Gardening in the Bay Area: Springing into spring

Let's get ready to rumble in the garden, starting up irrigation systems and buying some cool new plants.

Spring, at last. After slogging through a wet, cold — for us — winter, we’re ready for some sunshine, blue skies and gardening. Here are some tips for getting started.

• For months we’ve been telling you to turn off your irrigation systems, but now it’s time to think about starting them up. Check soil moisture around plant roots, and if dry, set your timers. Start slow, gradually increasing watering time and frequency as we move into the hotter months.
• Check your yard for containers holding water. Empty them to reduce mosquito habitat.
• Amend the soil with finished compost before planting and water deeply after you’ve popped your plants in the beds.
• As you add new plants to existing beds, or start a new bed, group the plants according to water requirements.
• Wait to fertilize plants until they start showing signs of new growth. Top-dress the beds with compost or use a slow-release source of nitrogen.

• If the ground is warm enough — at least 65 degrees — you can sow vegetable seeds including beets, broccoli, corn, cucumbers, endive, kohlrabi, lettuce, onion, parsley, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, squash and turnips.
• Spring is the season when most gardening groups put on plant sales. Check with organizations in your area for times and locations. One that is dear to our heart is the Contra Costa Master Gardener’s Great Tomato Plant Sale at Our Garden, which was founded by the Master Gardeners and the Bay Area News Group. The sale will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., March 30, at the garden, corner of Wiget Lane and Shadelands Drive in Walnut Creek. Sales also are planned at other locations in the county.