Is Your Yard Ready for Spring? 6 Essential Steps to Prep Your Garden Before Planting Season
Spring might feel like months away, but the most successful gardens are made before planting season begins. Pre-spring is when small actions make a big difference—stronger plants, higher yields, and fewer problems later on.
Here are 6 essential things to do now to set your yard up for success this spring:
1. Refresh Your Soil
Healthy soil is the foundation of every thriving foodscape. Adding compost, organic amendments, and checking soil structure now gives nutrients time to integrate before planting. If it’s been any significant length of time (6 months or longer), then it is beneficial to completely replenish a 2-3” depth with organic amendment to ensure optimal growth opportunities for the spring. Yard to Fork uses a special blend designed to encourage growth in our Sacramento climate. Our Garden Refresh service can help turn your underutilized garden space into a thriving area ready for planting - we even provide the plants for the upcoming season.
2. Prune Fruit Trees & Perennials
Late winter is ideal for pruning most fruit trees and perennial plants because they are still dormant but preparing for a burst of spring growth. Pruning during dormancy allows you to more clearly see the plant’s structure without leaves in the way, making it easier to remove dead, damaged, or crossing branches. At this time of year, cuts stimulate strong new growth as temperatures warm, without putting too much stress on the plant.
Late-winter pruning also reduces the risk of disease and pests. Many insects and pathogens are inactive in colder months, so fresh pruning cuts are less likely to become infected. Improving airflow and light penetration now sets the stage for healthier foliage, better flowering, and more consistent fruit production once the growing season begins. Our bi-annual fruit tree pruning service allows every fruit tree to get the proper pruning at the right time. A late winter or early spring pruning prior to new season growth is ideal to shape the tree and encourage new growth, while a late summer or early fall pruning helps control size and boost fruit quality - especially for the following season on stone fruits like peaches, plums, apricots, or nectarines.
3. Check Irrigation Systems
Spring planting is not the time to discover clogged lines or broken emitters. You wouldn’t want to end up having to hand water things during a heat wave. Test your irrigation now to ensure even watering when plants need it most. We recommend putting everything on an automatic irrigation controller to ensure plants receive the proper amount of watering. Most modern timers feature an app to easily adjust timing from your phone.
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4. Remove Winter Debris
Clearing fallen leaves, dead plants, and weeds reduces pests and disease while giving new growth space to thrive. When insect pests like aphids are present in large numbers in the fall, they can overwinter more successfully and reappear earlier and in greater numbers in spring. Controlling and limiting the population of harmful insects is crucial to balancing your soil’s ecosystem. Although it can be easier to use chemical sprays to “fix” this, applying non-organic methods to your edible garden not only harms the unwanted pests, but it also affects the beneficial insects that help pollinate while negatively affecting your own health. Even though it’s not as easy, Yard To Fork employs only organic pest control methods to keep you and your garden healthy and safe.
5. Plan Your Garden Layout
Sun exposure, spacing, and companion planting all matter. A thoughtful plan prevents overcrowding and wasted space. That’s our speciality - Yard to Fork can help you assess your yard and turn your dream into a reality. We can help determine the best place for certain plants based on optimal sun exposure and taking into account all the various plants wanted. From the hardscape to the landscape, Yard to Fork can plan everything according to what you eat and how you like to cook - creating a beautiful foodscape that is both functional and fruitful.
6. Schedule Early
People often start thinking about spring gardens as the weather starts acting more spring-like, but the reality is that the perfect time is even earlier than that. Prepping the ground, building garden beds, and ensuring the irrigation setup is optimal takes time and spring calendars fill quickly. Booking services early ensures your garden is ready when planting windows open, so you can plant early and harvest more throughout the season.
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