Here's What Spring Brings

March is always a busy month in our Zone 7 garden...with far more items on the To Do List than decent days to do the To Do's! With our wacky, wintry weather still hanging around (we had snow flurries on Tuesday of this week!), we have had to cram a lot into shorter blocks of time.

What we have done so far in March:

►Celebrating St. Patrick's Day is a good reminder that it's time to plant potatoes. We have used grow bags successfully for several years now (remember? I have posted about them before here...:-), and this year is no different. I've planted 10 bags so far (2 more to go) with Kennebec, Yukon Gold, Midnight Moon, and Russet. I have seen tiny green shoots in the very first bag of Russets I planted, so that means they survived some pretty chilly temps. 

►Planted 6 new bareroot roses in the Rose Garden: 3 Midas Touch (AARS), and 1 each Sweetness, Lagerfeld, and Wild Blue Yonder (AARS winner...& dedicated to my Daddy, who often sang the Army Air Corps (now Air Force) song: "Off we go into the wild, blue yonder, flying high into the sun..."). Also we (and by "we," I mean Mr. T...;-) transplanted the two Cinnamon Girl miniature roses that survived the winter from their containers to the Rose Garden, replacing the two First Prizes (AARS) that did not survive the polar vortex. Sun Sprinkles, the 3 AARS-winning miniatures also in containers, seemed to have fared a bit better, so I just pruned them lightly.

►Noticed that 10 of the "cuttings" I kept when I pruned the roses in February are showing some new growth and promise of tiny root hairs. Got them in pots and covered with plastic. We'll see if I get any new roses this year...fingers crossed!

Compost Happens!

►Added the contents of the compost barrel to the Row Garden (as you see in the photo left), along with shredded leaves, pulverized (powdered...so it will break down faster) lime, and 10-10-10 fertilizer. Then turned the rows and hilled them back up. After a couple of weeks, I'll cover them with landscape fabric like I did last year. Interestingly enough, I heard an Ag agent from another county speak last week, and he advised against covering the soil in this manner. Hmmmmm. Since we had such fantastic results with our trial last year, I think I will have to go against his advise and rely on my experience. I happen to like not having to weed...& and there is no denying our soil looks great!

►Applied 10-10-10 fertilizer to blueberries, blackberries, and grapes in the Berry Patch. All were beginning to break dormancy, although I have concerns about what this later-than-usual cold snap might have done to all those buds, as well as the early-to-break-dormancy-and-leaf-out plum tree in the orchard.

 

►Planted cool season transplants in the raised beds in the Box Garden. As I watched the calendar march through March, I knew that I wouldn't have time to rely on seeding these veggies for a good harvest this year. So I put in 4 kinds of lettuce transplants (red and green Romaine, Buttercrunch, and Red Sails), and then seeded for Black-seeded Simpson and more Buttercrunch; 2 kinds of broccoli transplants, along with red cabbage and spinach transplants. Then, as soon as I planted the boxes and let Mother Nature shower them overnight, I put row covers on to protect the tender transplants. Box Garden looks like it has been eaten by giant caterpillars again. Sigh.

►I also seeded some Danver's half-long carrots to one box. Then, I finally, finally got my peas planted on the fence in the Block Garden...just before this latest dip into the 20's. I haven't checked to the damage yet. Fingers crossed. Again.

►To repair some bare spots in our lawns, we overseeded with grass seed and slow release fertilizer. I got out our soil test for the front yard and realized that we didn't add the second application of phosphorus last year (our soil was so low in phosphorus that we couldn't add enough in one season, so we had to break the application into two parts). We'll put that chore on this weekend's list, as rain is predicted...and a good watering-in by Mother Nature will be perfect.

►Transplanted and divided some pots of liriope that our neighbor had given us last year. Also gave the existing stands of "monkey grass" their haircuts, shearing the old brown fronds before the plants begin to turn green.

Bio-Dome Seed Starter -
New Tomato Seedlings growing to the light

►Started seeds of tomatoes and peppers in my new Bio-Dome seed-starter, as you see in the picture above. I had it on top of the kitchen fridge to provide bottom-warmth for germination, but have now moved it to the counter under the warm, intense undercounter lights. 

I have 4 Roma VF, 4 Park's Whoppers, 4 Beefmasters, and 2 Cherokee Purples (new to my garden this year)...and they have all germinated! That is truly remarkable because those Romas? Well, those seeds are 5 years old! I've started some every year since I purchased the packet in 2010, keeping the remainder in the garage fridge.

I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see tiny seeds actually come to life...almost before my very eyes. I have some transplants on order...and I will get a couple of transplants at the garden center, as I always do...but growing from seed still thrills this gardener's soul!

And the peppers? The peppers are slower to germinate than the tomatoes, but I did notice a couple of teeny, tiny stems this morning. Soon, I hope to have California Wonder, Jalapeño, Fish, Mariachi, Cherry Poppers, and Orange Blaze...those last three brand new to my garden this year. 

OK, let me get a hot cup of coffee, put on my jacket, and go see what the garden looks like today. Can't wait!

Happy hoeing!