By Martha Kirk, Colorado Master Gardener

March 20 marks the first day of spring and, for us gardeners, it is a day of joy and anticipation. We can finally get busy in the garden, start on projects and get the garden in tiptop shape. Here are some helpful tips to follow:

• Gardening is good for you, but ease into it. Be sure to do some stretching exercises and squats to strengthen your lower body before gardening. Limit gardening time initially and then gradually increase it to build resistance.
• Continue with winter watering. This is especially helpful for evergreens since they lose water continuously from their needles.
• Small weeds are easy to remove, so get them before they set seed or grow extensive root systems. Pull/dig or spray them with a burndown product such as capric and caprillic acid. Read all labels and follow instructions.

• Inspect woody plants for broken branches. Use clean and sharp tools. Cut smaller branches with bypass pruners and larger branches with loppers or pruning saws. Make correct pruning cuts.
• Prune summer flowering shrubs now (potentilla, spirea, blue mist spirea, red twig dogwood). Prune roses at the end of April. Prune spring blooming shrubs after they are done blooming (lilac, viburnum, mock orange).
• Check your lawn. With warm, dry weather and no winter watering, lawns can suffer from turf mite damage. This happens mostly on south or west-facing lawns and the lawn turns a straw color. The solution is winter watering.
• For healthy lawns, aerate and put down fertilizer and overseed in mid-April. Look for fertilizers with both quick-release and slow-release nitrogen. Newer varieties of seed are more drought and disease tolerant.
• Remove tree wrap from trees in April.
• Topdress mulched areas that show bare spots. This helps protect root systems of plants and conserves moisture.
• Add 2-4” of aged compost to vegetable beds and mix in 8-12” deep. Consider a soil test if you suspect problems. If purchasing bulk compost, ask the supplier for the current soil test report for that batch. Call a Master Gardener volunteer (303-730-1920) for help with interpreting the results.

• Plant seeds of cool season vegetables directly outdoors. Lettuce can germinate in 35° soil temperatures and other hardy vegetables such as carrots, Swiss chard and spinach can germinate in 40° soil temperatures.
• Start seeds indoors for vegetables and flowers that will be transplanted outdoors. Check the seed packet to find out when to start seeds indoors based on the number of weeks before the last frost. Add a couple of weeks for hardening off transplants before they go into the ground.
• Craving a pop of color? Plant pansies in a pot by your front door. Instant happiness.