Spring Gardening Tips

The first thing you need to do, if it is a while since you were last out in the garden is to give it a good clean up.

You will want to get rid of any garbage that might have collected and get started on tidying it up a bit. Be on the look out for any weeds, get rid of them and then try to keep on top of clearing them.

You should aim to weed your garden at regular times so that they don't get the chance to establish themselves.

Once we get to around about mid spring you will have to be mowing any lawns on a regular basis. Again aim to set a schedule of doing it weekly or perhaps even more frequently as the weather starts to get warmer.

It can be a good idea to get some spring and summer lawn fertilizer now so that you can help your grass grow. That way you will have a greener lawn to enjoy later in the year.

Now is also the best time to make sure that you have bought any gardening tools that you are going to need. For any that you already have, like shovels and shears, you will want to make sure that they are sharpened and ready to use!

Rome wasn't built in a day and nor was a beautifil garden full of flowers, shrubs and beautiful lawns! So don't over-estimate what you are going to achieve if you are a new gardener.

One of the best piece of gardening advice I can give you is to start small. If you try to do too much too quickly then you will soon become overwhelmed and probably get discouraged.

If you start slowly and take on board the simple habits around taking care of your garden, I have mentioned already. Using the garden waste you are generating from this routine you can perhaps start to create your own compost.

If you achieve that much during the spring together with choosing and planting a few different plants that you would like to see in the summer, then you will have done well and have something to show for your efforts!

To give you some ideas of bulbs to plant in spring which then flower in summer or autumn you cannot go far wrong with Begonias and Dahlias.

I love gardening because for me there's nothing better than being able to watch the garden come to life! I hope that you will soon be feeling the same!

When you are first starting as a gardener planting your plants can all seem very confusing! You have to get them them out of their pots, decide where you are going to plant them and then try to dig a hole which is the right size! It really isn't that difficult, however, like anything if haven't done it before it can all seem rather daunting.

So let's take a look at how to go about planting plants.

1. Decide Where You Are Putting Them

Before you actually get round to planting anything you need to decide where you are going to plant them!

The easiest way I have found of doing this is to leave them in their containers and then arrange them in the places you think you might want to plant them. If you don't think they look right then move them around.

Just keep moving them until you are happy with where you have placed them. Don't move them once you decide where you are going to put them otherwise you will have to go through the whole thing again! Leave the plants where you are going to plant them so that you will know where to dig the holes.

2. Digging The Holes

When you first start gardening, people can get concerned about about digging the holes. How deep are they meant to be? What if you make the hole too big or too small? It can be a bit confusing however remember if you make it too big, you can fill it back in with the loose soil and if it's too small you can dig some more soil out.

As a general guide you want to plant at the same level that it is in the container it came in. So you will want to dig your hole as deep as the container it came in. You might want to go a little deeper and make the soil a little loose so that the roots will have an easier time burrowing into the soil.

You also want to make the hole a little wider than the pot so that there is some room for you to get in there and settle the plant in.

3. Remove The Plant From The Pot

Another garden task that people worry about is removing the plants from the containers they came in.

You might worry that you will damage them as you try to get them out of the pots. The best thing to do is to pinch the sides of the pot which will help to keep the soil from clinging to the pot. Then gently grasp the stem of the plant and start to turn the pot upside down which lets the roots, soil and plant slide out. If the plant won't move then you can always gently cut the pot away.

4. Planting The Plants

Start by gently trying to spread out the roots. You will sometimes find that they are really compacted so you will need to gently tear them apart although not too roughly! You want to loosen them a little so that they can then grow down into the soil. Once you have done that place the plant into the hole spreading the roots as much as it is possible. Do make sure that your plant isn't leaning to one side.

Once your plant is securely in the hole you have carefully dug and the top of the soil is level with the top of the hole, make sure that you fill any empty spaces in with the soil you had originally removed from it. Then gently but firmly pat it down, not so that it is compacted, but just enough to make sure that there are no air bubbles.

Then you want to water the plant and give it some starter fertilizer.

Well done that's your first plant planted!

A Spring Vegetable Garden is definitely on our agenda this year!

Like me you cannot have failed to notice that grocery prices are continuing to rise as well as fuel costs. So you are not alone in thinking that you want to grow your own vegetables.

So establishing your own spring vegetable garden is a great idea.

Before you can begin planting you need to prepare the area you are going to use for your vegetable garden. Start by tilling the area you are planning to use and remove any clumps of grass. Or if you can till deeply you can incorporate the organic matter into the soil.

Do a soil test to see if it has the right mineral content. If you need to add any nutrients to the soil then you need to do that before you start planting.

You are going to find that growing your first vegetable garden will be easier if you start with seedlings. If you do start with seeds, then you will want to start them indoors for about eight weeks before you plant them outdoors.

When you are sure that the ground can be worked the first vegetables to add to your garden are spinach, peas and onions. You may also be able to plant lettuce, beets, carrots, cilantro, dill, radishes, cabbage and broccoli when you know that you are unlikely to get any more frosts or a couple of weeks before the the last frost.

When you are certain that you have had the last frost, you can then plant melons, squash, cucumbers and beans. This is also the time to think about planting tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, pumpkins and basil.

Learning how to plant your own spring vegetable garden can be great fun and very productive. You may even have vegetables that you can use in as little as four weeks.

Make sure that you keep on top of the spring vegetable garden by pulling out any weeds and keep it well watered but not so that it becomes muddy.