March Gardening To-Do List

Alright…it’s March and Spring is right around the corner! Woopwoop! That said…it’s time to get out there and get ready. Below you’ll find my March Gardening To-Do List. Hopefully you’ll find it helpful!

1. February Gardening To-Do’s

Let’s be honest…you were probably a bit too aggressive when you came up with your February gardening to-do list. I know I was. Life just got ahead of me…and the nasty weather didn’t help either. So for those things that weren’t time-sensitive (e.g., like starting seeds for some of my spring veggies…DOH!), I’m going to try to knock out some of what I had hoped to do in February…but just didn’t.

2. Veggie Garden

I’m really getting excited about our veggie garden…it’s the first year that I’ve planned far enough in advance to have a truly intentional spring harvest. So this is what I’m planning to do (or have already done):

• • Clean up and till my raised beds. (Whoop-whoop…did it last week!)
  • Plant an assortment of leafy greens and a few other things…broccoli, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, strawberries, sugar snaps, and a few tomatoes. I’m actually putting them in the ground tomorrow.

• • Although not in my raised beds, I’m going to get my Tower Garden® in tip-top shape…ready to diversify my veggie efforts with some more leafy greens.

3. Lawn

My lawn is looking a bit sad right now. Not surprisingly, my Zoysia is still sleeping and yellowy-brown, but because we were a bit too late in aerating and overseeding in the fall, my fescue is thinner than I’d like. So to rectify that, I’m going to:

• • Rake up all the leaves, pine needles and pine cones that have accumulated over the past several weeks.
  • Apply lime and fertilize where needed.
  • Aerate my Zoysia and aerate & overseed my fescue. (Note: this is the time of year you should aerate your warm season grasses (e.g., Zoysia, Bermuda, etc.)…and when you could aerate and overseed your cool season grasses (e.g., Fescue) – but fall is the best time).

4. Trees & Shrubs

This is still a great time to clean up and improve the structure of your trees and shrubs…and move around what plants need to be moved around.

• • With their leaves missing, I can clearly see the structure of some of my deciduous shrubs and trees. So I’ll pull out my newly sharpened pruners and go to town to bring things back in line. I generally do this as I’m walking through my yard…it makes for both an enjoyable & productive garden jaunt.

• • I’m also going to do a bit of additional pruning of my shrubs and ground covers…making sure to cut high enough to not decapitate the fiddleheads of my ferns or create brown edges on my grasses. (If I had been on top of it, I would have done this before mid-February and it would have been a lot easier.)
  • With the ground warming up and before my plants really begin to take off, I’m going to take the opportunity to transplant a few hydrangea and other shrubs that have matured and overgrown their spaces. I love doing this because it not only adds breathing room to otherwise cramped spaces, but it also makes me feel like I’ve inherited some “free” plants.
  • To help my shrubs’ leaf and flower growing efforts, I’m going to hit them with a balanced fertilizer (e.g., 5-5-5, 10-10-10, or 15-15-15…check out this post if these numbers are confusing to you).
  • I’m also going to remove dead/burnt camellia buds from the plants and off the ground. Not only does this make things look better, it also gets what’s potentially sick away from what’s healthy (i.e., minimize spreading any flower funk). Again, this is something I do as I walk through my yard…typically on the way to the chicken coop.
  • I have several hostas that can and should be divided…as well as some baby Lenten Roses that can be transplanted to other areas of my yard. So that’s on my gardening to-do list for this month.

5. Other General Organization & Clean-Up

• • I didn’t get to cleaning out my garden shed last month…so I’m going to do that…and Britt really wants me to do the same with our garage. And the bonus with cleaning and organizing them both at the same time minimizes the chances that I’ll just move one pile of stuff from one place to another.
  • I just cleaned out my gutters…but now I need to whip out the pressure-washer to clean around them and the soffits…as well as my garage door, other doors & windows, and porches.
  • Lastly, with the weather warming up…my girls are wanting to go into the wilds beyond our backyard fence. So I’m going to whip out my machete and swashbuckle my way through all the brambles and other things cramping our paths…before they get real thick and not as easily tamed.

Man…even though yesterday was beautiful, this seems to be a whole heck of a lot of things to do during a month where most of my plants are still asleep. But getting done what needs to get done now will pay off big time once my green friends wake up!

Take care friends,

 

 

PS: Clearly there is a ton more you could do…so here are a couple of other links to some other March Gardening To-Do Lists that you might find helpful:

• • Walter Reeves’ March Calendar…for my fellow Georgians
  • Margaret Roach’s March Garden Chores on her A Way to Garden blog