Garden Calendar – March

Credit: by Barbra Fairclough

• Move winterized containers outdoors when threat of frost has passed.
• Keep soil temperature for indoor seedlings slightly above room temperature. If you do not have a heated planting area for your seeds, use the top of your refrigerator or TV. This can work well for seeds that do not need light to germinate. Once they have germinated, move them to a spot that receives plenty of light.
• When watering tiny seedlings use room-temperature water to avoid shocking them. This will help maintain an even, consistent soil temperature, which is essential for seedling development.
• After your orchid has bloomed is a good time to repot it, if necessary. Repot when your orchid has outgrown its container or when the bark around the roots has broken down and needs to be replaced.
• Apply lime to your lawn. Soil can be so leached that with just one application of lime your lawn can become green. Lime helps to make the nutrients in the soil available to plants.
• Plant dormant shrubs and bare-root trees as soon as you can get a shovel into the ground. Planting when dormant helps to maintain vigour so shrubs and trees will be in good stead when growth is summoned.
• Check for frost heave. If you planted in the fall and your plants did not have a chance to establish roots before winter you may find them heaved from the ground. Tuck them in again before growth starts.
• Remove mulch from roses. Once the threat of hard frost is past and the ground becomes workable, gently remove soil that has been mounded over the crown for winter protection.
• Get ahead of annual weeds. When the ground can be worked, place a layer of clear poly over your prepared vegetable bed. Early weed seeds will germinate and deplete themselves. Your vegetables will have a head start when you plant them out because they won’t have to compete with the weeds.

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