March Maintenance

Spring is slowly (and this year especially) coming around the corner. If you can capture a sun break, it's time to venture into the garden and start planning for the year ahead. Here is a nice little list of places to start:

Pruning
- Remove dead branches. This helps by removing fodder for rot and also revealing the living shape of the plant.
- Prune you fruit trees before they leaf out while you can still see their structure.
- Help nudge your tree or shrub towards their most harmonious shape. This doesn't mean cutting it back from a walkway or the house, but rather helping it show off its best features and stay healthy.

Fertilizing
- As Spring rains come and vegetative growth resumes, it is the perfect time to give your plants a little boost. Especially if they are blooming or fruiting plants.
- We prefer to use organic granular fertilizers, as they leach slowly into the root system and there is very little chance of overdoing it.

Weeding
- Even through the soil is a bit wet, moving through beds and finding leftover weeds is a satisfying way to spruce things up. Be sure to get the crown or root of the weed, otherwise it will be back in short order. Try using a pitch fork or trowel to pop the weed out!

Planting
- Get some annuals going in pots and hanging baskets. If you still have the potential for a hard frost, wait a bit more.
- Perennials planted now have a leg up on the entire year.
- Staking plants that tend to flop now means you don't have the wrangle the plant when it's already big.

Veggie Beds
- Start by softening up the beds with a pitch fork and adding a little organic matter like compost or mulch.
- A few weeks later, some raking will even out the soil and prep the bed for seeds.

- Some chill tolerant veggies are ready to go in - Peas, Spinach, Turnips, and hardy Lettuces can all be planted.
- Take 30 minutes to plan out your planting calendar, so you don't get behind on getting your seeds in on  time.