How to Get Your Garden Ready for Spring
As the days grow longer and the temperatures rise, Spring is the perfect time to prepare your garden and yourself for a season of growth. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a beginner, PETA’s spring gardening guide is here to help you create a wildlife-friendly vegetable patch to grow your own ingredients for vegan meals.
How to Prepare Your Garden for Spring
Start by clearing any leftover debris from winter, such as dead leaves and weeds, to make way for fresh growth. You’ll also want to “turn over” the soil by digging it up and flipping it over. Doing this loosens and mixes the top layer of soil, aerates it, and breaks up compacted dirt, which allows plant roots to grow properly. Be on the lookout for earthworms and other garden inhabitants while turning over soil! If you spot some, move them to a patch of dirt where they will be out of harm’s way while you prepare your garden.
What Are the Best Flowers and Vegetables to Plant in Spring?
When it comes to planting, timing is everything. Some plants grow best when started from seed directly in the garden, while others thrive when given a jump-start inside.
What plants can be in the ground before the last frost?
- Carrots
- Peas
- Turnips
- Radishes
- Potatoes
- Pansy
- Snapdragon
- Viola
- Sweet Alyssum
- Sweet Peas
- Bare-root fruit trees
What Plants Should Grow Indoors in the Spring?
Depending on your location, some plants may do best when sprouted indoors. Early Spring, particularly February and March, is a great time to start crops indoors. Some plants that can benefit from a jump-start inside include:
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Onions
- Fennel
- Lettuce
Summer crops, like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and cucumbers, can also be started indoors during Spring before being planted in your garden in May or June.
Can Indoor-Grown Plants Be Planted in My Garden?
To help acclimate your young plants to the inconsistent temperature of your garden, you’ll want to introduce them to the outdoors slowly. To do this, bring your indoor sprouting trays to a sunny spot outside for increasing amounts of time each day over 10-14 days. Start at about one hour and add more time each day depending on how they’re fairing.
How to Garden in Harmony with Animals
Practice Pesticide-Free Gardening
You can keep your plants safe from hungry animal neighbors while also supporting—not harming—them. You can live in harmony with wildlife easily: Don’t injure or kill garden visitors. Using cruelty-free garden deterrents instead of pesticides is great for the insects and mammals who call your yard their home, and it’s healthier for you, too.
Plants That Will Bring Wildlife to Your Garden
Planting native flowers alongside your vegetables will attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other animals who will help keep your garden healthy. Native plants are also essentially fuss-free. They can survive on rainfall, eliminating the need to waste precious resources.
To make your garden welcoming for animals, consider adding:
- A water source
- Birdhouses
- Bee hotels
- Bat boxes
- A patch of tall grass or untouched wildflowers for insects to live in
It’s Time to Grow and Go Vegan
Now that you’ve grown your vegetables, it’s time to try some healthy vegan recipes. Going vegan is one of the best things you can do for your health, and it’s also the best thing you can do to help animals and the planet. The benefits are endless, so if you haven’t already, please go vegan today:
Text VEG to 73822 to get the latest vegan lifestyle tips, recipes, and urgent action alerts texted right to your phone.
Terms for automated texts/calls from PETA: https://peta.vg/txt. Text STOP to end, HELP for more info. Msg/data rates may apply. U.S. only.
Are automatic, self-cleaning litter boxes safe for cats? Get the scoop on the drawbacks of using an automatic litter box and find out what PETA recommends instead.
Snip, snip, hooray! Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has issued a proclamation to help curb the companion animal homelessness and overpopulation crisis.
For years, PETA fieldworkers have been “rooting” for Fifi the Chihuahua and her deserved chance at securing a safe, loving home indoors. The time has come, and it’s kind of a big “peel.”
Thanks to sea moss, vegans can say “ahoy!” to new depths of fish-free seafood! Find out why using this marine plant is good for sea life, the environment, and your health.
