Spring is just around the corner and buds are just beginning to push up from the ground. Before gardening begins at full blast take some time to organize your gardening tools and supplies . Clean and sharpen your tools and replace any broken handles. Sort your pots by size and stack them where they are accessible; make sure you have enough potting soil and fertilizers.
This is a good time to start seeds indoors, especially those plants that aren't readily available in the local garden centers. It's also a good way to try new flowers and vegetables or heirlooms that are hard to find. Set them outside when the danger of frost has passed which is normally April 15 in the Tulsa area.
When the weather allows it, set out transplants of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, radishes, kale and onions. Set up a trellis and sow a row of edible pod peas. Fertilize your cool-weather vegetables every two weeks.
Prune early blooming shrubs, which include spirea, forsythia and quince, once they have finished blooming. If you wait too long into the summer, you will cut off next year's flowers.
Roses can be planted now. Prune rose bushes that have already been established by removing any dead or damaged canes. When you see buds swelling, you can do cosmetic pruning, cutting back to a bud that is growing away from the center of the plant.
If you would like some flowers indoors, dig up some daffodils as they are beginning to bloom, pot them up and enjoy them in the house. After the blooms fade, they can be taken back outside and replanted in the ground.
And as always, make sure newly planted and established plants are well watered. The soil around a plant can feel moist but the root ball may not have enough water. This can be especially true in just planted trees, shrubs and perennials.
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