Colorful autumn leaves.

Seasonal Garden Maintenance Checklist

To keep your garden healthy and beautiful throughout the year, it’s essential to stay on top of maintenance tasks in every season. From spring planting to winter cleanup, here’s a handy checklist to help you keep your garden in tip-top shape:

Spring:
  • Prepare garden beds by removing debris and weeds, and amend soil as needed.
  • Plant cool-season vegetables and flowers, and start warm-season seeds indoors or in a greenhouse.
  • Prune shrubs and trees to promote healthy growth and remove dead or damaged branches.
  • Mulch garden beds to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
Seedlings
The springtime is the time for sowing seeds.
Summer:
  • Water deeply and regularly, especially during hot, dry weather.
  • Harvest fruits and vegetables regularly to encourage continuous production.
  • Monitor for pests and diseases, and take appropriate action to control infestations.
  • Deadhead flowers to encourage repeat blooming, and fertilize container plants as needed.
Plantes being watered.
In the summertime, your most important job is to make sure the plants get enough water.
Fall:
  • Harvest remaining crops and clean up garden beds to prepare for winter.
  • Plant fall vegetables and flowers, and divide and transplant perennials as needed.
  • Apply a thick layer of mulch to protect plants from freezing temperatures and conserve moisture over the winter.
Hand picking salad leaves.
In the fall, it is time to harvest and store the rest of the crop before the winter sets in.
Winter:
  • Clean and sharpen garden tools, and organize your gardening supplies.
  • Plan next year’s garden layout and order seeds and supplies.
  • Prune dormant trees and shrubs, and remove any dead or diseased branches.
  • Clean and store pots and containers, and prepare garden beds for spring planting.
A pruned tree.
A freshly pruned tree with noe thin branches.

As we embrace the joys of growing our own food and staying on top of garden maintenance throughout the seasons, let us cultivate a deeper connection with the natural world and savor the fruits of our labor. Whether you’re tending to your vegetable garden or checking tasks off your seasonal maintenance checklist, may your gardening journey be filled with abundance, vitality, and joy. Happy gardening, dear friends!


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