Spring Garden

6 Easy Steps To Grow A Spring Garden

The temperatures are in their teens, although some nights are still falling down to single digits. The smell of Spring has arrived and within a short time we will move from an indoor to a Spring garden. Now is the time to start transitioning our vegetable seedlings outside. This is to help them get acclimated to the natural elements outdoors. You may have to bring the plants in overnight if the temperature goes down too low. However, for the most part they are ready to go outside for almost half a day.

In a Spring Garden Cleanup Checklist I shared some things we can do in our backyard to get ready for the Spring. One of the things that was not mentioned was building a garden bed. If you are planning on gardening in your backyard in 2024, consider having a garden bed. For those who live in a big city and have a small space, a garden bed makes a big difference in how well our outside space looks.

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Should I Build A Garden Bed?

The Benefits of A Garden Bed

It is a good idea to build a garden bed because it looks cleaner as well as organized. Plants are easily able to sprawl out all over the place. By building a boundary it separates the garden from the grass. Before you start making your garden bed, there are a few things to do first.

The past few years I did not use a garden bed in the middle of the pergola because the space is set up as a bed already.

For those who have a small backyard, clutter stands out. A garden bed is an easy fix to make the area look cleaner. There is no confusion at what you are growing. This will also stop others from stepping into the bed if there are family members around. A nice simple garden bed keeps us from walking into dirt.

Before Making The Garden Bed Do The Following:

1. Pick Up All The Dandelions

Dandelions are a free gift in our backyard. They are plenty of benefits that come from dandelions and many people simply throw them away. Please research more about dandelions to learn about their benefits and see if you wish to keep them. They are currently showing up in the backyard for those who have one. Let them come into full bloom and spend some time gathering them one of these days.

Collect all the dandelions. Pull them from the root, which is more work, or just pick off the flower tops. Both ways will be beneficial, but if you pick the dandelions from their roots their purpose will last much longer. Picking the flower provides a short-term benefit, but it is valuable nevertheless.

In order to get rid of dandelions and keep them from growing back in your backyard though, remove them by their root. In the long run it is best to pick up the whole thing and use both the flower and the root. When they are picked from the root it can be used to make dandelion tea. Make sure to clean it thoroughly and leave it out to dry.

2. Pull Out Weeds

After picking up all the dandelions, pull out all the other weeds in the grass. It is best to get this work done now before it starts to get uncomfortably humid outside. If it is already hot in your area, wake up early in the morning to get the work done. This is when there are not as many flies around. Take advantage of the warmer weather and spend some time pulling out weeds.

If you do not wish to be on your hands and knees digging the weeds out , invest in a weed puller. The price is reasonable and valuable to have as it saves from stressing your back. Weed pullers will capture the weed and dig it out from the dirt very nicely. Afterwards there may be holes in your ground, but before doing anything about it, complete the next step first.

3. Mow The Lawn

Once the dandelions have been plucked out and the weeds are taken out, mow the lawn. Since our backyard is so small I use a weed whacker and it is done within 20 minutes.

However, if you backyard is big with a lot of grass and it looks unkempt, mow the lawn and clean up the area. This is all complete before making a garden bed. By completing these steps a foundation is set to create a boundary with a simple garden bed.

4. Flowers On The Lattices-Spring Garden

On our pergola we have beautiful flowers on two of the posts. I added two lattices so that the flowers can grow straight up and eventually over the pergola. This is another step to get cleaned up before I start. Take any vines that have fallen over and lift them up by putting them through the holes of the lattices.

Once they are inside the holes and securely placed they will remain intact and grow more. As we head into the summer the flowers will bloom and the vines will continue growing upwards. This will make for a beautiful flower covered pergola in the near future. For those growing flowers in their garden, remove all the old wilted branches that will not grow anything new this year. Pick up the vines, branches, leaves and twigs to throw away.

5. Cover the Holes From Pulling Out Weeds To Grow Fresh Grass

Lastly, cover the holes up in the ground left from digging up the weeds by filling them up with some dirt. Even out the dirt so that it is levelled along the ground. Sprinkle some grass seeds over the dirt. Then either add some rain water or some tap water. These areas should be kept moist but not damp to help encourage grass to grow in that area. You will see results within a week or two of fresh grass. Make sure to check on these areas to see that the soil is not dry. If it is, water it again.

6. Build A Simple Garden Bed

The soil has been tilled and you can now start to place a garden bed on the ground. Make sure that the wood purchased to make the garden bed is not chemically treated. Measure the size of the bed and either have the pieces of wood cut professionally or do the cutting on your own. Choose a corner that receives the best natural sunlight to build the garden bed around.

Either layer the wood to have a higher raised bed or keep it basic and just slightly above the ground. Let it sit empty for a week or so until the weather gets hotter and it is time to plant. This way you are only left with the easy and small stuff remaining such as planting your seedlings.

Spring Garden Summary

Instead of leaving everything to be done all at once, take steps in preparing the space for more things to come. Check out the Spring Garden Cleanup Checklist to tick off all the tasks to complete before the Summer. Enjoy getting set up for a successful garden in 2024.

Please Note:

**This article was originally posted on mcinthehouse.com on May 18 2023**

**Newly updated on April 29. 2024**