Check Out This Handy At-a-glance Gardening Guide

Rule number one of spring gardening is to be armed with energy and enthusiasm. More tangible must-haves on your short list of spring gardening tasks might include:Gather Supplies

This is an important step as it can alleviate unnecessary footsteps to and from your house, yard or garage. Items to consider assembling are:

1. Gloves To ensure the success of your gardening experience, you will need to handle dirt. After gardening, try to remove as much dirt as possible from your gloves, and don’t leave them laying around outside. Nothing is more creepy than putting a glove onto your unsuspecting hand, only to have an unsuspecting spider or potato bug crawl up your arm to escape its five-fingered fate.

2. Hand tools You’ll find that having both a hand shovel and a hoe will make it easier for you to achieve gardening nirvana. When shopping for handy items such these, closely scrutinize the strength of the tool where the metal meets the handle. Many cheaply-made gardening hand tools fall apart within the first hour of serious gardening.

3. Gardening apron Some specialty stores sell aprons specifically for gardeners, but if you choose, you can really use any full-fronted apron for gardening to protect your clothing.

4. Padded kneeler This is another modern convenience that can be found at most garden centers and department stores. It is not an absolute necessity, but your knees will thank you if you choose to use one.

5. Floppy hat Wearing a comfortable hat with a broad brim serves two purposes. First, it protects your face from the sun’s harsh rays. Second, you can adjust the brim to help keep the sun from shining into your eyes.

6. Watering can or hose You’ll need to have water close at hand to wet the soil.

7. Potting soil It’s always good when you are planting seeds or flowers to fill in the hole or cover the seeds with potting soil.

8. Seeds, plants It might sound silly, but there have been individuals who have attempted to begin gardening without these essentials. Don’t be one of them.

9. Strong set of additional hands (optional) An extra set of hands can always come in handy after you’re done gardening, especially for massage purposes.

Select The Location

Take a brief inventory of the types of plants you are going to grow, then assess where they might do best, based on the sun’s shining rays. For example, daisies seem to bloom fine in bright sunlight, but impatiens are much better off in partial shade. Similar consideration should also be given for vegetables, shrubs and saplings.

Prepare The Soil

This is where hand tools are invaluable. Depending on how much, if any, prior tilling has been performed on the land, you will need to prepare the soil for planting. If the land has not been tilled, then dig in to about six inches in depth, then turn the soil over.

Remove as many weeds as you can to keep them from inhibiting your plants’ growth. If you are pulling out pieces of sod, shake off as much soil from the bottom as you can.

Add Seeds and Plants

If you are planting seeds, pay heed to the dates and depths printed on the package. After the soil is prepared and turned, plant your seeds according to the instructions. If you are working with plants, dig a small hole for each plant about 3-6″ deep, gently remove one the container, then carefully place the roots into the hole until the plant base stem is even with the ground’s surface. Fill in the hole with potting soil and pat firmly to ensure it is securely planted into the ground.

Water Generously

Almost immediately after your seeds and plants are in the ground, make sure you saturate the ground around them. Forgetting this fact can cause existing plants to shrivel quickly, or stunt seeds’ growth dramatically.

Now that you have your short list of spring gardening tasks, it’s time to “dig” it!