Does spring fever have you itching to get out in your garden?

If so, Kate Venturini ’06, M.A. ’10, collected some great tips from URI Master Gardener volunteers to help you get ready for gardening season. Venturini is an outreach programs administrator with Cooperative Extension, and works with faculty, staff, students, and volunteers to extend science-based information to communities to help protect the environment. It may not be time to put tomato plants in the ground yet, but here’s what you can do right now to help your garden grow this season:

• Do a light version of what the pros call “site assessment.” How much sunlight, wind, and water, and how many existing desirable plants do you have? Site assessment will help you identify where to plant a vegetable, herb, flower, and/or rain garden—or even a lawn or privacy screen.
• Have your soil tested for pH and texture to determine its drainage capacity. This will help you choose plants that can thrive in your soil, or amend your soil so you can grow the plants you want.
• Look around your yard for plants that didn’t make it through the winter, and replace them with natives that attract pollinators and other beneficial insects. If nothing died over the winter, add native plants to your gardens anyway!
• Make gardening easier by giving your garden tools some love. Pump up those wheelbarrow tires, bring your lawnmower in for service, remove rust from tools, and sharpen and oil all blades!

For more on these and other topics:

Call or email the URI Gardening and Environmental Hotline at 401.874.4836 or gardener@uri.edu.