Spring has officially arrived! While it may have felt quite springlike where you are – temperatures in the 60s and 70s, sunshine, no snow for weeks now – the vernal equinox arrives on March 19th this year, at 11:06 pm Eastern time. That means Wednesday will be our first full day of spring!
While we have weeks to go before our typical last frost date, there is plenty that we can do in the garden.
Indoors: Sowing Seeds
Indoors, get annual seeds started (most of these get sown in the “6-8 weeks before last frost” window). St. Patrick’s Day weekend was a big one for me – I sowed over 40 varieties!
In addition to my usual purchased and saved seeds, I had collected some seeds from dahlia blooms last fall. Rather than just sowing them all, I decided to sprinkle a few between damp paper towels and see what started to sprout, and sow those. That way I wouldn’t be wasting space on something that wasn’t going to germinate. Well – I had better luck than expected! Current count: 61 viable seedlings. Each one will be different from the “parent plant” that it came from – so here’s to lots of new dahlia varieties in the world!
I also saved seeds from heirloom tomatoes that I bought at the store. Have you ever tried that? Heirlooms produce seeds that will come “true,” meaning that the seeds will create a plant that produces the same result — in this case, the same tomatoes. I grabbed a yellow one (it may be a Brandywine), a ribbed light pink one, and one with a dark top (it may be Cherokee Purple). You simply scoop out the seeds, let them ferment in water for a few days, then rinse them well and let them dry out!
Venture Outside
On the nice warm days we had, I couldn’t resist getting out and wandering around the garden. I picked up a few branches that had fallen off of my neighbor’s tree and pulled a few weeds. It’s easy to see that bright green pop of weed growth now! Be sure to get the roots to keep them from coming back. I also used this time, before the shrubs have leaves on them, to take a look at the structure of them and do a little pruning. While it’s easy to see everything, it’s a good time to remove crossing branches, broken or damaged twigs, and anything that shows signs of disease.
These wandering sessions without much plant life are a good time to check for things that might need repair – pavers that heaved during the winter; fencing that might need fixing. I checked on my raised beds and realized that the wood on one of them had become pretty rotten, so it was off to get some fresh lumber and make repairs. Once back to proper height, I then realized I needed to top it off with some more soil. I’ve also got a truckload of compost on order!
Beware: Heading to the store for a few “essentials” like 2×6’s and screws brings with it the risk of the impulse buy. Before you grab a cartful of bulbs or dormant perennials off of the display, make sure you think about:
- Where you’ll store them (perennials might be starting to wake up if they’re in those baggies, and you’ll want to get them potted right away)
- Where you want to plant them in the garden
- How big they’ll get when they’re mature (don’t grab 5 if you’ve only got space for 3!)
One of my impulse buys from about three weeks ago: bare root strawberries! I separated them out and potted them up right away. I have a flower on one already!
If you’re eager to get something growing, these next few weeks are a great time for cool season veggies. Go ahead and plant your peas! We’ve got a week ahead with nights in the teens and low 20s, but I think I’m going to get some spinach and kale started indoors and ready to transplant out. If you’re not ready to put seeds in the ground, get your bluebird house staked in the garden instead! The North American Bluebird Society says that bluebirds usually begin to nest in late March or early April, depending on weather conditions. I ended up with chickadees in my houses last year. We’ll see what this spring brings!
For more ideas on what you can be doing in the garden in early spring, check out the Garden Calendar post.
