By Katie Martin – Smith County Extension Agent —
For some of us, spring cleaning might involve dusting, organizing, or washing windows. For others, the spring cleaning we are looking forward to tackling is outside! If you are getting started on cleaning up last year’s garden spot or your perennial beds, we have a couple of tasks you may want to add to your outdoor spring cleaning checklist.
As you begin spring cleaning in your perennial beds, remove any dead foliage or accumulated leaves from the crown of the plant to prevent smothering. Feel free to add this material to the compost pile or move in between plants to break down and become free mulch. While you are at it, make sure to weed as you go, as it is best and easiest to pull newly emerging weeds. This is also a great time to add any needed stakes, cages, or other support structures so perennials like peonies can grow through them. Spring is also an ideal time to dig, divide, and transplant perennials as they are easy to locate, but not yet so large they will have a lopsided look like if they were divided later in the season. You may also want to take this opportunity to refresh garden borders or lay down a fresh layer of mulch. Perhaps the most fun part of spring cleaning those perennial borders is shopping for new plants! Head to local greenhouses and garden centers to purchase new additions that will keep adding color and interest for spring, summer, and fall.
As you begin spring cleaning your vegetable garden, it’s not too late to get a soil test! Soil tests can give you insight into your soil pH and provide recommendations for fertilizer if needed. If you plan to use irrigation in your garden, setting up soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems now before plants are large and in desperate need of water during those hot summer months is a great idea.
If you are looking to go ahead and get your hands in the dirt, you could direct seed or purchase transplants for cool-season vegetables and get them in the garden now or start seeds indoors for any of our warm-season vegetables that could be transplanted out after the chance of frost has passed. Remember, the frost-free date for our area is April 21, but that means there is still at least a 10% chance of frost after that date.
Spring is a busy time of year, and the UT Extension office is here to help! If you haven’t bookmarked uthort.com, be sure and do so. It is full of research-based information that will aid you in your gardening efforts.
