Finish any (or all!) leaf, dead foliage and debris clean-up leftover from the fall and the winter windstorms. Ideally, gardeners should endeavour to clean-up fall leaves and debris before the winter rains set in. Cleaning up the garden in the late fall does not just create a better looking winter landscape, but it is an essential good cultural practice. Removing debris eliminates the places insects, diseases and water can accumulate. Water logged debris attracts unwanted bugs, mold (rot), fungi and viruses to your garden. However if there was not enough time to manage this task in the autumn, then by all means get at it now!
Once is garden are free of debris you can focus on Spring maintenance jobs. An easy task to get into the spirit when the weather has not yet brightened, is what I call damage control pruning. Often after windstorms, cold winter temperatures and snow there is minor to more extensive damage to trees and shrubs. It is a good idea to take a good look at your plants with secateurs in hand and immediately prune out any broken, damaged or dead twigs, branches and etc. Sometimes damage is excessive and involves large tree limbs which may need to be removed by a local arborist or tree company. Pruning out small scale damage is a good cultural practice, as it reduces entry spots for insects and disease which can undermine plant health as the seasons evolve.
This garden bed needs attention
Late winter/early spring is an excellent time to activate your compost(s). This is basically turning your composts over with a garden fork and aerating the compost (getting the oxygen in). If your lucky your compost will be ready (sufficiently decomposed) to use in your garden beds, veggy plots or for mulching ornamentals such as azaleas and rhododendrons.
What makes a good composter and good compost?
The ideal composter is a three bin system. Composts that service a good size active garden are best designed to have compost in three stages of breakdown. Three* composts are needed; ideally made out of simple lumber with 4 posts or corners and 1”x6” (or 8”) cedar for the slats. Enclosed only on 3 sides and the front can be open or be designed to slide up and down or open in some way. Three bins would be side by side and easily and cheaply constructed from any untreated lumber. Chemically treated lumber is not acceptable for composters, as the toxins from the treated wood will leach into your composting material.
*Bin one would be fresh cuttings, bin two would be partially composted and bin three would be finished compost.
This design allows for an ongoing compost supply and a wheelbarrow can be brought right up to the compost. The size of the bins depends on the size of the garden and how much room one allows for a compost/work area. On average 4'x4' is a good size. Where room and garden size do not allow for this type of set-up, there are composters available at retail stores in various shapes and sizes. Where vermin are known pests it is best to have closed composters for kitchen compost. Raccoons and rats commonly feed off of kitchen waste.
You will find some people think just about any food can go in the compost, but this is absolutely false. Do not put any cooked foods into your composters. This is a bad idea for many reasons. Cooked food is especially attractive to rodents and where you might not have had a rodent problem you certainly will if you feed them this way. All raw food (veggies,fruits, eggshells) waste is also attractive to these animals and should be composted in closed bins.
Good composts have a mixture of organic matter:
| Decomposing Leaves | Grass Clippings | Vegetable Compost |
| Garden Cuttings | Seaweed | Manure |
Other additives include:
| Rot-it or related | Soil | Ashes |
New material should be added intermittently in layers. Just having grass clippings or homogeneous material will not produce a healthy and balanced compost.
The second stage of composting or for bin #2, is to fork over and mix the compost to get air in and feed the microorganisms making the compost.
Edging Garden Beds
Edging garden beds is not the funnest spring garden task, but the results are rewarding. Visually the clean lines between lawns and beds add definition and set off the beds from the grass. Maintaining the lawn edges with clippers or a weedeater is far easy and faster when dealing with cleanly edged beds.
Cultivating Beds
Cultivating the soil of ornamental perennial or shrub beds is an important spring maintenance practice. Cultivating really means aerating the top layer of soil so that oxygen can permeate the upper root layer of plants. Mulching over cultivated beds is much more effective than mulching compacted soils. A well cultivated soil allows mulch nutrients and water to travel easily to the plant roots where they are absorbed and travel upwards through the plants' vascular systems where they promote growth, good health and flower and/or fruit production. Early spring cultivating also loosens and dislodges weed seedlings before they develop, grow deep roots or produce seeds. Another obvious benefit of cultivation is the aesthetic benefits...a freshly cultivated fluffy bed looks better than a compacted flat surface layer.
As valuable as cultivating is sometimes it is necessary to dig deeper to amend garden soil or to prepare vegetable beds. Where soil is heavy clay, long time neglected or solidly compacted it is important to amend the soil by digging it over and adding well composted organic matter. Sometimes some clay should be removed to make way for a more workable and loamy soil. The removed clay soil can be used to form berms or fill in less ornamental areas if needed. Digging to a depth of 12-16" while adding organic matter will significantly increase the arability of the soil, making annual maintenance easier, while improving plant vigour and drainage. This task can be done either by digging around existing plants or if possible plants can be lifted and replanted once the process is complete.
Mulching
Once beds are well cultivated but if they have no organic mulch layer, this is a good time to put down a layer of composted matter. Why Mulch? Good question.... Mulching has many benefits for plants, our maintenance routine, water conservation and aesthetics. For plants good quality mulch is a complete organic fertilizer, providing plants with the essential micro and macro nutrients they depend on to grow vigorously, bloom and produce harvestable fruits and vegetables. Gardeners benefit from a reduced workload since mulch suppresses weeds, allows weed seedlings to be quickly removed from the mulch layer and lessons soil compaction and reduces the need for cultivating. With water conservation becoming more of a mainstream issue now and in the future, Mulch can retain more water in its loose organic layer than can the same volume of soil's smaller particles. Thus less frequent watering is needed during warmer, drier weather. Finally rich organic mulch gives a finished and homogeneous look to the garden beds, It's dark colour forms an excellent contrast to the greens, greys and blues of a variety of plant foliage.
Organic Woody Mulch
Fresh Leaf Mulch
Depending on your garden plants, soil PH and personal aesthetic preferences different types of of mulch can be used. I prefer a well composted chicken manure, well-rotted garden compostor leaf mulch for effective weed control, water retention and nutrient supply. These mulches have a natural, complimentary look for woodland, native and ornamental shrub and perennial borders.
Another common type of organic matter, commercial bark mulch, is readily available everywhere landscaping supplies are sold. While bark mulch has all the elements required of an organic mulch, it is not as beneficial as the recommended mulches. Bark mulch is less natural in appearance (usually reddish), less complimentary to plants' foliage and much more acidic. Certain acid averse plants such as Roses, Fruit trees, Vegetables and Chrysanthemums (to name only a few) will suffer under a layer of highly acidic bark mulch.
Planting Spring Annuals
Now that your garden is spruced up and ready for enjoying the new growth and blooms of spring it isn't too late to give your garden a pick me up with the addition of some spring flowering annuals. Your freshly cultivated beds are perfect for planting new annuals. As the wet weather tapers off and overnight temperatures increase flowering annuals will thrive. Simply purchase bedding plants from your favorite garden centre, add a dusting of bone meal and 6-8-6 granular fertilizer to your soil and start planting. When purchasing annuals be sure your site is appropriate for the species you choose. {I.E. Pansy (part-shade) Wallflowers (sun).}
These important spring garden tasks will make the most of your maintenance time and keep you busy while the days get warmer and longer. While you complete these jobs you can be planning your veggy garden, perennial plantings, additions to cutting gardens or your next water feature.
- Allison Marr
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