MARCH - GARDEN PREPARATIONS

As promised, here is the next installment, or harangue, about what you should be doing now that March is underway, and your having survived dismal February.  Garden soils are probably still wet, cold and maybe some are even snow covered; but, you can still... 

• Prune those grape vines and fruit trees now; the same ones you probably postponed pruning last month... 

  

  Typical hand pruners

• If you are worrying about your soil's pH value or its nutrient levels,  get your soil tested this month.   You still have time to start making amendments to the soil if needed.

• If your garden is mulched,  you might consider  moving   the mulch off the rows in order to hasten soil warming, but  check the weather forecast to determine if predicted temperatures will be moderate. Remember, mulch insulates the soil from summer's heat and also from the warmth of spring's sun.

• You can still start (maybe more?) cool weather vegetables such as cabbage, onion,  parsley, lettuce and beets now. Yes, beets, they do transplant well to the garden.

• Continue to resist the temptation to start those tomatoes, peppers etc. UNLESS you  have grow lights and heat pads or have the perfect large sun room with plenty of space. Otherwise, your indoor seedings may look like those pictured below. Although eventually you could plant these sorry seedlings  in a shallow trench outdoors in late May to spur their root  development,  Cornell studies show that yields from "leggy" tomatoes are notably lower than from healthy plants.   

Source: thespruce.com

Unfortunately,  your window sill is far from being the ideal plant nursery because: A) windows in general do not admit enough light,  B) the days are still not long enough  to provide  8 hours of direct  light, and C) it's a long time until you can set those warm weather seedlings outside.  [n.b. For tomatoes, Cornell's School of Agriculture recommends waiting around 10 days to two weeks after the last frost and night temperatures stop going below 45°F to set out tomatoes.] 

I typically start my tomatoes in early April with a goal of moving them outside  after Memorial Day, or, at least, to begin hardening them off around Memorial day.  

• If you don't have a cold frame, much less a greenhouse, start saving those 1 & 2 liter clear plastic bottles and 1/2 and 1 gallon milk jugs (these translucent jugs work, too).  If you do decide to rush the season, by cutting off the bottoms and removing the caps you can use these containers as little cloches to protect your sensitive seedlings when you abandon them outside.  For other ideas about extending your growing season, this  Cornell guide provides more ideas.

And remember, "Trees and plants always look like the people they live with, somehow." - Zora Neale Huston