Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Tiptoe into Spring
The sun is sparkling in the sky, our temperatures have been flirting with the 50’s and we’re super excited to get out into our gardens and get a head start on spring cleanup! But wait. Flirting with 50’s is fun, however, we are not in a long-term relationship yet.
While the frost is coming up out of the ground, the soil is spongy. If you want to get out there, tiptoe! Not like a thief, more like a flamingo! Let the neighbors talk.
Seriously, tread lightly while you’re out there cutting back your perennials and native grasses.
Use your loppers and prune about 3 inches up from the ground. The dried stems will protect the new growth from rabbits. They don’t want to get poked in the eye. This method makes cutting back large swaths of grasses a whole lot easier. This method also works for some taller perennials too.
I save what I cut back and use it for mulch in my vegetable garden. It works really well.
If you had issues with fungal disease on any of your perennials, clean it up. No reason to get aggressive with the rake, just pick up the slimy stuff and put it in the garbage. I recommend wearing gloves. Don’t compost that fungalated (new word) foliage in your home compost pile. It won’t heat up enough to kill the fungus.
If you have a municipal compost site, you can take it there. I really stress not digging into the soil yet.
If you dig in spongy, wet soil, you’re going to create dirt clods.
We northern gardens are a hardy bunch, which also means we can’t wait to get outdoors and play in the dirt!
So, while you wait to dig, 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?
The man that made this with recycled parts was a friend of mine. He just passed away unexpectedly. TJ, you were the BEST. Silly, loving, kind, generous with his time and his skills to fix anything. He left behind is adored wife, Robin, and their 3 daughters. You are missed my friend. He was on my show, DigIn Minnesota, in 2013… you’ll see some of his other sculptures below.
