Early Spring Gardening and Landscaping Tips for Lake Tahoe and Truckee

Gardening in Lake Tahoe and Truckee can be a challenge with the short growing season and intensity of the sun. Landscaping is not only a beautification factor here but also a fire prevention measure. Here are a few tips for early spring gardening and landscaping in Lake Tahoe and Truckee from my own experiences in the Sierras. The biggest lesson I’ve learned: It’s never too soon to start!

1) One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from gardening and landscaping in the Sierras is to get your irrigation going as early as possible. It’s easy to procrastinate with the sun shining and outside recreating calling to you. However I have lost many plants and seen due to procrastination. Don’t  underestimate the strength of the sun at 6000′! As soon as your beds are clear of snow get the irrigation going.

2) Get to the dirty work and get rid of the pine needles ASAP. Procrastination won’t hurt as much in this case but for me whenever I look at my yard before I have gotten around to it yet it’s all I can see. An added bonus to this is the fire prevention benefits.

3) Plant new perennials sooner rather than later. Early spring is a great time to get new plantings in the ground or transplant. The spring weather gives your new plantings and transplants time to establish before the hot weather is here. So if there are some gaps you know you want to fill it’s a great time to start planning.

4) If you’re a veggie grower start getting those beds ready! Clear the old growth and amend your soil. You definitely can have success with starting from seed at this point in time. If you’re careful of frosty nights and covering plants if necessary then you can start getting some veggie “starts” in your beds as well!