Spring brings the anticipation of two things: preparing the garden and preparing my taxes. The former I tend to get excited about too early. The latter I tend to put off until the last minute. Going through my 2017 receipts this third week in March, I see that I was heading out into the garden the first week in April last year. Seeing as though I have a good 6 inches of snow covering my garden at the moment (thanks, Four’easter) and the forecast doesn’t call for warming anytime soon, I figure this was a good reminder of the dos and don’ts of the spring garden.

The Dos

Do head out into the garden with a cup of hot tea and take a look at what might need fixing. Winter can be hard on stone or brick walkways. Wood frames might be leaning. Winds may have blown branches and such into the space. Clean up and repair what you can now so you can save time later.

Do lift up mulches and see what is emerging underneath without removing all of it. Are those spinach seeds you planted last fall coming up? No? Then that’ll help you plan what to plant in the coming weeks.

Do turn over your living cover crop. If you planted winter rye or another type of winter cover crop now is the time to get slice through the top few inches of soil and flip it upside down so the decaying plant material can nourish the soil.

Do plant your spring cover crop. Now is the time to plant that cover crop of peas specifically to let the plants decay and nourish the soil. This is typically done on a section of garden that you are saving for summer vegetables.

Do start weeding! Weeds are some of the first plants to emerge in spring. Get them now to help control them later.

Do start laying out your garden paths and covering with some type of mulch. I recommend laying down those paper yard waste bags to help keep the weeds down. They will eventually disintegrate.

Do consider growing something different this year and plan for that. For me that will be okra. What’ll it be for you this year?

The Don’ts

Don’t plan one year based on the previous year. I can hear you saying, “But but but …” I know, it used to be that you’d plant peas on St. Patrick’s Day. Or hang the geranium baskets out for Memorial Day. Once upon a time and not too long ago weather patterns were fairly stable and could be relied upon to guide gardeners through the season. Climate change has made these weather patterns less of a guide and more of a sparring partner for the spring garden.

Don’t get ahead of yourself. Keep an eye on the long-term forecast for weather steadily in the 50s before you start planting your cold-tolerant spring veg crops such as broccoli and spinach.

Don’t forget to acclimate any seedlings that have been growing indoors to the outdoor conditions. That means bringing them outdoors gradually—maybe an hour or two on a cloudy, not-too-cold day at first then exposing them to gradually more sun and more time outdoors.

Don’t buy those tomato plants sitting outside the Big Box store. Don’t do it! It’s pretty much a death sentence for the plants and an extra sale for the store. Wait until the end of May!