Rake beds and borders to remove debris and mulch. Add a fresh 1-2 inch layer of compost and or composted manure. Gently use digging fork or hand

tool to “mix” new layer into the top 6″ of garden soil. Take care not to turn over the soil because this disturbs the precious nat

ural soil structure.

Make a list of the plants you’d like to grow. Include information such as spacing requirements, planting times, and days to maturity. This plan will help you know where to transplant your seedlings and when you might expect to have space to plant others later in the season. For example, radishes only take a month to grow to harvestable size, so you can plant them close to something else that grows slowly, such as broccoli. By the time the broccoli is getting large, the radishes are long since out.

Slugs and snails are notorious for eating early plantings of greens. Acquire some diatomaceous earth, Sluggo or attempt some of the slug deterrents such as beer traps, copper edging or others. Have your slug plan in place by the time you transplant your seedlings.

Remember, lots of other animals are very hungry right now. They may be emerging from hibernation or trying to feed growing families. Even if you didn’t have furred or feathered pests last year, you may yet this year! Generally, little creatures prefer tiny baby plants so consider covering or caging your plants at least until they are  larger. See our resources page for some of our favorite products.

The plants we have for sale in our Spring collection are considered hardy and have been “hardened off” before pickup. However, if we get a late hard frost or, heaven-forbid, a late April blizzard, it’s a good idea to have a contingency plan. “Row Cover” is widely used for early Spring gardens. This cloth is very lightweight (won’t crush seedlings), translucent so that the plant can photosynthesize, and porous so that rain will penetrate. We’ll have some for sale, so check our shop.