Getting Ready for the Planting Season: A Spring Garden Prep Guide

Spring is finally here, which means it’s time to shake off the last traces of winter and get the garden ready for another growing season. Over the weekend, my son Richard, Emily, and I spent a few hours outside, tackling the first big step—cleanup and preparation.

We started by pulling out dead roots, raking up stems and leaves, and clearing out the winter debris, including some stray plastic bags that had blown in over the season. Emily jumped right in, helping organize our gardening tools and supplies while also tying up some loose poles and fencing that had shifted over the winter.

As we worked, Emily made an interesting discovery—some Daikon radish had managed to survive the winter! It was a nice surprise and a reminder of how resilient some crops can be.

Once the garden beds were cleared, Richard and I turned our attention to the space outside the fence, raking up the leaves, stems, and roots to use as mulch for the raspberry beds—a simple but effective way to nourish the soil while keeping weeds at bay. Finally, Emily dumped bags of crushed eggshells and used coffee grounds onto the upturned soil, boosting calcium and nitrogen levels to enrich the garden for the season ahead.

Now, with the groundwork laid, all that’s left is turning over the soil in the coming weeks and getting ready for planting.

Hardy Vegetables to Plant in April

Even though it’s still chilly in New England, some vegetables thrive in cooler temperatures and can be planted early. These cold-hardy crops can go into the ground in April:

• Leafy Greens: Spinach, lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, arugula
• Root Vegetables: Carrots, radishes, beets, turnips
• Alliums: Onions, shallots, garlic
• Peas: Snap peas and snow peas love the cool weather
• Brassicas: Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage

Since these plants can tolerate light frosts, they’ll be fine even if temperatures dip at night.

Warm-Weather Crops Need to Wait Until Late May

While it’s tempting to plant everything as soon as possible, some vegetables need warm soil and air temperatures to thrive. We’ll have to be patient and wait until the end of May—after the risk of frost has passed—to plant heat-loving crops like:

• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Eggplant
• Cucumbers
• Squash (zucchini, pumpkins, butternut, etc.)
• Melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.)
• Beans (green beans, pole beans, etc.)
• Corn

If these plants go in too early, they’ll struggle in the cold and won’t grow well.

Seeds Germinating Indoors

In the meantime, we’ve started seeds indoors, where it’s warm. Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants benefit from a head start, so they’ll be ready for transplanting by the time the weather is right.

Final Thoughts

Spring gardening is all about timing and preparation. Clearing out old plant material, enriching the soil with organic matter like coffee grounds and eggshells, and planning when to plant each crop will set the garden up for success. Over the next few weeks, we’ll turn over the soil, plant our hardy vegetables, and wait for the warmer weather to bring out the rest.

It’s always a satisfying process, and with Richard and Emily’s help, the work went faster this year. Now, we’re looking forward to seeing those first seedlings sprout and watching the garden come to life.

What are you planting this season?

In Defense of Dandelions

In the sprawling suburbs of America, the quest for the perfect lawn is almost a cultural obsession. This green, unblemished carpet serves not only as a personal oasis but also as a public display of discipline and decorum. Yet, amidst this sea of manicured turf, one little yellow head often pops up to disrupt the verdant calm—the dandelion. Often maligned and vigorously battled against, these resilient flowers are typically seen as nuisances that mar the visual purity of our lawns. But what if the American aversion to dandelions is more than just an aesthetic judgment? What if it reflects a deeper cultural discomfort with the unpredictable and uncontrollable aspects of nature?

Dandelions, with their bright yellow blooms and fairy-tale seed heads, are nature’s rebels. They thrive in adverse conditions, spreading cheerfully wherever the wind takes them. However, in the context of American lawn culture, they are often viewed not as symbols of resilience but as invaders disrupting the uniformity of meticulously maintained grass. The typical American lawn, with its vast, uninterrupted greenness, is a canvas on which homeowners project their ideals of order and control. A single dandelion—let alone a cluster of them—breaks this visual rhythm, introducing chaos into the controlled environment.

This battle against dandelions may seem trivial, but it's emblematic of a larger cultural narrative. In many ways, these plants challenge the values embedded in the American dream—values like conformity, control, and the taming of the wild. Dandelions do not conform to the rules of the lawn; they do not bend to the will of the gardener. Instead, they grow where they please, blooming brightly and seeding prolifically without regard for human preferences.

So why do we disdain these vibrant little flowers? It may be because they make us face the limits of our control. They remind us that nature often operates outside the lines we try to impose, and they question the viability of a culture that prizes uniformity over natural diversity. In this way, dandelions are not merely weeds; they are messengers from the wild, inviting us to reconsider what we value in our environments and why.

Instead of waging a relentless war on these sunny invaders, perhaps it’s time to appreciate the beauty and resilience they bring to our lawns. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to let a few dandelions stay, to celebrate their tenacity and their willingness to grow anywhere—a true testament to the untamable spirit of nature itself. After all, in a world that values order and predictability, a little bit of rebellion can be a breath of fresh air.