Here’s a quick spring planting checklist of items that should be taken care of now to give your garden a good start this spring.

Spring is here and it’s time to get gardening! If you haven’t already completed these spring garden tasks, now is the time to get them done.

In many areas, you can plant seeds indoors several weeks ahead of your last frost date to extend your growing season and give longer-season crops a head start.

For us, here in central Ohio, early-to-mid-April is prime time for starting tomato and pepper seedlings, which will be planted out in the garden in mid-late May. For faster-growing crops like cucumbers and melons, you may still start them indoors to get them growing a little sooner, but you would want to wait until closer to your last frost date as they will grow very quickly. All of these sensitive warm-weather crops should be planted outdoors at least 2 weeks after your last frost date just to be safe.

You will also want to prepare your planting areas about 2 weeks before planting to allow time for compost and other soil amendments to incorporate into the soil.

Follow this quick spring planting checklist from Garden Zeus to check off items that need to be done now or in the next couple of weeks:

1. Purchase seeds.
2. Start seeds indoors of vegetables and herbs with slow germination and/or long seedling periods such as parsley and tomatoes. Monitor new seedlings.
3. Irrigate new garden beds, wait 10 to 21 days prior to planting to flush weed seeds, and remove or till in weed seedlings.
4. Inspect and repair raised beds, garden structures, fencing, hose bibs, and drip or other irrigation systems.
5. In new beds or compacted soils, double-dig or loosen soil with a spading fork and remove stones and obstructions.
6. Amend soils prior to planting by surface dressing and/or gently working in compost, organic matter, manures, and other amendments.

Good luck with your spring garden!