Winter has passed and spring is making a comeback. However, with the return of mild weather and good weather, gardeners must get back to work. Indeed, spring is an important season for the vegetable garden since it is the time to prepare the ground and to carry out its first plantations. Let’s take stock of what to do in the vegetable garden in the spring.
In spring, we prepare the ground
As soon as your soil is no longer covered with water, it is time to prepare it for future plantings after the harshness of winter. If you have mulched your soil in winter, maintenance will be easier since you will have little or no weeding. Nevertheless, clean the ground, remove the roots, the weeds and all the vegetable waste which disfigures the space. Store them in your compost for later.
Also take the time to thoroughly clean perennial crops. In fact, some plants, including strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb, start again at the end of February. Eliminate the old leaves to allow the young to grow without difficulty and mulch the ground all around.
It is then time to prepare your soil and loosen it to promote the planting and growth of your seedlings. Break up the soil well with a spade, a grelinette or a pitchfork if the surface is small. Your soil will then be more airy and warmer to accommodate your seeds and plants. You can put a little sand on the surface, especially if your soil is clayey and compact; this will help your vegetables take root and develop properly.
Finally, mulch the cleaned areas well to keep them clean, to nourish the soil, to create a favorable ground for the reception of insects and micro-organisms useful to your plantations and to preserve the humidity of the soil with the first heat.
In the spring, we prepare our future plantations… by planting!
To have good harvests when the time comes, it is important to help nature… with nature. Indeed, everything fits together and works together, provided you know how to orchestrate all this little world. To promote the good growth of your plantations, attract pollinating insects and to do this, plant bee plants. They are pretty and flowery, which pleasantly decorates the vegetable garden, and they quickly bring in bees, ladybugs, gendarmes and other useful insects which will be real allies for your garden.
Do not hesitate to plan the plants to associate with the future plantations that you wish to do this year. Nature helps and supports itself by good associations. So think about plants suitable for the practice of companionship. Aromatic plants repel unwanted insects, basil protects tomatoes, sage protects cabbage, calendula keeps rodents and beetles away, nasturtiums keep aphids away, garlic repels ants, etc. You can see that everything helps each other perfectly naturally.
Think about it! You will be able to decorate your vegetable garden with useful, pleasant and decorative plantations, and you will at the same time avoid the use of repellents! As a result, you will reduce your efforts and the time to devote to these struggles. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it!
In the spring, we start our first sowing
From April, you can plant some vegetables that do not fear the cold, such as radishes, carrots, salsify, summer spinach and peas. Wait until May, until the earth has warmed up, to plant your leeks and lettuces.
On the other hand, you can prepare certain seedlings and keep them under cover before planting them in late spring. This is the case with courgettes and other squashes, eggplants, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and turnips. A small greenhouse or frame is ideal for these plantings.
Your vegetable garden is ready! All you have to do is take care of its maintenance before you can harvest your first vegetables.