Spring Planting Tips,Tricks, and Tools

Do you have spring fever? We sure do. It’s been a long winter here in Montana, and we’re taking advantage of every nice day to get outside, clean up the yard, and prepare ourselves for summer. We know that the days of snow and frost aren’t over yet, but there’s still plenty we can do now. Here are three early season gardening tips and tricks. 1. Spring Cleaning: Cleaning up your garden beds is one of the most important (and fulfilling!) jobs of the season. A great place to start is with your perennials. Finish cutting back any perennials you missed last fall. In fact, some perennials -- like Asther, Balloon Flower, Coreopsis, and Hostas -- prefer to be cut down in the spring. If any of your perennials are getting too big for their britches, now is a great time to divide them up and transplant them. Early spring is also the perfect time to scratch in the surface of your garden beds. Avoiding perennials and bulbs, work the soil with a Garden Rake. A little bit of work goes a long way. Cleaning debris away from your bed allows the sunshine to warm your soil. You’ll improve your soil quality by working in any decomposing materials, and this makes it easier to weed in the future. 2. Spring Planting: The last frost is still far away, but there are plenty of hardy plants out there that won’t mind getting in the ground early. Late-blooming bulbs -- like Dahlias, Calla Lilies, and Gladiolus -- can be planted in early spring. A narrow trowel is the ideal tool for planting bulbs. Its long form can dig deep into the soil, so you can place your bulb at just the right depth. If you’re wondering which cold-tolerant vegetables you can plant in early spring, look no further than Burpee’s complete list of Early Spring Vegetables. They’ve got it all -- from broccoli and snap peas to spinach. Now is also the perfect time to plant garlic and alliums. 3. Starting Plants Indoors: For those who are challenged (or blessed) by short growing seasons like us here in Montana, it’s sometimes necessary to start seeds indoors, either under grow lights, in a greenhouse, or on a windowsill. Whatever your method of choice, a planting dibble will make the seeding process as seamless as possible. Dibbles are a fast and efficient way to poke holes in the ground that are uniform in size and depth. We at Fisher Blacksmithing wish you the best of luck with your spring planting and garden cleanup. And with our collection of hand-forged heirloom garden tools, we hope to help you make your garden as beautiful and as productive as ever.