March Gardening Tips

March Gardening Tips:

 

Begin to clean out the debris in your garden beds. Be careful not to damage any emerging bulbs or perennials. To avoid spreading disease, be sure to bag all leaves and other debris and throw it away.

Plant pansies! Perfect pansy plants are arriving daily.

Give your lawn a good raking to remove winter's debris and thatch.  Heavy raking of a wet lawn will only tear the grass out of the soil, so do wait until it is dry.  We recommend a 24" Steel Leaf Rake for this job!
Test the pH of your lawn.  The pH is a measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity of the soil. The scale runs from 0 to 14, with lower numbers indicating more acidic soil. A pH of 7 is neutral. The ideal pH for lawn grasses is 6.5 to 7.0. It is within this range that the grass roots will absorb the important nutrients they need most efficiently. If needed, lime can be applied to raise the pH.  Stop by with the results of your pH test and we will help you determine how much lime you need for your lawn.

Believe it or not, it is already time to look for weeds!   Remove annual winter weeds like chickweed, bitter cress, and annual bluegrass before they go to seed.
 

Deer, rabbits and squirrels are hungry after a long winter, and your newly emerging bulbs and perennials look like candy to them!  Protect them with organic animal repellents.  We can help you choose the right product for your particular garden.
 

Bulbs are also hungry after a long winter! Feed them with an organic bulb food high in phosphorous to give them a healthy start to the season.

Use a Horticultural Spray Oil on insect eggs, and eliminate one problem before it starts!  This is a great product, but it does have some weather and plant restrictions, so please be sure to check with our garden experts for advice.

Finish pruning grapevines and fruit trees, except peaches and apricots, which are pruned after flowering. Raspberry canes that produced last year can be cut back and new canes can be topped off.
Fertilize rhubarb and asparagus with a general purpose organic fertilizer or cow manure.

Peas are traditionally planted in the middle of the month, but with our cold, wet weather the soil had not been ready. We hope conditions are ready soon, but be careful not to sow them if the soil is too wet and cold as they will rot. Other vegetables that can be planted directly from seed or plants outdoors now are: onions, kale, cabbage, beets, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, arugula, chives, parsley.  Spring vegetables are arriving daily, ready to plant in your garden!

Prune roses after bud break. Remove all dead wood and crossed branches rubbing against each other. Try to prune so the bush grows outward so as to allow for good air movement.
Start spraying roses as soon as the canes leaf out to prevent insect and disease problems.
 

Near the end of the month, begin feeding acid-loving evergreens (azaleas, rhododendrons, and holly) with Hollytone.
 

As the days continue to lengthen, begin pruning summer and fall blooming shrubs, such as buddleia, caryopteris, rose of Sharon, etc.