Spring is stirring on Cortes Island! Nestled in the mild Zone 9a, our coastal slice of B.C. enjoys a head start on the Canadian growing season.

In the garden, crocuses and daffodils are bright with purple and yellow, while tulips are beginning to sprout from the soil. Mustard greens, parsley, and kale continue to grow steadily after overwintering.

It is time to clear away last fall’s mulch, preparing beds for planting with compost, sow early spring seeds and get a head start on the gardening season.

 Spring Garden Tips

• Cut down decomposing plants from last year and add them to your compost.

• Tend to your compost! Turn it regularly to aerate the pile, and make sure there are enough dried leaves, cardboard, or straw to balance out food scraps.

• Ready your garden beds for seedlings or direct sowing by adding compost and soil amendments.

• Weed early! Pull unwanted plants from your beds before they have the chance to take off this spring.

• Prune fruit trees, shrubs & berries. Cut clippings into small pieces and use them in your compost (if they’re not too woody). Any woody debris can be used in a Hügelkultur bed or chipped for ornamental or berry patch mulch.

• Direct sow cilantro (see video below!), snap peas, spinach, and mustard greens.

• Seedling planting (indoors/ warm greenhouse) March: Alliums (onions, leeks & shallots), Brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale), Tomatoes, and Peppers (long germination!).