Got spring fever? Get to work

It's officially spring. Is your garden ready for all the growth to come?

While we may be dreaming of summer tomatoes, pay attention to these garden tasks first:

▪ Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after they bloom. Then, give them a fresh layer of mulch.

▪ Feed camellias and citrus. This is their growing season and they can use a boost.

▪ Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.

▪ In planting beds, work in some compost and other organic material to feed the soil.

▪ In the vegetable garden, plant seed for beets, carrots, celeriac, celery, collards, endive, fennel, jicama, kale, leaf lettuce, mustard, peas, potatoes, radish, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips.

▪ In a greenhouse or indoors, start seed for summer and winter squash, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes.

▪ For spring and summer flowers, plant seed for aster, cornflower, cosmos, larkspur, nasturium, nicotiana, periwinkle, portulaca, rudbeckia, salvia, snapdragon, verbena and zinnia.

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Got spring fever? Get to work."