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Spring Chores

I love spring. Perhaps it's Mother Nature's way of rewarding us for slogging though mud season and all those depressing rainy days. I love getting outside and getting my hands in the soil. Spring chores aren't chores for me: they're a chance to play in the garden.

Truly good gardens may look spontaneous, but they are usually the result of planning - and lots of trial and error. I think it's important to take time early each year to make plans for the garden - to decide what needs to be moved, rejuvenated or discarded. And it's always good to decide what plants you need before going to the garden center. While the bulbs are blooming, or before their ephemeral foliage disappears, I try to do two things: First, I like to go around with marking tags and leave messages to myself for the fall. Things like "add purple crocus" or "need tall late tulips". Having turned 60 recently, I don't expect to be able to remember EXACTLY where to plant those things in October when I plant bulbs. So I leave labels.

Secondly, I like to fertilize bulbs now. I spread some compost around their greenery, topdress with organic bagged fertilizer, and scratch it in. The bulbs are bulking up now with the help of their green leaves and our spring sunshine, so adding some nutrition to the soil seems appropriate - even though many books say to do it in the fall (without explaining why).

Spring is also a good time to divide and transplant perennials (with the exception of peonies, which should be moved in the fall). I recently dug up a Queen of the Meadow (Filipendula ulmaria) and moved it. It's a 5-foot tall flower that has panicles of fluffy white or pink flowers on strong stems that likes moist soil in part shade to full sun. Mine was planted too near the front of a flower bed and hid other things, so I moved it.

To move an established perennial, I put a spade into the soil a few inches from the plant at roughly a 45 degree angle, push it in with my foot, then tip the spade back a little to loosen and lift the soil and roots. I work my way around the perennial, repeating the procedure. I use a drain spade with a blade 16 inches long, which allows me to get all the way under most perennials. After I've gone all the way around the plant, I pry it up with the spade and put it into a plastic tote or onto a tarp.

When replanting the perennial in its new location, I dig a hole at least twice the size of the root ball. I mix compost and organic fertilizer into the soil, both beneath it and to the side. I also add rock phosphate, a mineral that promotes good roots and flowering, but doesn't move easily through the soil. Once transplanted, I give the plant a good drink of water to settle the soil and eliminate air pockets. My queen of the meadow was only out of the ground a moment or two - I'd already prepared its new site before digging it up - and it doesn't seem to know it even moved.

Short-lived perennials - things like Shasta daisies- do better if divided and fertilized regularly, say every three years. Bearded iris are notorious for running down if not rejuvenated with some fertilizer and compost. Dividing them eliminates the problem of clumps with dead centers.

Spring is the time to get the jump on weeds. I let weeds in the vegetable garden get started (not that I could do anything to stop them) and then run a flame weeder over them. This kills them without disturbing the soil and bringing other seeds closer to the surface, where they might germinate.

The flame weeder attaches to a propane tank such as I have on my barbecue; it has a three-foot metal wand attached to a 10 foot hose. It produces a powerful blue flame that Calvin, of the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons, would adore. The basic unit is available from Fedco Seeds for $80 (207-873-7333 or www.fedcoseeds.com) or as a back-pack unit from Johnny's Select Seeds for $209.50. (877-654-6697 or www.johnnyseeds.com). I just lug the tank around and set it down to flame a patch, then move it.

Please note: A flame weeder will not kill established perennials weeds - thistles and dandelions, for example. It should never, ever, be used on poison ivy. The toxic smoke could affect your lungs.

An alternative to a flame weeder is the hoe. To avoid back pain, try this: instead of leaning forward and dragging the hoe across the surface, stand up straight and grasp the handle with your thumbs pointing up, not down. Move your body, not just your arms - to move the hoe. Don't try to reach too far. Let the hoe just slide under the soil surface, slicing the roots. If you sharpen your hole with a metal file, you will be amazed at how well it works.

Spring chores? Don't think of them like that. They're just a list of all the things you'll WANT to do in the garden this spring. And my few suggestions are just a start.

Henry Homeyer is the VT/NH associate editor of People, Places and Plants magazine. His website is www.gardening-guy.com. He may be contacted at gardening.guy@valley.net, or P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746.