Are you planting a garden this spring? Many Oklahomans love to plant and see their favorite flowers or veggies spring up right before their eyes. Some plant right in the ground, while others may use a raised garden bed. Either way, you’re sure to have fun in your garden and relax while you work with nature. Here are a few tips to help your Tulsa garden flourish this year.

Start small and plan. If you are a new gardening enthusiast, many gardeners recommend that you start small in how much you plan to plant. In the excitement at the nursery or garden store, you may see a ton of colorful things to buy, but it’s good to be modest in your first planting endeavor. You may want to use common warm weather varieties of plants that are known to grow well in Oklahoma like okra, green beans, tomatoes, squash, melons, and radish.

Also, plan out your garden, possibly even on paper, first to determine where will have the best sunlight, when you will need to plant each type of seed or plant, if you’ll plant in the ground or in a raised bed, and how big the plants and garden will get when you’re finished. Allow enough room to work in the garden and for the plants to spread out as they grow.

Before you plant, it’s good to have all the gardening tools you will need including cages or stakes for climbing plants, string to tie the plants to the cages, pruners, tillers, and other equipment.

Nourish and prepare the soil. You’ll need to remove any weeds, rocks, and grass in the garden and may want to test the pH of the soil to know exactly what nutrients it’s lacking. A few weeks before you plant, you may want to add some compost to your soil to ensure it has enough nutrients to support the plants. Then you can turn the soil when you add the compost and just before you plant to make sure it’s aerated.

Follow directions. There will often be much helpful information on the seed packets or plants about when to plant the seeds, how far apart to space them, and when they should be harvested. The Old Farmer’s Almanac will also have helpful information on when the best time to plant each vegetable. On the Almanac website, you can search for your particular city or state and see the exact planting directions, planting dates, directions for planting by the moon, and estimated frost free date. Along with being tax day, many gardeners will say April 15th is around the frost-free date for much of Oklahoma.

Trim trees and shrubs. Along with planning your garden design and boundaries, you may need to prune any overgrown trees or bushes that may block needed sunlight to your garden. This will also help your overall landscape to have a more polished look for summer.

These are just a few Oklahoma gardening tips for this season. Talk with the Tulsa landscaping and gardening experts at Oklahoma Landscape for more details on how they can help you have a successful garden this year.