Spring is Coming!
This is the time of year when I generally try to give everyone some hope for spring by telling you how much more sunshine we are going to have by the end of the month. It’s also to help me remember that the dark mornings are coming to an end, and there will be more time to get out and enjoy the daylight soon. And I don’t know about you, but I could sure use more of the sunshine than we have gotten this winter. Yesterday’s sunshine was lovely – I just want more!
So, here’s my pick-me-up (for you and me): on the first day of February, we had nine hours and fifty-nine minutes of daylight. Today, we will have eleven hours and sixteen minutes, and by the end of the month, we will be getting twelve hours and forty-one minutes of daylight. The thought of all that daylight just makes me giddy! Now, would it be too much to ask that the sun was actually out for much of that time?
Jennifer
In this month’s issue of Let’s Get Gardening
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In this month’s issue:
I am very thankful that the snow we got Tuesday night and Wednesday came with slightly colder temperatures. Had it been just a little warmer, the snow would have been that wet, heavy, back-breaking stuff we often get in late winter. Having said that, I could have done without the snow (and the super cold temps that came with it) altogether. Fortunately, it looks like the temps this week will make short work of the snow and ice. And while it’s not quite gardening weather yet, there are some things to do to get ready for gardening season, which I am hoping comes a little earlier this year than last year!
Indoors:
- If you have been putting off making your garden plans for the upcoming season, what are you waiting for? Make your plans now so that you can be sure to have what you need as the season gets going – which will be sooner than you think, especially if you’re not ready.
- March is the time to start many plants from seed indoors. Starting your own plants has lots of benefits, including the ability to try different varieties that you might not be able to find as plants in local stores.
- Lots of flowers can be started from seed, too.
- March is a great time to re-pot any of your indoor plants that need it. If some of your plants are getting really big, split them into a few smaller ones so that you don’t have one huge plant that you can’t move!
- If you stored tender bulbs – such as dahlias – over the winter, check them now and discard any that are soft, damaged or diseased.
- Depending on the variety and when you potted them, bulbs potted for forcing last fall could be getting ready to start coming up this month.
Outdoors:
- March is a weather transition month, and the snow we tend to get at this time is generally wet and heavy because the temperatures hover right around the freezing mark. Heavy snow can weigh down and potentially break tree and shrub branches.
- Timing pruning this year is a little tricky because it hasn’t been all that cold. If you haven’t gotten pruning done yet, you might want to skip it altogether, if you can. If not, do it sooner rather than later – don’t wait until the weather starts to really warm up, because pruning in warm weather can leave some trees and shrubs vulnerable to insects and disease that are active in warm weather.
- Bring spring indoors early by forcing branches of forsythia, pussy willow, quince, spirea, and dogwood. Take some cuttings from those shrubs and trees, and bring them indoors.
- We frequently see some icy conditions in the month of March. If that holds true this year, be careful when spreading ice melt on sidewalks and driveways so that you don’t cause damage to nearby plants.
- We often have issues with frost heave in March as well, so keep an eye out, if you are out in your yard. Frost heave occurs when wet soil freezes and expands, pushing roots up, out of the soil.
- Now, having just told you to go out and prune and look for frost heave, I’m going to also warn you to try to stay off the lawn and out of garden beds as much as possible if the soil is wet and soft.
- Before spring really gets going, and you start applying fertilizers to your lawn and flower beds, it’s a great idea to do a soil test.
- Tradition says that Saint Patrick’s Day is the time to plant peas. I have yet to see a Michigan Saint Patrick’s Day that is warm enough for that, but I’m always hopeful. The better way to be sure that your peas will come up when you plant them is to take your soil’s temperature.
For the birds:
- Don’t stop feeding birds yet – the options for food in nature are really slim for birds at this point, because there
are few insects out, and much of the seeds and berries from last year have been consumed by now. - Clean out nest boxes, or put up new ones (or both).
- If you are interested in learning more about the birds in our area, the Washtenaw Audubon Society offers a number of opportunities, including “Weekend Walks” at local parks.
More info on all of these tips can be found in our monthly newsletter: Read the May 2020 issue of Let’s Get Gardening
Happy Gardening!
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