Spring works, or what do we do in the garden in March?
Tidy up in the garden
First of all, we should take care of order in our garden. Winter left behind many unknowns requiring inspection. The garden needs a thorough inspection. It is necessary to look around it, check the condition of trees, shrubs, lawns and flowerbeds. Visual inspection is the first step in further planning of works.
Walking through the garden waking up from winter sleep, it is worth checking the pH of the soil. It is almost necessary to properly fertilize the soil. March is the most favorable month for this. To carry out the test, it is enough to purchase a chemical acid meter, which will allow you to take soil samples. A simpler and cheaper solution are ordinary litmus papers, which begin to discolor when placed on the ground. Everyone who has a garden must remember that many plants do not tolerate acidified soil.
Fertilizing the soil is another important aspect. For the garden, compost is the best choice, but you can also use other types of fertilizers. Young trees tolerate nitrogen well, while phosphate, potash and nitrate fertilizers work best for older trees. However, first of all, we should take care of bulb plants. They need ammonium nitrate to grow, the ideal amount of which is 10-15 g per 1m2.
In March, the cover of bushes and trees is removed, which protects plants from frost in winter. However, it is worth leaving this activity to the end of March, because frost and temperature fluctuations are still possible, which could damage many plants.
One of the most popular garden activities that everyone remembers is raking the lawn. In this way, we remove all accumulated leaves, twigs, garbage and dry grass and effectively bring the lawn back to life. We fill in and level the molehills, thus scaring away the moles so that they do not ruin the lawn in the summer months. We can use a special fertilizer for lawns that will improve its condition. If inconvenient depressions appear in the garden, we fill them with soil, which we trample and sow with seeds of a grass mixture. Then we cover these seeds with a layer of earth about 1 cm thick.
March pruning of trees
In March, it is extremely important to cut trees and shrubs. This activity is divided into 3 types: sanitary, x-ray and forming cutting.
SEE: Garden shears and secateurs
Forming pruning is done mainly on bushes in ¼ of their height. In this way, we prune narrow-leaved lavender, David's buddleia, bouquet hydrangea and bush hydrangea as well as small, Japanese, white-flowered and willow-leaved meadowsweet. March is also an excellent month to make a cut in 1/3 of the height of shoots above the ground of almond and multiflorous roses.
Sanitary pruning is done to get rid of diseased, old and damaged shoots. On the other hand, the x-ray cut is used to remove shoots that grow too close to each other, too dense, and in addition cross each other. Plants such as: dogwoods, corneas, hazels, quinces, cotoneasters, viburnums, shrubs, decorative currants and jasmine trees are suitable for translucent cutting. This type of treatment allows for more abundant and healthier flowering.
In March, it is necessary to trim fruit bushes. In the case of young trees, it is worth pruning only the shoots growing to the inside of the crown or those crossing. You can't prune them too much, because they will bear much less fruit. If we have freshly planted bushes to trim, the side shoots should be shortened by ½, and the guide by 1/3. It is also important that the circles around the trees are mulched and watered.
The garden is often surrounded by a hedge. We must not forget that he also needs trimming. This should be done by the end of March at the latest, because later comes the breeding season and birds nest in the bushes.
Planting trees and shrubs in March
The temperature in the spring more or less stabilizes at the end of March. This is a good time to plant fruit trees and shrubs, ornamentals and deciduous hedges that shed their leaves for the winter. After this, carefully cut them 30 cm above the ground. This month we can also replant - if plants do not like a certain place or we consider it unfavorable, it is worth taking care of replanting at the end of March.
After garden cleaning and careful planning of the garden, we can also plant rose bushes. However, we must refrain from pruning them, because they are recommended only after two years from rooting and always in April!
Flowers, perennials, garden plants - what do we do in March?
March is extremely intense when it comes to all garden plants. This month we sow most annual plants grown from seedlings (e.g. marigolds, marigolds, sweet peas). It is best to do it in March, because then there are the greatest chances of success, mainly due to better insolation and higher, though sometimes unstable, temperature. However, if we managed to sow these plants already in February, in March we can safely move the plants to individual pots or boxes so that the leaves do not touch each other.
An important garden job is to trim perennials that have dried up for the winter. Typically, these are papa grass, stipa, Chinese mixtans, spreaders, imperats, mollies, switchgrass millet. These types of grass need to be cut about 10 cm above the ground. This treatment is necessary, because thanks to it, young shoots will be able to grow beautiful and tall.
At the end of the month, it is worth starting fertilizing plants that start vegetation early. Thanks to this, they will get the right amount of nutrients and will grow and develop properly. This is done by spreading a few-centimeter layer of compost on the flowerbed, which serves as an excellent organic mulch, which is designed to protect the soil from drying out and crusting after heavy rainfall. Such a coating will also be quite a challenge for weeds, preventing them from sprouting, which means that we will have less work to do. When we do not have enough compost, it is worth using granulated manure or one of the compound fertilizers.
vegetable garden
March is a month when we work not only with ornamental plants. Crops are equally important. The beginning of spring is the perfect time to sow seeds for seedlings. We are talking mainly about tomatoes, peppers, kohlrabi, cauliflower, butter lettuce, broccoli and head cabbage. It is important that seedlings produced at home have constant access to light. The best place is directly by the window. When the ground is completely thawed, we must remember to fertilize perennial vegetables and herbs. By the end of the month, seeds of broad beans and peas, early carrots and lettuce, spinach and dill, radishes, lamb's lettuce and onions should be in the ground.
SEE: Fertilizers For Vegetables and Fruits
Pond care
In many gardens you can meet a wonderful person, which is a pond. It also requires a moment of attention in the context of the approaching spring. It is necessary to remove ice residues, plant remains and garbage from the surface and bottom of the pond. In addition, it is worth starting the pump for the first time, thanks to which the layers of water will mix and saturate it with oxygen. It is important to remove putrefactive gases, dead fish and frogs from the water in the spring. It is worth doing a little reconnaissance and checking if there has been any damage to the foil or laminate, because this is the best time for repairs.
House and balcony plants
The garden is not the only place where you can plant flowers and enjoy the greenery of plants. The house is a place where the garden can also enter. That is why indoor and balcony plants also need work at the beginning of spring. Initially, we prune overwintered plants, e.g. fuchsias or geraniums above the 3-5 bud, and at the same time carefully remove the old leaves and shorten the roots. Put everything in fresh soil. In this way, the rejuvenated flowers will have a compact, close habit, thanks to which they will bloom profusely.
Then it is worth taking care of driving cannas and dahlias, planting rhizomes into pots and watering. They are usually transplanted into the ground or placed in pots outside, but only at the end of May.
It is very important to plant peace clones, datura, pencilworts or bush chrysanthemums, which go to a mixture of peat and sand. Cacti require waking up from winter sleep. We do this by watering them with warm water (hot water must not be used under any circumstances!). This water temperature will effectively warm the roots. It is important to place cacti in the brightest place in the house, then they will bloom very quickly.
The other houseplants are beginning to demand more and more water. We have to provide it to them. It is worth spraying yourself with lukewarm water, just like cacti. In addition, we are starting fertilization, which was completely suspended or only limited in winter. It is important to feed houseplants with multi-component fertilizers from March onwards and repeat this activity every 2 weeks.
If we are in favor of transplanting, we want a plant to land in a different pot - March is the perfect time for this type of activity. Plants that do not fit in the current pots are transplanted into larger pots. However, if we do not want to throw away large plants or repot them into an even larger pot, then we can cut their roots, replace the substrate and put them back into the same pot. Once every few years, you can be tempted to replace the substrate in each pot plant.
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