Countdown to Spring: Getting Your Yard and Garden Ready

As spring marches forward, your yard and garden might need some attention for proper growth and bounty. We’ve put together some tips to help make your lawn lush and green this summer and the soil in your garden ready for seeds and starts, whether you live in Albany, Sequim, or Redmond.

Check out Gardening with Greta

Read her tips for March, April, and May and put them to use in your own garden. We’ve also put together a guide for native plants and gardening in specific regions of the Northwest.

If you’re unsure what region you live in, check out this list of maps developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) along with Oregon State University. Keep in mind, that most of Oregon and Washington lie in zones 6 through 9 with a few pockets dipping down into zone 5, where temperatures can reach -20º Fahrenheit.

Preparing Your Garden

As the warmer weather comes to your region, prepare your garden soil by adding nutrients. Up to 2” of organic materials can also be beneficial. Once your soil reaches 60º F without freezing at night, you can start to plant specific crops, such as beans, sweet corn, onions, and radishes. This is also a good time of year to plant some marigolds in the garden to deter insects all summer long.

A few other tips include:

• Add fertilizer to trailing berries as well as berry bushes.
• Add compost to perennial vegetables.
• Cut ornamental grasses to just a few inches above the ground.
• Prune deciduous trees and shrubs in eastern areas of each state.
• Add some roses to nearby flowerbeds. On the west side of the Cascade range, you’ll want to plant new roses in March. The east side of both Oregon and Washington might need to wait until April or May, depending on when the ground starts to thaw.
• Remove slugs from garden and planting areas and spray dogwood, sycamore, hawthorn, and willow trees to reduce fungus diseases.
  
  

Caring for Your Lawn

Check out our article on Loving Your Lawn, in addition to these month-long tips:

March: Depending on your climate, you could begin mowing and fertilizing your lawn. Go over your whole lawn removing debris and dead grass. Bag everything you collect or add it to your composter. Try a turf-building fertilizer and a pre-emergent herbicide. This will help control crabgrass and other weeds. If your lawn has developed some mossy spots, kill it off with moss killer.

April: As your lawn starts to grow, lower the blade on your mower and remove all the grass clippings after every mowing. Now is a good time to aerate and dethatch the lawn and add seed to bare patches.

Coastal is Your Springtime Yard and Garden Headquarters

Your West Coast-owned and operated Coastal has mowers, fertilizers, weed killer, yard and garden tools, as well as seeds, starts, and soil to get your yard and garden ready for the coming months.