Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Tiptoe into 2023 spring garden cleanup
Normally we’re tiptoeing into spring garden cleanup and I remind my listeners to be gentle in their gardens. While Monday was the “official first day so spring”, THIS year, 2023, has most of the listening area with still abundant snow/rain/slush and temps that are not conducive to gardening.
Soggy, muddy soil compacts much easier. A situation none of us wants. Frost depths vary widely. Check out NOAA where you can put in your zip code and find information within the last week.
I leave my grasses and perennials up all winter for the wildlife so spring is busy with cutting them back.
Be careful, don’t just tramp all over your gardens until you know if the ground is spongy!
If you can, then cut back your ornamental grasses to about 3 inches from the ground. The point is to leave a point that might deter rabbits from coming in and nibbling the new growth before it has a chance!
You can compost the tops or save them as mulch in your vegetable garden. If you have a lot of grasses, one way to cut them back is to tie the grass plant together with string and use electric pruners to make it quick work.
Loppers work pretty well too. Spring cut back opens up the crown of the plant to rain and sunlight, allowing it to green up faster. Grass tops decompose quickly in the compost pile, if necessary cut the taller stems into half or 1/3 to fit into your pile.
- Consider cleaning out those pots you’ll be planting with annuals, perhaps you’ve got a bench to build?
- Or maybe an opportunity to create some art for your garden?
- Don’t rake wet ground, but if you have piles of snow that are NOT frozen you can rake or shovel them out to melt faster and prevent mold.
As of last Saturday, my snow piles are frozen. This yew may or may not recover from heavy snow, now frozen, weighing it down and bending those branches severely. While temperatures for this week were predicted to be hovering around 40 for highs, the lows are below freezing.