Spring work in the garden, what needs to be done before warm days
Spring, the most beautiful time of the year and the most time-consuming for gardeners. When the snow is just beginning to melt, the owners of the plots are already starting spring work to prepare the garden for the new season. Our article will help you properly prepare the garden for the spring-summer period, tell you what tools you may need for work, how to choose the right fertilizer, how to treat the garden in the spring from pests and diseases.
Content
- Before starting work video
- Necessary tools
- Spring pruning video
- Soil fertilizer
- Pest and disease protection video
Before starting work
Spring garden work begins with cleaning. It often happens that a gusty winter wind brings garbage into the garden and breaks branches, it is time to clear your site from them.
Also, you should check the status of the working tools - make sure that they are working and ready for use. Trees and shrubs affected by the disease can be treated or removed depending on the degree of infection. Cut off faded flowers, clear the soil of fallen leaves.
Probably in late autumn, you provided some plants with frost protection with straw, peat or bark, at the end of March the protective layer is removed and used in the future as fertilizer. But frosts can come back even in May, so do not put your protective equipment far away, it’s convenient to use a greenhouse film for temporary protection.
If you plan to plant new plants, dig up the soil and fertilize if necessary, remember that fertilizers should be chosen when you have clearly decided on the choice of plants.
Necessary tools
Working in the garden in the spring does not do without a working tool, let's look at what tools are needed and for what.
- Cleaning garbage, branches and leaves - rake. To remove dry grass under shrubs and from the lawn, it is more convenient and safer to use a fan rake.
- Pruning of tree branches and bushes - scissors (secateurs). For pruning trees, a secateurs with a long handle are better suited.
- For trimming hedges and other ornamental shrubs - brush cutter
- Removing shrubs and plants - ax cleaver, garden saw, hacksaw.
- Preparing the land for sowing (digging) - bayonet shovel
- Loosening and digging roots - garden pitchforks
- Plant Protection Against Diseases and Pests - Garden Sprayer
All these tools must be sharpened and rust free before starting work.
Spring pruning
The garden needs pruning in early spring. In late February - early March, the weather is favorable for the planned pruning of fruit trees and shrubs. Late pruning, when the buds are already swollen, can do more harm than good. Before starting work, make sure that the weather forecast assumes a positive temperature, as frost adversely affects fresh sections.
Fruit trees are pruned to increase the flow of sunlight to the fruit by removing dry and broken branches. Also, trees are cut to reduce height, allowing light to reach other plants. Cutting healthy branches on fruit trees for the purpose of aesthetics is not beneficial for fruiting.
The branches of shrubs are trimmed by a third of their growth, this will increase the growth of young shoots, on which inflorescences will appear this year.
In the first year after planting, ornamental shrubs are trimmed to 20 cm for a higher density of greenery. The hedge is trimmed to even out the shape, mowing the lawn updates the green cover.
Soil fertilizer
A further spring gardening procedure is fertilizing the soil. For this purpose, it is safer to use natural fertilizers such as peat, compost or vermicompost. However, organic fertilizers are mainly used only in the autumn period, the dilemma of choice arises here, how then to choose the right fertilizer?
In spring, fruit plants and vegetables are supplemented only with nitrogen fertilizers, since nitrogen is washed out of the soil faster than other elements. If the soil is not fertilized in the fall, organic fertilizer is welcome. Please note that peat is suitable only for acidic soils (pH 3.5-4.5) and contains few useful minerals, a more convenient option is a peat substrate enriched with useful substances for all plants. Compost is a universal fertilizer and is available in any area.
Fertilizers for ornamental shrubs and plants are selected for a specific group, for example, there are ready-made fertilizers for needles, roses and bulb flowers. Perennials and annuals respond best to organic fertilizers, but, as already mentioned, they are used only in autumn. In the spring, two weeks before dividing the roots and planting seedlings, the soil can be fertilized with calcium nitrate (0.3 kg / 10m) or ammonium nitrate (0.16 kg / 10m). Bulbous plants are recommended to enrich with potassium (0.30 kg / 10m) in early spring.
Pest and disease protection
Spraying the garden in the spring from possible pests and diseases is necessary for the entire site. When the temperature reaches 10C heat, this is a signal of the start of spraying of trees, it is important not to miss the time, otherwise later, it will be more difficult to deal with insects and damage.
Processing the garden in the spring primarily protects plants from pests, because they not only spoil the leaves and fruits, but can also become carriers of various diseases. Immediately discard the desire to cover the tree trunks with lime, this action, contrary to all statements, does not protect, but harms. If you want to color the trees for aesthetics, it is safer to use a water-based paint for this purpose, and moreover, such coloring can be done in the autumn to protect the bark and thin branches of the tree from drying out.
Chemical spraying sprays are purchased in specialized places, carefully read the packaging, there the plant species is strictly defined, the production date and recommendations for safe operation are indicated.
Organic sprays can be easily prepared at home. To do this, choose onions and garlic (200 g each peeled), dried nettle leaves (200 g), tansy (50 g), wormwood (50 g) or mint (100 g) per 10 liters of water, after 2- 3 days infusion is ready to use. Processing the garden from pests in the spring with the help of biological infusions provides effective protection provided that it is regularly sprayed.
