there’s something you enjoyed the prior year, plant it again. "Pull out your gardening journal from last season and review it. (If you don't have a gardening journal, this is your sign to start one- they're pure gold!" DeVore says. Get creative and have fun planning what you intend to plant and where.

"It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, but I do recommend that they [gardeners] keep a dedicated journal to keep up with what they plant, when they planted it, varieties planted, problems they had with disease or pests, what they tried for said diseases and pests, what worked, what didn't work," says DeVore. It’s difficult to remember from year to year what happened with your plants, what worked well, and what didn’t.

Allow your future gardening self to thank you next year when you begin a garden journaling process and planning session before the spring season arrives.  

Plot Your Containers

If lack of space is an issue, container gardening is the remedy. "Container gardens are a quick and easy way to refresh your home and garden," says Hatalksi. Decide where you want your containers, what container style you want, if enough sunlight is available, and what to plant in the containers based on the available light.

Add fresh soil to the pots so they are prepped and ready to go when it’s time to plant in the spring. "Consider following the thriller, filler, spiller method," she says. This method creates a beautifully appointed container with a mix of height, color, and texture.