As a new gardener, I didn’t really understand why my garden beds needed some early spring attention. I thought all I needed to do was to dig a hole and stick the plant in the ground. But then I couldn’t figure out why my tomatoes, zinnias, and basil didn’t do very well.

Today, as a seasoned gardener, I now understand why my plants failed. The soil needed some care to make sure that it could support the growing plants. As we get closer to the growing season, we need to take the time to get our garden beds ready.

No matter what you’re planting in your garden, take time to ensure that those plants will get all the nutrients they need for a good start. I want to share the steps I take each spring to prepare my garden beds for the new growing season.

There are two categories of garden beds to cover. The first type of bed is an empty bed that you plant each year from scratch. This could be a vegetable bed or a bed for your cutting flowers. The second category is your perennial beds and flower borders. These established beds won’t require as many steps because you’re not replanting the entire bed.

7 Steps to Get Your Garden Beds Ready…

Before you can begin theses steps, make sure the soil is workable. If you’re still dealing with snow, ice or frozen dirt, then you need to wait for warmer weather.

These seven steps are useful for garden beds where you start from scratch each year. Whether this is an in-ground bed or a raised bed, follow these steps to get the bed prepped for the season.

Step 1: Clean Up Old Debris

Begin with a clean slate. Take an afternoon and clean up your garden beds. Remove the old plants you left in the ground last fall. Gather up any branches that have blown into your garden from winter storms. Maybe you have a crop of early weeds springing up. Whatever the mess you find in your garden bed, it’s time to get it cleaned up.

If you’re concerned about nesting places for pollinators, consider piling the debris beside your compost pile until the temperatures have warmed up enough for the pollinators to hatch.

Tip: If you keep the roots of old plants in place, this can add nutrients to the soil and help provide aeration. Just snip off the older plants at ground level. However, if the root ball is massive, you’ll need to remove it to make room for your new crop.

Step 2: Test Your Soil

Have you ever tested the soil in your garden? Now is a good time to find out what nutrients your soil might lack. To do this, dig a small hole in a garden bed. Take a few tablespoons of soil from the bottom of the hole and place in a Ziploc bag or jar. Don’t stop there. Take samples from multiple garden areas and add it all together. You should end up with about a cup of soil.

There are several options for testing the soil. You can purchase a home test kit which will usually test the levels of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous. Some kits also test your soil’s ph level. Check out your local garden center or online for these do-it-yourself kits.

You can also send your soil away to a soil testing service. Start by checking with your local Extension Office to see if they offer services or have a recommended company. These companies often will measure more nutrients besides the three basic ones.

Once you have test results, you’ll know what you need to add into your garden soil to help improve it. The quality of your soil is going to set the stage for your beautiful and productive garden. Putting in the effort to create your best soil will do wonders for growing lovely flowers and delicious food.

Step 3: Add a Layer of Compost or Aged Manure

Top dress your growing areas with compost and/or aged manure. While some gardeners like to mix the compost into the soil, it’s unnecessary. Placing the compost on top will allow the nutrients to leach into the soil over time.

One advantage of this is that you will reduce your weed population. Every time you turn the soil over, you potentially bring weed seeds to the surface where they get the sun and water they need to grow. By keeping the compost on top of the soil, you decrease not only the weed seeds but also this can help smother potential weeds already on the soil surface.

Keep in mind that when you plant into your garden beds, you can add some additional compost into the bottom of the hole to ensure nutrients at the base of the plants.

Step 4: Cover Soil to Help it Warm Up (Optional)

If you prepare your beds early enough, cover the soil for a few weeks with a tarp. This not only protects from loss of your top-dressed compost but also can help warm the soil up before you actually plant into the bed. While this is not critical, it gives you a jumpstart in the growing season. Once you’re ready to plant, just remove the tarp.

Note: This step is optional, but it can help you get plants in the ground earlier in the season.

Step 5: Plan Out Your Garden Beds

For the best growing year, plan out your garden beds in advance. Whether you’re planting from seeds or transplants, it’s a good idea to know what you’re going to put into each bed. This way, you can make sure that you have enough of the plants you want for the season.

Planning can help you make the best decision for placing your plants. For example, you don’t want to plant tall sunflowers in front of shorter flowers or you could block the sunlight from them. You also wouldn’t want to plant a drought tolerant plant next to something that needs abundant moisture.

Take some time to think through your garden beds in advance and you’ll end up with more bounty during the growing season. You can find information on planning your garden on this post… 4 Simple Steps to Plan Your Best Garden.

Tip: When you’re planning, consider purchasing a bouquet to inspire you. The beauty and fragrance can remind you of why you’re going to the effort to plan.

Step 6: Add a Layer of Mulch

Mulch is the perfect covering for your garden beds to help reduce the growth of weeds and retain moisture for your plants. There are so many options for mulch depending on where you’re putting it. If using mulch in your perennial bed, you could use something like wood chips. In your vegetable beds, you might use grass clippings or chopped leaves. Here are a few choices for mulch…

• Wood Chips/Shavings
• River Rock
• Pea Gravel
• Chopped Leaves or Leaf Mold
• Grass Clippings
• Straw
• Pine Needles
• Landscape Fabric

When to add the mulch will depend on what type you’re using. If covering the ground with a liner, lay it out first and then cut holes where your plants will be. However, if using wood shavings, leaves, or grass clippings, you can lay them out before planting and then just move the mulch aside and dig a hole to plant into. You could also wait on the mulch until after you planted your flowers and vegetables.

Note: If using a tarp (Step 4) to warm the soil, remove it before placing your mulch. You could also cover your bed with the tarp after applying mulch but before getting your plants in the ground.

Step 7: Give it Time

I highly recommend that you prepare your beds before the growing season begins. This will give your beds a chance to settle in a bit before you plant into them.

While your bed is getting settled into place, gather the supplies you need for the growing season. Supplies could include seeds, seed starting equipment, tools, fertilizer, and transplants.

How to Prepare an Established Perennial Bed…

With your established beds, there’s not as much work that needs to be done to get it ready for spring. Follow these steps to ensure abundant blooms this season.

Step 1: Clean Up Old Debris

Clean out of any debris that has built up over winter. Removing leaves, dead branches etc will help the garden bed to look fresh.

Step 2: Prune Shrubs and Perennials

Next, you’ll want to determine which shrubs and perennials need to be trimmed up. Start with the perennials and remove any dead stems you let overwinter in the garden. Most perennials can be cut to ground level unless new growth has emerged. Then you’ll need to be careful not to cut too low and damage the fresh growth. Peonies, phlox, and coneflower are a few examples.

When it comes to your flowering shrubs, some will need to be cut back significantly while others will need just a light haircut. This will depend on the type of shrub. Find more details about pruning your shrubs in this article… Prune Your Shrubs and Trees for Amazing Growth This Year.

Step 3: Add Compost or Aged Manure

Your perennials and shrubs benefit from regular nutrients. An easy way to supply nutrients is with compost and aged manure. To do this, rake back any mulch around your plants and then add a layer of compost or manure at the base of the plant. After spreading the compost, move the mulch back into place.

Step 4: Refresh Your Mulch

Over time mulch can break down or get raked out of the beds. It’s a good idea to refresh the mulch if possible. Some mulch might need to be cleaned out. For example, we use river rock on top of landscape fabric as a mulch in many of our perennial beds. Over time, dirt blows into the beds and settles under the rocks. Then weed seeds can begin to sprout and grow. So every few years, we need to clean out the accumulated dirt in these beds to reduce the potential for weeds.

Step 5: Plan your Beds

Planning is still recommended for your established beds. You might have some perennials that you want to replace. Or maybe you need to refresh your spring blooming bulbs. Perhaps it’s time to divide your peonies and daylilies. You might also have some open areas where you want to include annuals for the season. Take some time to think through each garden bed to determine what changes you want to make this year.

Getting your garden beds ready to go for the season can make the spring planting process so much easier. When it’s time to get your vegetables and annual flowers in the ground, all you’ll need to do is dig a hole and plant. Your soil will be ready and waiting for the new life that’s ahead.

Get your garden beds prepped and ready to go and your plants will thank you. No more wondering why your flowers and veggies are struggling to grow. Now is the time to get your garden beds ready for spring.