Winter Month Gardening Tips to Prepare for a Bountiful Garden
It may be the height of winter cold, but many gardeners are beginning to feel their hands itch for a gardening spade or long for the feeling of dirt in their hands. If you’re already thinking of your spring garden, you’re not alone. Here are gardening tips you can use now to prepare for spring planting:
Get started on indoor seed plantings. Starting your seeds indoors is cheaper than buying starter plants, and it gives you some fun in the late winter, before the ground is ready for planting. Be sure to treat your indoor starters like the babies they are, spritzing them instead of watering, and giving them nutrients as needed.
Get your tools ready for hard spring and summer work. You can sharpen your tools in late winter to prep them for getting started planting in spring. By sharpening them, you’ll have them ready for spring, but you’ll also extend their life by taking good care of them.
Think about doing some beginning gardening strategies. If you have young kids in the house or you would like to pass your love of gardening on to another family member or friend, you might want to plan a simple beginner technique. A container garden, or even a bag garden, can be a great way to demonstrate the ease with which you can get started gardening.
Begin to prep your soil. Even the most enthusiastic gardener may dread tilling and testing soil, but it’s a task you can get out of the way while you wait to do the more fun tasks. Buy a simple kit to test your pH level and get started tilling. You’ll be glad it’s finished when it’s time to plant.
Work on your compost. Compost offers nutrients to your plants, and it’s easy to get started on a composting system. Even better, your community may offer free composting for local gardeners. After you’ve cleared your soil and removed weeds, add a four-inch layer of compost before planting.
Prune your trees and shrubs. Winter is a great time to prune without negatively impacting spring growth. Be careful to check into proper pruning techniques for each type of tree or shrub, but this can be a beneficial winter activity that gets you in the gardening mood.
Plan your garden layout. Research which plants work best in your climate, keeping watering and sun needs in mind for your backyard setting. Then think about the types of plants you enjoy, whether it’s vegetables or ornamental plants, and begin to sketch out a grid for your spring garden.
Get organized. One of the best gardening tips appeals to the organizational skills that seem to go along with a green thumb. Using plant markers to keep your garden organized and allow you to provide individualized care to each plant is a great investment for your garden.
For more gardening tips and to see the full selection of plant markers made for a lifetime of gardening, look no further than Kincaid Plant Markers. We offer high-quality plant markers that will get even the novice gardener excited about getting started this spring. Contact us to learn more.
