TIPS FOR BULBS IN MARCH:

You can find a fantastic selection of colorful varieties of bulbs in catalogues at this time of the year. Plant Gladioli in small groups. Set out at two week intervals for continuous summer bloom. 

Plant Ranaculus tubers and lily bulbs now if soil is workable. 

Weed and fertilize all your beds of bulbs, corms and tubors. 

Remove all dead flower heads from bulbs that have finished flowering so that their energy does not go to producing seeds rather than bulb development. 





TIPS FOR FLOWERS:

Lift and divide large clumps of herbaceous plants. Remove the old woody stalks and add them to the compost. 

Plant and display your containers and baskets in sheltered areas now. Try a combination of pansies, heather, grape hyacinth and narcissus. 

Plant new lily-of-the-valley pips. Mulch well with compost to protect against unforeseen cold spells. 

Plant dahlia tubors that have been stored over the winter. Continue to take cuttings. 

Start fertilizing house plants as soon as there are more hours of daylight than darkness. 

When buying house plants avoid plant with roots coming out of drainage holes; as well as large plants in small pots, or small plants in large pots. 

Some plants can now be set out during the day. If it is mild you can leave them out. 

Fertilize the soil around the base of lilacs and primroses in late February or early March. 

Half hardy annuals must be planted densely. Raise plenty of plants by sowing seeds in February or March. Sow summer blooming annuals in late march. 






TIPS FOR VEGETABLES:

Dig vegetable plots, if not completed. Use well decomposed garden compost. Sow onion, carrot, beets, broccoli, peas, radishes, spinach and broad bean seeds approximately a foot apart. Plant shorter vegetables south of taller ones to reduce shade problems. 

Now is the time to set out your onion seedlings and perennial vegetables such as horse - radish, asparagus and artichokes. 

Plant early potatoe crops a foot apart. In colder areas it is best to wait another three or four weeks. 

Sow celery seeds in greenhouses. 

Plant young cauliflower approximately 2 feet apart. Make sure the soil is firm around the roots. 







GENERAL YARD & GARDEN CARE:

Get rid of weeds and debris from your rock garden as soon as weather permits. Add soil where winter rains have washed it away. 

Speed up decomposition in your compost pile by turning it with a pitchfork every couple of weeks. 

Dig in compost, manure and other amendments in planting areas when the soil is dry enough. 

Make sure your trees and shrubs have no broken branches after any wind storms. Cut them off as close as possible to main branch. 

Watch carefully for aphids that like that new spring growth. 

Start Hoeing or pulling weeds now to avoid a rush later. Pulling weeds is easier while the ground is wet. 






TIPS FOR FRUIT & BERRIES:

Weed strawberry patches carefully; remembering that they have shallow roots. Now is also the time to plant new strawberry plants. 

Soak roots of bare-root apple, cherry and peach trees in water overnight; before planting. 

Cut back side branches of established Blackberry plants to aproximately one foot, for larger more abundant fruit. 

Rake up leaves and husks from walnut trees to prevent fungal diseases. 

Prune raspberries canes now. Cut out dead or weak canes and prune off all diseased canes. 

Cut out dead, or weak blueberry canes. Prune back late season growth and feed with an acidic fertilizer after the first year. 

Check soft fruit plants (planted earlier) and firm soil around the base, that was loosened by frost. 

Feed all deciduous fruit trees with a complete fertilizer. Add more to those that did not bear as much fruit last year. 

Keep a close eye on fruit trees for aphids this time of year. 

Prune dormant deciduous fruit trees before buds swell. 









TIPS FOR LAWNS:

Get ready for regular mowing. Your lawn will grow more rapidly in spring. Set the mower blades high for the first cutting; gradually reducing height with each mow. 

Add compost into ground covers and feed lightly with a complete fertilizer to encourage the rooting of runner stems. Brush and scatter wormcasts. 

Dethatch, edge and weed as needed. Check edges for repair where soil has fallen against the lawn. 

Clip back established ground covers to encourage dense growth. 

Rake up bare spots to expose the soil for reseeding. 




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