March
Monthly Garden Tips
We’ll
soon know if March is going to come in like a lamb and go out
like a lion or the reverse. Time will tell. What I do know
is that it’s time to start working in the garden.
- It is now the time to plant cool season annuals in the
Pittsburgh area if they bare properly hardened off. (call
for advice) Plants that provide early spring color include
pansies, violas, snapdragons, nemesia and alyssum. I highly
recommend the new and prolific blooming
Voltage Yellow Osteospermum (African daisy) and Techno
Heat
Blue Lobelia.
- Plant potatoes as soon as the grass begins to green up.
Plant trees, shrubs and small fruit as soon as the soil is
workable.
- As temperatures begin to warm, and plants emerge from
dormancy, slowly remove protective mulches. Beware of
removing mulches too soon since hard freezes are still
possible.
- Transplant roses, shrubs and ornamental trees before the
leaf buds open.
Apply the natural slow release Espoma fertilizers: For trees
& shrubs use Tree Tone; on perennials use Plant Tone when
new spring growth is visible...
- Plant parsley in your herb garden.
- Feed peonies with Espoma Plant Tone when they are about
2 – 3 inches tall.
- Most perennials bloom for a 2 to 4 week period. When
adding new perennials to your garden go for those that have
great foliage as well as blooms or extend the flowering time
by choosing a mix of early, mid and late blooming varieties.
- To repair bare spots in lawns combine 5 shovels of sand,
1 shovel of sterilized topsoil, 1 shovel of grass seed and 1
cup of slow release fertilizer. Treat bare spots with this
mixture, cover with straw, and water often so that the soil
remains moist. Do this until the grass is growing strong.
-
 Clean water features and fountains. Make sure pumps and
lights are working properly. Remove leaf guards.
- Set up an outdoor thermometer and a rain gauge. Keep a
journal of the weather and when plants start to bloom.
- Deal with pests now. A lime sulfur spray is organic and
protects against scales, mites, and borers on fruit trees,
roses, and shrubs as well as black spot and powdery mildew.
It's a dormant spray, so apply before your plants begin to
bud out. (Protect your house; it can spot brick, stucco, and
leave spots on paint.) After they begin to bud, a Bordeaux
mixture of copper dust can be used. Use all compounds
cautiously; read and follow manufacturer's instructions.
- Get those weeds while they are little. Use a flame gun
(propane torch) to spot kill weeds while they are small or
pull then by hand. Vinegar or boiling water also work to
kill weeds and don't leave problems behind. Avoid using
salt, because it will ruin the soil.
- If your not an organic gardener PREEN can be applied now
before new weeds germinate.
- Plant early spring vegetables and flowers. These include
spinach, lettuces, peas, and leeks. Plant sweet peas for
wonderful fragrance and cut flowers. Plant sweet peas from
the middle to the end of the month. Soak seeds overnight in
luke-warm water to promote germination. Provide a trellis or
other support for the plants to grow up.
- Early spring is also a good time to divide and
transplant summer blooming perennials.
- Prune roses just before they start to bud out. For shrub
roses, cut them back to a strong fat bud.
- Attend to your indoor plants too. They've just come
through a long winter and need a bit of fertilizer. Repot
those that are root bound. Avoid over-watering as weakened
plants are more readily subject to disease and root rot.
- The heavy Pittsburgh clay soil, that many of us have, is
often very wet in March, so check the soil before digging,
cultivating, tilling. Walking on wet soil will cause it to
compact. So after the spring thaw, wait until the ground
dries before starting to working in your flower and
vegetable beds. Simply make a little ball of it in your
palm- if it wads up and sticks together it is too wet, if it
is still fairly crumbly- you can work the soil.
- Add amendments to the soil, such as compost, peat moss,
and gypsum, to makes the soil more friable and less compact.
Raised beds will allow better drainage when one has wet
heavy soils.
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