Garden Calendar
Tips for the entire garden year
There is always something to do in a garden. But which gardening tasks have to be done when and what should you pay attention to so that plant care is successful and the harvest in your own bed is a success? In our garden calendar you will find tips, advice and ideas for the most important gardening tasks for each month – from January to December.
What do I do when in my garden?
Budding amateur gardeners often wonder what garden chores should or even must be done and when. And even experienced gardeners quickly forget when the optimal time is to sow, fertilize or prune certain plants. In our guide, you will find an overview of the most important gardening tasks in each month. It should be noted that some activities may be delayed slightly depending on the weather and the type of plant.
What gardening tasks are required in January?
Although the winter months tend to be a quieter time for gardening, there are still a few things to do in the garden as early as January. For example, you can already start planning the garden and pulling forward the first vegetable plants. Also the cutback of fruit trees or the cutting of gooseberries and currants offer themselves now. In the ornamental garden, cold seedlings such as Christmas rose, cowslip, wild garlic or monkshood can also be sown.
If not already done, plants should be protected from frost and freed from snow loads. The latter applies not only to trees and shrubs, but also to winter gardens, greenhouses and garden sheds, which suffer from the heavy weight. In general, January is also a good time to clear out the garden and the tool shed.
The most important gardening tasks in January:
- Declutter the garden
- Prune fruit trees
- Cut cuttings for propagation
- Frost protection for plants
- Planning the garden
- Pre-planting vegetables
- Harvest seasonal winter vegetables
- Supporting animal garden visitors
What’s important in the garden in February?
February can be used to prepare garden beds. Appropriately, vegetables should be pre-pulled and potatoes pre-sprouted to allow for earlier harvesting. Many trees, shrubs and hedges are happy to be pruned with loppers or hedge trimmers to help them grow better in the spring. February, by the way, is the last opportunity for heavy pruning, as it is prohibited between March 1 and September 30.
If you have ornamental grasses such as Chinese reed or pampas grass in your garden, it is also advisable to reach for the secateurs to cut back the blades close to the ground. In the ornamental garden, the old inflorescences on perennials such as hydrangea, stonecrop or yarrow should also be removed. Dividing many perennial varieties is also possible in February.
The most important gardening tasks in February:
- Prepare beds for planting
- Cut back and thin out trees, shrubs and hedges
- Trim ornamental grasses
- Pre-germinate vegetables and potatoes
- Sow summer flowers
- Divide perennials
- Sift and rearrange compost piles
What work should be done in March?
March is popular with many amateur gardeners, they are finally allowed to sow, plant, prune and maintain again. In the orchard and vegetable garden, seed beds are prepared, lettuces are planted, herbs are pruned, strawberries are cut back and berry bushes are mulched. Roses, shrubs, perennials and other woody plants also need pruning. Fertilizing fruit trees is also a good idea now.
It is now time to bring the lawn mower out of its winter quarters and prepare it for the new gardening season. Before the first start, a detailed lawn mower check and, if necessary, an oil change is recommended. If the weather already allows it, owners of a robotic lawnmower can set up the charging station again. If there is a lot of moss or lawn thatch, a scarifier can also help. In March, the garden pond should also be cleaned and the bank planting cut.
The most important gardening tasks in March:
- Cut back roses
- Prune herbs
- Mulch berry bushes
- Cut back strawberries
- Fertilize bulb flowers and perennial beds
- Divide flowering perennials and ornamental grasses
- Prepare seedbeds
- Transplant trees and shrubs
- Mow and scarify lawn
- Clean garden pond and cut riparian vegetation
What kind of gardening does April bring?
Spring weather in April invites varied gardening. The first plants are moving into the outdoor beds, potatoes are being planted, and potted plants, semishrubs, and summer bloomers need your attention. Now is the right time to plant currants and fertilize fruit trees, which will ensure vigorous fruiting. Speaking of berries: Raspberry and blackberry bushes can use some pruning now.
However, the warmer April weather also attracts pests to the garden, such as slugs. If you want to avoid the chemical club, you can fight slugs naturally and not worry about your flower beds.
The most important gardening tasks in April:
- Plant ground cover
- Divide and transplant crocuses
- Thinning out faded winter and spring bloomers
- Plant out summer blooming bulb flowers
- Accustoming potted plants to their summer location
- Fertilize fruit trees
- Cut back half shrubs
- Create new borders and prepare planting areas
- Sow vegetable seeds and annual summer flowers
- Preplant cucumbers and potatoes
- Set up vegetable nets
- Maintain lawns
What are the most important jobs in May?
With the Ice Saints in mid-May, frost traditionally says goodbye. Gardeners can now plant young plants such as peppers and tomatoes in the beds and sow other vegetables. For this purpose, it is recommended to loosen the vegetable beds a little with the help of a rake before sowing. If you have the space, you can now also plant flower meadows and turn your garden into a bee’s paradise.
If there are gaps in the beds, they can be filled with new plants, such as columbine, cranesbill or scented nettle. Hedge trimmers and secateurs are used to keep pines and other woody plants in shape and to prune lilacs.
The most important gardening tasks in May:
- Tend bulb flowers
- Remove wild shoots from roses
- Shape shrubs
- Create a flower meadow
- Fill in gaps in the beds with new plants
- Planting ornamental flowers
- Loosen up and protect vegetable beds
- Plant young vegetable plants in the open bed
- Tie down side shoots on fruit trees
- Prune espalier fruit shoots
- Spread mulch material
- Plant water lilies in the garden pond
- Divide irises at the garden pond
What gardening tasks are due in June?
June marks the start of the peak gardening season. Everywhere is blooming, fruiting and thriving. Now the plants need to be supplied with sufficient water – if the drought persists, daily garden watering is advisable. Other important tasks include pruning and propagation, as well as harvesting and fertilizing. Roses in particular require attention, while the first early potatoes are ripe for harvesting.
If you own a greenhouse, it should be appropriately ventilated or shaded to avoid overheating. The sun also makes for stronger algae growth in the garden pond, which should be removed if possible.
The most important gardening tasks in June:
- Keep tree grates clear
- Water fruit trees in dry weather
- Ventilate and shade greenhouses
- Harvest elderflowers
- Shorten young cuttings
- Fertilize lawn for the second time
- Cut back cushion shrubs
- Propagate ornamental shrubs via cuttings
- Harvest herbs before they flower
- Prepare plant dips
- Cut back withered plants regularly
- Remove algae from garden ponds
What to do in the garden in July?
Especially horticulturists have their hands full in July. Many fruits and vegetables are now ripe for harvesting, making room for new seedings. The herb garden can also be harvested and propagated as needed.
It’s also time to cut back faded perennials and groundcovers. Blue pinks, carnations and many climbing plants can also be propagated well in July. Continue to focus on watering, which many plants suffer from acute water shortages.
The most important gardening in July:
- Harvest vegetables in the kitchen garden
- Sow lamb’s lettuce in the open bed
- Sow parsley
- Sowing bush beans
- Cut back withered perennials
- Cut back ground cover
- Propagate blue pinks, carnations and climbers
- Mulch and propagate berry bushes
- Divide daffodils
- Last fertilizer for roses
- Water garden regularly
What gardening is important in August?
August is not for nothing called harvest month. Amateur gardeners with fruit trees and vegetable beds get their money’s worth, and can bake and cook at will with the fresh ingredients from their own cultivation. Those who appreciate endives and chard now have the last opportunity for planting and sowing.
Strong-growing woody plants, such as privet, copper beech or hornbeam, should be cut back again in August to give them enough time to heal before winter. Fruit trees can be strengthened by fertilizing them, making them more frost-resistant.
The most important gardening tasks in August:
- Harvest vegetables and fruit
- Plant endives for fall harvest
- Sow chard
- Sowing lamb’s lettuce for the autumn harvest
- Fertilize fruit trees
- Harvest and cut back blackberries
- Replant blueberries
- Plant strawberries for next year’s harvest
- Cut back lavender
- Second pruning date for strong-growing woody plants
What needs to be done in the garden in September?
Midsummer is over and autumn is slowly approaching. Garden enthusiasts must now make the first preparations for the winter as well as the coming garden year. Harvesting, plant care and sowing are still on the to-do list, however. In the garden bed, tomatoes, peppers and squash, among others, demand your attention.
Green manures have many benefits and should be sown in September. The same goes for lawn seeds, which can provide new greenery in the same year. To protect fruit trees from the dreaded frost moth, glue rings on the trees are recommended. Last but not least, cover the garden pond and set up quarters for hedgehogs.
The most important gardening tasks in September:
- Remove new blossoms on peppers and tomatoes.
- Harvest bean seeds
- Cover pumpkins with straw
- Plant bulbs for next spring
- Support sowing of biennial plants
- Lawn care before winter
- Collect leaves from lawn and pond
- Harvest apples
- Sow green manure
- Sow lawn seeds
- Propagate currants via cuttings
- Protect fruit trees from frost moths
- Clean abandoned nest boxes
- Set up winter quarters for hedgehogs
What gardening activities occur in October?
The fruit and vegetable harvest is now slowly coming to an end. In the beds, rhubarb can be divided and gooseberries replanted. Raspberry bushes should now be cut back a little.
October is also a good time for transplanting trees and replanting roses. If you wish, you can now put in bulbs for next year. If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to winterize your garden pond and protect it from falling leaves with a leaf net or fish them off regularly.
The most important gardening tasks in October:
- Harvest fruit and late vegetables
- Divide rhubarb
- Replant gooseberries
- Cut back raspberries
- Maintain soil under hazelnut bushes
- Re-seed bare patches in the lawn
- Transplant trees
- Replanting roses
- Autumn pond care
What are the most important gardening tasks in November?
Harvest the last of the vegetables and clear the bed. Fall harvests include spinach and Chinese cabbage. However, one of the most important gardening topics in November is frost protection sensitive plants, whether in tubs or flower beds. With the help of coconut mats or jute strips, the soil or plants can be packed frost-proof. Potted plants, on the other hand, are best overwintered in a safe winter shelter.
To protect fruit trees from frost cracking, trunks and branches should be painted white. Old and diseased trees, on the other hand, should be cut down to make room for new plants. Robust hedges and shrubs can still be planted in November without any problems. Before the first frost, the rain barrel should also be winterized and frost-proofed.
The most important gardening tasks in November:
- Clear vegetable beds
- Harvest spinach
- Autumn harvest and frost protection for Chinese cabbage
- Mulch late root vegetables
- Winterizing sensitive potted plants
- Autumn compost care
- Preparing apples for winter storage
- Liming fruit trees
- Pruning elder trees
- Cut down overaged and diseased trees
- Replant robust hedges and shrubs
- Winterize garden pond
What to do in the garden in December?
Winter comes to the garden and leaves many things dormant. But even in December garden lovers hardly get bored. Provided that it is not frozen, the soil can be dug up with a spade and limed if necessary. In this way, you improve the soil quality for the next sowing in the coming spring. If the first snow is already falling, weak branches and shrubs should be freed from the load to prevent snow breakage. Not only trees should be protected from frost cracking, but young shrub roses and other delicate ornamental shrubs can also suffer damage as a result.
If you want to help your animal garden visitors hibernate, you can set up feeders for birds, squirrels and other animals.
The most important gardening tasks in December:
- Reduce snow load
- Avoid frost cracks on shrub roses
- Protect evergreens
- Dig up and lime the soil
- Root treatment for fruit trees
- White paint for fruit trees
- Remove fruit mummies
- Set up feeding places for animals
Hi, I’m Tommy from Wisconsin. Welcome to my website. Here I tell you all about gardening and much more.