Practically, gardening starts weeks before you get your hands in the dirt.
There arelots of tasksto be done, even in chilly late winter weather.
The better you prepare for your gardening season, the more successful it will be.
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Here are 16 tasks for late winter or early spring to get your garden going again.
Comb through your photos and organize all your gardening pics in separate folders.
Take notes on which plants prospered and which did poorly that you should probably avoid growing this year.
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Taking inventory helps you make good choices about what to plant this year.
For example, you might realize that you have very few or no photos of flowers after Labor Day.
This could be your cue to addfall-blooming native perennialsto your landscape to fill that gap.
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If you havent pruned them yet, do it promptly.
Wait until after their spring bloom to prune them.
Gently push frost-heaved plants back into the ground so their roots are no longer exposed to the air.
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Flower and perennial beds, however, are different.
Instead, leave 15 to 20 inches of the stems standing.
Soil test kits are available from your local Extension Office.
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Especially if you have your eyes on specific varieties, supply is limited.
Dig up as much of the roots as possible.
Sharpen blades and edges, oil moving components, and replace worn or cracking handles.
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Remove the potting soil and sanitize the pots with a mixture of one part bleach to nine parts water.
To play it safe, use fresh potting soil because old potting soil may harbor pests and diseases.
Delay Spring Garden Cleanup, Encourage Native Insects.
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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
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