Spring

Wake Up the Garden

Spring arrives slowly in the Rockies, with snow still possible into May in many areas. But once the soil starts to warm and daylight increases, it’s go-time.

🌱 March

• Start seeds indoors: tomatoes, peppers, brassicas, herbs
• Start tilling and amending outdoor garden beds as needed
• Mid-Late March: Plant peas, kale, and cabbages directly outdoors. They like the cold and will do fine with spring snow. Higher elevations (about 7000 feet) wait till April
• Clean and sharpen tools
• Plan your garden layout & order seeds
• Prune fruit trees and shrubs (before bud break)
• Begin waking up compost piles
  

🪴 April

• Start hardier crops indoors: kale, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage
• Amend garden beds with compost or organic matter
• Direct sow hardy vegetables (in Zone 5): spinach, peas, radishes
• Clean up winter mulch from perennial beds (but leave leaf litter for pollinators until temps are consistently above 50°F)
  

🌸 May

• Transplant hardened-off seedlings outdoors after last frost
• Direct sow carrots, beets, onions, lettuce, and other cool crops
• Plant perennials and cold-hardy annuals
• Start watering schedule
• Begin fertilizing early crops
• Watch for late frosts and be ready with row covers
  

Key Tasks: Seed starting, soil prep, cold-hardy planting, perennial cleanup