“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” ~Charles Dickens
This month in your garden you should see lots of things happening. March brings blooming crocuses, snowdrops, and primroses that bring welcome color after a bleak winter. The day lilies should be beginning to peak through the ground along with peonies, tulips and daffodils. Avoid walking on wet soil, as you never know what may be trying to poke up through the dirt! If you haven’t already completed your February Garden chores, now would be a good time to finish those and start on other areas that may need attention this month.
March Gardening Tasks:
1. Start feeding houseplants again. Repot, if necessary.
2. Test your Soil: Get your soil tested for pH levels.
3. Weed Control: Now is the best time to pull up weeds before their roots become too large, or set seed.
4. Bulbs: Once bulbs have bloomed, leave the leaves attached to the bulb to provide nourishment for next year’s bloom. Let foliage wither and yellow.
5. Sow (Indoors): Vegetables and flowers, most seeds can be started from mid to late March and as late as the first week of April. You don’t want to start your seeds too early though, as you don’t want them to get too leggy.
6. Plant (Outdoors):
- Leeks: this vegetable takes a long time to mature, so even though you may still be harvesting last years supply, its time to start planting for the new season.
- Lettuces: stagger planting times of lettuce so you have a bunch at different growth stages. This allows for a continual supply of lettuce throughout the growing season.
- Brussels sprouts: these are a love or hate vegetable, but for those of you that want to try and grow these little stink bombs, make sure to plant seed far enough apart (these plants can get up to 150 centimeters tall and a meter across) and in compacted soil.
