OK, gardeners — it’s time to dig in! With about a week to go before the official start of spring, we’ve got work to do.
A checklist:
Soil
First, test your soil’s pH level. Each plant thrives best within a specific range, and nutrient absorption will be impaired if the reading falls outside that range. If warranted, amend the soil with ground limestone to raise its pH or elemental sulfur to lower it. Test kits are readily available and reasonably priced.
Trees
Fertilize trees with a slow-release product.
Get pruning. Most deciduous trees and shrubs (those that lose their leaves in autumn), including fruit trees, should be pruned before they emerge from dormancy. But hold off on pruning spring bloomers until just after their flowers fade.
Similarly, relocate trees and shrubs while they’re still dormant. Be sure to dig up as much of their root systems as possible and replant into a hole that’s twice as wide but exactly as deep.
Flowers
If you ordered bare-root roses, clear beds now so you can get them into the ground as soon as they arrive lest they rot while waiting for you to get your act together. The same goes for asparagus crowns and onions.
If your roses were infected with mildew or the dreaded black spot disease last year, remove and replace the mulch around them to avoid a recurrence.
If fall-blooming perennials are getting crowded, dig up and divide them after they poke out of the ground. Plant the divisions elsewhere or share them with a gardening friend. Spring and summer bloomers should be divided in fall.
Early-season vegetables
It’s time to order seed potatoes. Get them into the ground two to three weeks before the last expected frost in your area, which is typically indicated by the greening of dormant grass.
Plant peas, radish, lettuce, chard and spinach as soon as the soil temperature reaches 45 degrees. (Soil thermometers are widely available and nominally priced). Soak pea seeds overnight in warm water to improve germination speed and rates, then treat with a nitrogen-fixing inoculant to provide an additional boost, particularly if peas are new to the bed.
The cool-weather crops will struggle in hot weather, so be prepared to protect plants with shade cloth if you expect temperatures above 80 degrees F within 60 days of sowing.
Indoors, start seeds of annuals, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, observing the lead times listed on their packages.
Care for houseplants
Repot houseplants into the next-size pot, no more than 2 inches wider than their current container, and fertilize. If you’re planning to move them outside for the summer, they’ll need to be acclimated: Wait until the danger of frost has passed, then gradually increase their time outdoors by one hour each day for a week.
Practice patience
Resist the urge to mulch beds and borders until things really heat up. Otherwise, you’ll risk trapping the cold in the ground, which may delay the re-emergence of bulbs and perennials and the leafing out of dormant trees and shrubs.
You can fill planters with pansies while you wait.
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Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.
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