Spring has sprung

Spring is finally here!! The first official day of spring this year was March 19 but now that the temperatures are rising, it is starting to feel like spring in Edmonton.

Spring is such an exciting time of year: the geese return, plants begin to grow, the earth is waking up from the long rest of winter. Spring is a very busy time for gardening, there’s always so much to do. It can be tempting on these warm days of early spring to get a head start on cleaning up our gardens, but I encourage you not to do too much too soon.

Many necessary pollinators are still using old plant debris & fallen leaves as shelter. Delaying spring clean up gives them a safe place to be until the temperatures are warm enough to ensure their survival. Some insects overwinter in the soil, the plant debris helps to act like mulch & continues to insulate the soil as it warms up. This is good for plant roots too!

Another very important reason to not clean up your yard too soon is the risk of compacting your soil. Soil is only roughly 50% solid material, the rest of it is pore space. The pore space is needed to hold water & air within the soil.  When we walk on soil, we squish the pore space limiting the amount of water & oxygen plant roots & helpful microorganism have access to. This problem is made much worse when the soil is wet & the pore space is saturated with water from a recent snow melt, or after a heavy rain. Staying out of your garden, & off your lawn until the ground is dry will help protect the soil profile & your plants.

It is best to wait to do your spring clean up until temperatures are consistently over 10 degrees. If you’re really eager & cannot wait, try to at least start small & leave behind the bottom 15cm of perennial stalks for the sleeping pollinators.

Although it certainly feels like spring, it really is better if you can put your spring clean up off just a little longer.