Spring Gardening

Spring is a wonderful time of the year! After a long, cold winter, it is always so wonderful to be able to get outside again and start working in our gardens.

Care of Annuals and Perennials in the spring

If you didn’t clean your perennial beds last fall, wait until mid-April before you begin cleaning them in the spring. Those plants have been protected from the plant debris from last year’s growth, removing that before freezing temperatures and snow have subsided would expose the crowns and could kill the plant if cold temperatures return. You can begin to refresh your mulch anytime now. Apply 2-3 inches of mulch around your flower beds to protect them from weed competition and to keep the roots at a uniform temperature with added moisture.

When to Plant in the spring

For new annual or perennial plantings, wait until after the frost free time for the spring. For southeast Nebraska, this is late April to early May. Trees can be planted most any time that the ground is not frozen. Arbor Day is April 24, 2020 so anytime around then is a good time to plant a tree. Shrubs should be planted from April through May.

Vegetable Gardens

Vegetable gardens can be worked in the spring as soon as the ground is dry and workable. Cool season crops such as peas, potatoes, carrots, radish, kohlrabi, lettuce, and spinach can be planted now. Asparagus beds can be cleaned up now and new asparagus patches can be started. Make sure that the soil is dry before you work the garden or plant any vegetables. Planting into mud can compact the soil and disrupt the growth of plants.

Wait to plant warm season crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, corn and beans until after our average frost free date, which is the end of April for southeast Nebraska. I always go with Mother’s Day weekend for a good time to plant warm season crops because we often do still see snow in the first week of May which can harm tender transplants.

Vegetable gardens should be mulched in some way to manage weeds. Grass clippings make a good mulch as long as the lawn hasn’t been treated with any herbicides. If grass isn’t available or isn’t an option for you, you can use straw, newspaper, or wood chip mulch on the garden as well. Preemergence herbicides such as Preen can be used as long as it is labeled for use in the garden. Don’t apply preen around your seeded plants until they have emerged. Plants like beans and peas will need a trellis to grow properly and tomato plants and other tall, bushy plants should be grown in a cage to keep them from falling over. Vining crops, such as cucumbers, can be grown on a trellis if desired. This will keep the plants up with good airflow to help reduce disease and it will make harvest much easier. Be sure to water your garden if rainfall isn’t present. Gardens need about 1 inch of water per week for best growth. Soaker hoses and drip irrigation are the best options to reduce diseases.