The story below is from our March/April 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Gardening is a year-round adventure — especially with our expert tips on the what and when.
When the days start to lengthen and the temperatures inch up along with the first of the crocuses and the grape hyacinths, you know spring is here. And with it comes the fever: to clean house, to start a garden or just to dust off those long winter blues and get outside in the sunshine.
If you’re anything like me, you might be gripped with the desire to finally really go for it in your garden – this is the year, you tell yourself, when you’ll actually start that vegetable patch. Your Pinterest newsfeed is suddenly a sea of trellis blueprints and companion garden illustrations, projects like green bean tents that, until twelve minutes prior you’d never heard of but for which you now feel a great, ferocious passion. “A vertical squash trellis,” you tell your family, “is just what we need this summer. It’ll be easy!”
But then, after a weekend spending an unbelievable amount of money on seed packets and little wooden stake labels and slabs of dense, stinky mulch, the project seems to stall out. It’s suddenly late June and you’re haphazardly spreading a packet of zinnia seeds too close together onto some hastily cleared soil and hoping for the best.
Having the enthusiasm but lacking a plan (and, you know, general knowledge about gardening) is often what gets me into trouble. So this year I’ve consulted with the experts, including LEAP’s Community Gardens Manager, Hannah Patrick. (See her advice in our checklist in green.)
First of all, know your zone! Roanoke is in Zone 7, meaning the USDA classified hardiness zone that tells us what categories of plants are capable of growing according to our climate. The great news is that our zone is a pretty friendly place for plants. Our winters are generally pretty mellow with lowest temperatures not sticking around for long enough stretches to kill everything off, and our summers are relatively mild and damp. It also means that some cooler weather garden plants (like beets, broccoli and carrots) can be planted out as early as February, and that reblooming plants (like those zinnias we count on for the years we aren’t as prepared!) will produce all the way through the first frost in October or November.
If you’ve got the bug and are looking to start something today, here’s our handy, quick guide checklist for the year to help you start and keep a garden you can be proud of.
Regular, year-round tasks:
- Turn your compost pile (or start one!) “Most people turn their pile every two weeks or even once a month."
- Weed or clear debris from your beds.
- Rake up leaves and clean up dead parts of plants, pruning spent flowers. “I like to encourage people to rake the leaves out of their lawn, but leave them on their property as mulch in their garden beds or around the bases of trees. 'Leave the leaves!' is a popular saying, because they are an important habitat for beneficial insects. So are the hollow stems of perennial flowers and shrubs, so when pruning in the fall or winter, I encourage people to leave at least 18 inches of the dead stalk as habitat for beneficial insect larvae."
- Update your garden journal or calendar for future reference.
March
- Indoor planting season is here! Start your transplants:
- Veg: beets, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbages, tomatoes and peppers are good to start in seed trays.
- Flowers: Anemones, asters, clematis, cosmos, gardenias, marigolds, nasturtium, zinnias
- Herbs: Basil, chives, dill, mint, thyme
- Prepare your soil: clean up any dead debris and add compost. “A rule of thumb for when to clean up in spring to avoid disturbing beneficial insects is when the daytime temperatures are consistently about 50 degrees. That can be hard as we see warmer winters, but mid-March is a good time in our climate to start the spring clean in the garden.”
- Direct sow peas as weather permits.
- Plant bare root plants like fruit trees, roses and asparagus.
- Shrubs and perennials available at garden stores can also be planted outside.
- Prune perennials before new growth appears.
April
- Compost your garden! “When preparing the soil in the spring, some gardeners will till or use a broadfork to loosen and aerate the soil. Aerating your soil is important, but whenever you disturb the soil it brings weed seeds to the surface to germinate. I prefer to broadfork the soil, then water it and allow weed seeds to germinate. I’ll then place a tarp over the bed for 2 weeks to kill off the weeds. Finally, remove the tarp and add compost to the top layer of your bed - it will act both as added fertility and a mulch to suppress future weeds.”
- Begin outdoor sowing and transplanting any seedlings that you started indoors. “Plant things that can tolerate temperatures below 40 degrees– your early spring veggies like kale, collards, lettuce, onions, cabbage, broccoli, etc. Hold off on transplanting your summer vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, squash, cucumber) until around Mother’s Day, or when temperatures no longer dip below 40 at night. You CAN start hardening them off during the day in April, which means putting them outside for a few hours at a time to be exposed to wind and direct sunlight. This will strengthen the plant and improve its tolerance to the often harsh and unpredictable weather of spring.”
- Thin out seedlings into the recommended spacing distance as they grow.
- Start tomato seeds indoors.
- Sow tender annuals like zinnias and geranium indoors.
- Plant hardy annuals like marigolds and sweet pea outside.
- Plant dahlias (you can start tubers in a pot if you’re worried about frost).
May
- This is the month for big outdoor planting! Cucumber, melons, beans, corn and squash can all be direct sowed.
- Transplant tomato seedlings mid- to late-month.
- Fertilize the vegetable garden to jumpstart growth. “Fertilizer can be tricky. A lot of home gardeners tend to over-fertilize their soil and excess nutrients wash away in a heavy rain. Not only is it a waste of money, but this runoff then gets into our streams and negatively impacts aquatic ecosystems. The Roanoke Master Gardeners Association can help home gardeners get their soil tested and interpret the results to know exactly what your soil needs and how much to add.”
- Plant tender annual flower seedlings into the garden.
- Plant dahlias, chrysanthemums and sunflowers.
- Net and stake plants, tying to trellises as needed.
- Water & weed daily.
- Harvest any vegetables.
June
- All vegetables can now be planted directly.
- Plant more carrots, beets and beans for successive harvest crops.
- Keep harvesting vegetables as they grow.
- Stay on top of weeds.
- Dead head flowers to encourage more blooming.
- Water thoroughly weekly.
- Pinch dahlias and branch tender annuals.
- Cut back chrysanthemums at the end of the month to encourage branching.
- Monitor and manage pests and disease. “Critters love tender young plants, and it seems to me that they have an uncanny ability to find them even just hours after I plant them. Covering small plants with row cover is my preferred way of protecting them from squirrels, deer and bunnies. It’s not foolproof, but generally young plants are safe under row cover for a few weeks until they’ve had a chance to put on some growth and can’t be eaten in just one bite.”
July
- Stay on top of harvesting! Regularly clearing fruit and vegetables will keep plants healthy and producing.
- Plant annuals and perennials any time to fill in holes in the garden.
- Water in the morning or evening.
- Deadhead flowers daily.
- Pinch back herbs to encourage new growth.
- Weed daily.
August
- Plant fall foliage like mums.
- Keep planting vegetables like beets, lettuce, kale, radishes and spinach through the month.
- Continue to monitor and treat for pests and disease.
- Plant ornamental cabbages.
- Continue weeding.
- Continue dead heading.
- Water daily!
September
- Plant new trees this month– it gives them plenty of time to develop their healthy roots before the spring.
- If needed, plant your grass seed this month.
- Pot any herbs you want to keep indoors for winter.
- Divide any perennials and replant.
- Tomatoes can be picked earlier to ripen on windowsills if the nights are getting cool.
- Add compost to garden soil.
- Begin cleaning out the overgrown parts of the garden.
October
- Probably the last of the harvests this month – enjoy reaping your rewards for months of hard work!
- Mulch to protect plants during the winter. “Try mulching with leaves instead of bagging them and getting rid of them. Rake leaves off of areas you want to keep in grass and pile them in your garden beds.”
- Clean up the yard: remove weeds, dead plants and cut perennials. Cull out diseased plants or plants that had pest issues. “Try leaving 18” of stem on perennials to provide habitat for beneficial insects. Tidy up, but don’t leave your garden barren! Piles of sticks are great habitat for birds in the winter. Think about reorganizing the debris in your yard into designated areas (raking leaves into garden beds and around the base of trees, making a designated corner of the yard into a brush pile). Rethink what makes a beautiful yard by imagining the perspective of the bees and the birds.”
- Plant spring bulbs and garlic.
- Rake leaves and shred and compost them, or use as mulch.
- Empty and shut off your sprinkler system if you’ve been using one.
- Dig up and store dahlia tubers, chrysanthemums and scented geraniums.
- You can plant potted shrubs, trees and perennials this month.
November
- After the first freeze, add mulch to flower beds to protect them for the winter.
- Remove any remaining dead plants from the vegetable garden.
- Keep raking and composting leaves.
- Empty stone pottery and store it in a shed or indoors, or flip it upside down to protect it from water and ice.
- Clean garden tools and store for the winter.
December
- Move fragile houseplants away from the windows.
- Clean large-leafed houseplants with a damp cloth.
- Shake heavy snow off any outdoor trees and bushes.
- Avoid walking on frozen grass and damaging the lawn.
- Finish your notes in your garden journal or calendar.
- Enjoy your break and start dreaming about next season!
January
- Begin purchasing seeds– it seems early, but most distributors sell out early, so be sure to mark your calendars so you don’t miss out on your favorites!
- Continue to stay on top of heavy snowfall, shaking it off trees and bushes to avoid damaging the plants.
- Put out birdseed and water for our pollinating friends.
- Group indoor houseplants together to help trap humidity between them and avoid drying out from radiator and furnace heat. Gently mist them with water from time to time.
February
- Gather indoor seed starting supplies– remember to reuse any plastic from the years before!
- Fertilize indoor plants as they might start showing new growth.
- Repot any indoor plants that need it.
- Wipe dust from indoor plants.
- Finalize garden plans – review journal/calendar notes from last year.
- Review all seeds and create a seed-sowing schedule.
The story above is from our March/April 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!