Much like a business planning their website’s content calendar, homeowners should create a garden calendar that lists gardening tasks from month to month.
Let’s take a look at the first six months of the year to see how busy you stay working in your garden.
January
You don’t have to endure high winds and relentless cold to garden in January. This is the perfect month to plan your gardening activities for the rest of the year. Decide what types of fruits and vegetables you want to plant and grow, and where you want to grow each plant in your garden. January is a good month to flush your driveway and walkways to remove moss and other organic material that smothers plants.
February
Start by arranging your plants to create sturdy plants ready to place in your garden in the spring. Replace the top layer of garden soil with fresh compost to provide a nutrient base rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Prune bushes and shrubs in anticipation of rapid growth when temperatures begin to rise. The most important garden job for February is weeding the entire garden.
March
March generally announces the first airs of spring. This is a great time to rake the lawn and garden and aerate the soil. Aeration promotes root growth of grass and plants. Mow the grass as needed, but remember never to remove more than 30% of the blades of grass. Add fertilizer to flower beds to enrich the soil with nutrients.
April
Use April to take a break from the first three months of the year and review the results of your hard work. If you discover empty spaces in your freshly cut lawn, sprout grass seed into the bare soil to create a beautiful summer lawn. Secure the rose bushes and vines to the supports you have placed on the ground. April is also warm enough to move bushes and hedges.
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This is the month to spray potted plants with a fine mist that won’t harm plant stems or petals. At this time of the growing season, you can expect to mow your lawn once a week. Mow the lawn in opposite directions weekly to encourage thick grass growth. You will need to prune bushes and hedges as the warmer weather allows for rapid branch growth. Inspect your garden plants for the presence of slugs and snails. Remove the parasites and take them to a water source away from your home.
June-
By mid-June, you should have plant baskets hanging on the wall for everyone to see. The arrival of summer is the time to move the pots outside to take advantage of the much warmer air. Implement shading measures for plants to prevent extremely hot weather from stunting growth or, worse, killing plants. Your plant’s watering schedule should be changed to early morning or late evening to avoid rapid water evaporation due to high temperatures.