What do I do now? March is the time to focus on cleaning the leaves from the garden and adding compost. Compost will fortify your early plants and shrubs. Add mulch on top of that to save water and help your plants get through the temperature changes of March (In like a Lion and out like a Lamb, right?). It is also a good time to cut back your decorative grasses (and I have so many of these!) and think about which vegetables you want to grow this year.
- Put supports in. If any of your garden plants or climbers will need supporting this year, put them in now, so plants can grow up through them. Adding supports afterwards is trickier and often looks unattractive.
- Move deciduous trees or shrubs. Now is the time to do this task, provided the soil isn’t frozen or waterlogged.
- Resurface pathways before plants start to grow and smother them.
- Avoid planting tender crops too early, know your last frost date, and don’t keep hardy plants indoors too long.
To sum it up: March is a transitional month focused on waking up the garden, cleaning up winter debris, starting seeds indoors, and planting cold-hardy crops. Key tasks include pruning fruit trees, testing soil, sharpening tools, removing winter mulch from perennials, and direct-sowing peas, spinach, and kale once the ground is workable.
