Finally, warm spring weather has me dreaming of the summer garden and all of the new varieties to try this year. But first, there’s garden cleanup to do.

It’s a joy to venture outside without jacket, boots, scarf, or gloves to putter around in the soil. however, I am shocked to see the array of items inadvertently left hidden under the snow for months. Stray pots and a bamboo pole or two never made it to the garage during fall clean-up. A spring clean-up is the first chore, then bed preparation for cool season vegetables.

The snow has melted, but it looks like an elephant or two sat on some of my perennial beds in front of the kitchen garden gate.

The spent branches of Walker’s Low catmint have flattened under the weight of all the winter snow. A few dead annuals left in the raised beds will be cleared away. I’ll add them to the compost later. I am pleasantly surprised to see a bounty of greens that survived and are ready for harvest now.

Garden Cleanup Chores

Last winter I tucked some large glass cloches in the kitchen garden. I covered a few flat leaved Italian parsley plants. There are not normally hardy in my zone. Plus, I grew a mixture of mustards, kale, and Asian greens under glass. I also sprinkled a few lettuce and spinach seeds in the cool fall dirt, just to see if any could survive.

The fluke combination of a little bit of glass for protection and a mild winter with ample snow cover means a late winter harvest. Do you see the picture? This was my lunch, picked fresh from my garden. I added some walnuts and cheese to the greens and sprinkled lemon juice and good olive oil on top for a homegrown treat.

Every new growing season I prepare the existing beds by adding a couple of inches of compost to the soil. This year, I am using local mushroom compost. I spread it evenly on top of the soil. I then turn it into the soil by hand, rake it smooth and it is ready for a new crop of spring cabbage, lettuce, kale, and other cool season greens.