Spring is always a lovely example of how beautiful change can really be.

It's a sign that there's new life, new hope, and new adventures that await.

It's a reminder that anything is possible!

Scroll down for my suggested spring tasks around the homestead, plus a super fun spring scavenger hunt printable for the kids!

We love when spring arrives here at our homestead. There’s this intangible buzz in the air as everything comes to life.

The Bradford Pear trees are blooming (although only for about a week), daffodils showing off their beautiful colors, seedlings sprouting, the rooster cuckooing earlier, and even the alpacas look more cheerful!

This time of the year we are hard at work to get everything cleaned after winter and prepare for the new season.

This includes chores for our garden, animals, and home!

If you need some ideas or a spring checklist, here are our main spring chores around the homestead.

Spring Garden Chores

• Get planting! Now is the time to get those seeds to bed. Here is a guide on seeds to start in March and April according to your growing zone.

• Fertilize your beds with 5cm of compost, well-rotted manure, or all-purpose fertilizer once your soil is workable to prepare for the growing season ahead. Here's a guide on how to fertilize your garden.

• Top-up veg planters and raised beds with compost and good quality topsoil. This is our favorite organic soil recipe for your garden beds.

• Lightly fork organic fertilizer into the soil around trees, shrubs, and hedges.

• Feed roses with special rose feed or balanced fertilizer and prune them to encourage new growth.

• Continue weeding as the weather warms — it's easier to control weeds if you remove them while they're still young.

• If any of your garden plants or climbers need support this year, put them in now, so plants can grow up through them. Adding supports afterward is trickier and often looks unattractive.

• Move deciduous trees or shrubs. Now is the time to do this, provided the soil isn't frozen or waterlogged.

• Deadhead your winter pansies to stop them from setting seed and encourage growth for new flowers throughout the spring.

• Deadhead daffodils as they finish flowering and let the foliage die back naturally.

• Deadhead hydrangeas before new growth appear. Cut to about one-third of last season's growth.

• Prune apple trees and pear trees asap while they're still dormant (late winter or early spring). This is your last chance to do so.

• Leave plum trees, cherry trees, and apricots until the summer, as pruning these fruit trees now will make them susceptible to Silver Leaf disease.

• Protect the blossoms of apricots, peaches, and nectarines from frost with a screen or horticultural fleece.

• Mulch fruit trees with well-rotted manure or garden compost. Take care not to mound mulch up around tree trunks.

• Start ventilating greenhouses on warm sunny days.

• Before transplanting your plants out into the garden, don't forget to move them from the greenhouse to a cold frame or sheltered area for a few days. This allows them to harden off.

• Give your tools and equipment a proper clean and apply a little TLC to anything that needs it. While you're at it, tidy your shed, barn, or storage areas - you'll thank yourself for a clean & tidy space later!

Spring Farm Chores

• Schedule shearing for the alpacas later in the season, around May. Learn more HERE.

• Deworm animals at the start of spring. HERE'S a quick referral guide on donkeys, goats, and alpacas, including how often to deworm them.

• Check fencing and structures and trim any branches that could fall or potentially damage both.

• Add animal droppings to the compost bed.

• Schedule a farrier visit to trim your donkeys' hooves.

• Prepare birthing kits for any unexpected babies on the farm. This is our essential delivery kit to have around when one of our animals is about to deliver.

• Get ready for the arrival of any new hatchlings and prepare brooders. Always have a backup bulb for a brooder if the light goes out. Read more here on how to prepare and care for chicks - Baby Chicks 101.

• Clean out the chicken coop. THIS is how we usually go about it.

Spring Home Chores

• Organize the pantry by placing older items to the front to consume them before a new canning season starts. See HERE how I love to organize our pantry with Ball® Canning.

• Spring clean the laundry room and the rest of the house. Here are my top 5 natural homemade cleaning products.

• Make lovely DIY body scrubs to get your skin ready for summer! These are a few of my favorites: Lemon & Rosemary Sugar Scrub; Pink Seasalt & Rose Scrub.

• Get ready to fight summer insects by preparing essential oil mosquito repellents.

• Make seasonal recipes with edible plants such as Dandelion and Wild Onion Focaccia.

• Naturally dye eggs for a fun family activity. HERE'S how!

• Have a super fun spring scavenger hunt with the kids. Download the printable HERE!

Doing some basic chores every season really helps to keep things organized and save you time.

In this chaotic world where our schedules are forever full and unexpected things happen, it is great to set aside some time to do dreaded tasks and just get the job done. You’ll thank yourself later!

But always remember to have fun along the way ;-)

Happy spring friend!

Love, Annette

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