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Gardening Jobs for March

Re-pot houseplants so they will grow well during spring and summer.

Water gloxinias and African violets from the bottom, avoiding getting any water on the leaves. Dust the leaves with a small, soft brush.

Consider ordering a few blueberry plants. Not only will they provide delicious fruit for jams, muffins, and pies, but they are also an excellent choice for landscaping plants, offering scarlet fall foliage and creamy white spring flowers. Blueberries serve neatly in a hedge or as specimen plants.

When choosing fruit trees, remember that apple, apricot, and pear trees need two varieties present to ensure pollination. If space is limited, try peach, nectarine, or sour cherry, which will bear fruit on a single tree.

Garden work should begin when a lump of soil squeezed in the hand is dry enough to fall apart slowly.

Uncover bulb beds and hardy borders near the middle of the month.

Plant deciduous trees and shrubs this month.

Trim out the old canes from the rows of berry bushes. The bramble fruits are borne on new wood of last year's growth.

Prune fruit trees until spring buds swell. Maple and birch should not be pruned until they leaf out.

Sprinkle wood ashes around berries and fruit trees. The potash will enhance the sweetness of the fruit.

Remove mulches from snowdrops and crocuses so the shoots can come through.

Uncover mulched perennial and strawberry beds gradually, pressing into place any plants that have been heaved up.

Dig up over-wintered parsnips as soon as the soil is loose enough. They will not benefit from any additional time in the ground.

Set out pansies as soon as the ground is ready. They'll happily withstand cold weather and will bloom steadily if the spent blossoms are kept picked.

Remove the mulch from your perennial beds gradually. Take it off as the season progresses and add it to your compost pile.

If your compost pile has been frozen all winter, add some manure now and turn it frequently.

Check trellises, latticework, and fences for winter damage. Repair before spring growth begins.

Dormant spraying for fruit trees should be done before spring growth begins.

Resist the temptation to uncover spring-flowering plants such as daffodils and tulips. Mulch may be loosened, but the shoots will still benefit from protection against cold, drying winds.

Manure can be spread over the garden now, especially on the asparagus and rhubarb beds.

Be sure that flats and pots used for starting seed are perfectly clean. Likewise, the soil should be clean and sterile.

Mark and label your sown seeds, indoors and out.

Water newly started seedlings carefully. A pitcher may let the water out too forcefully. A mist sprayer is gentle but can take a long time. Try using a meat basting syringe, which will dispense the water effectively without causing too much soil disruption.

Give peas a chance. The earlier they mature, the sweeter they'll be. Sow them as soon as the soil can be worked, but save some for a later planting as well.

Spread dark plastic intended for mulch out over the garden site to hasten the warming of the soil. This will provide for earlier and better germination.

Keep plastic milk jugs or other coverings on hand to protect the flowers of pansies, crocuses, and other early bloomers against the return of severe weather.

Start seedlings of annuals in flats -- aster, larkspur, alyssum, and balsam should be started now (or 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost date in your area). If summer season is short, zinnias should be started now. They will need to be potted up in individual pots after 4 to 5 weeks.

Start some vegetables in flats now: Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and lettuce are good choices.

Seed alpine strawberries now to make attractive and bountiful hanging baskets for summer.

A peck of March dust and a shower in May,
Makes the corn green and the fields gay.

Start some vegetable seeds indoors, such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprout, and cabbage. (See our Best Dates to Plant chart on Almanac.com/Gardening.)

Prune trees and shrubs if they're susceptible to disease if pruned during warm weather. (Prune while they're dormant.)

Prune dormant fruit trees; the fruit will be larger if it has more room to grow.

Before planting outdoors, have your soil tested. Find your local Cooperative Extension on Almanac.com/Gardening.

Continue providing food and water for the birds and other wildlife.

Move potted plants to containers that are about 2 inches larger in diameter than their current pot.

Trees, shrubs, and perennials can be planted as soon as they are available at the nurseries.

Keep the roots of mail order plants from drying out and plant them as soon as conditions allow.

Sow some flower seeds indoors now, such as petunia, saliva, snapdragon, and verbena.

Sow grass seed if weather allows.

Remove winter protection from roses.

Fertilize your perennial beds with a balanced fertilizer, such as 6-12-12, and your vegetable garden with 12-12-12.

Don't work the soil if it's too wet. It should feel like crumbly cake in your hands.

Towards the end of the month, it may be time to sow seeds of eggplant and pepper indoors. (See our Best Dates to Plant chart on Almanac.com/Gardening.)

Apply a dormant oil spray to your fruit trees to help control insects.

Sow peas outdoors, even if it's snowy!

Remove mulch from established strawberries; remove dead leaves from asparagus and rhubarb.

Sidedress asparagus and rhubarb with nitrogen fertilizer.

Fertilize cool-season lawns, such as bluegrass and ryegrass. Do not fertilize warm-season lawn grasses yet.

Now is the time to plant almost every kind of landscape plant. Remember, the sooner you plant, the sooner your plants will become established.

Water lawns and gardens deeply once to twice a week, depending on the amount of rain. Do not overwater.

To help avoid weeds in your lawn, establish a regular mowing schedule now. Avoid mowing your lawn when it is wet, however, to prevent the spread of fungal problems.

Prune evergreen and summer-flowering trees and shrubs. Prune spring-flowering shrubs only after they finish blooming.

Divide and replant summer- and fall-blooming perennials.

Add new flowers to your garden such as: bee balm, black-eyed Susan, cosmos, marigold, sunflower, and zinnia.

Finish planting any cool-season vegetables, such as beets, carrots, cabbage, peas, and potatoes.

Summer vegetables can begin to be sown towards the end of the month, such as: beans (lima and snap), corn, cucumbers, melons (cantaloupe, muskmelon, and watermelon), okra, green onions, peanuts, pumpkins, summer squashes, and sunflowers.

Plant transplants such as: artichokes, eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes.

Plant herbs such as: basil, chamomile, chives, lavender, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, sage, savory, thyme, and yarrow.

Apply mulch around the base of edibles and flowers to conserve moisture (and prevent weeds).

Fertilize deciduous fruit trees when they leaf out.

Once the fruit on your trees set, thin out the fruit to about 6 inches apart. This thinning encourages the fruit to grow bigger.

Prune frost-sensitive citrus trees after new spring growth. Plant new citrus trees.

Beware of pests that are attracted to new growth, such as aphids and cutworms.

Continue fertilizing established roses, watering the day before and after application.