Let’s Get Planning For Gardening!
The National Weather Service says, “composites depict a strong warm signal” and “Probabilities of above normal precipitation are greater than 50 percent from southern Michigan to western areas of the Ohio Valley…” In other words, they’re predicting that the next couple of months will be warmer and wetter than normal. Warmer could be a good thing – it could mean that we might be able to get started gardening a little early this year! Of course, it is Michigan, so don’t count to heavily on that – how many times have we all lost plants because we put them out too early, and they got hit by a late frost?!
Jennifer
In this month’s issue of Let’s Get Gardening
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In this month’s issue:
Have you been having a hard time finding the seeds you want? You’re not alone! We finally have some seeds – from our local seed companies, Nature & Nurture and Ann Arbor Seed Company. We are still waiting for our Renee’s Seeds to come in – they keep telling me it will be “next week.” So far, “next week” hasn’t meant the week following when I’ve last asked, apparently. It’s frustrating, but I keep telling myself that there isn’t much that we can be planting yet anyway, so I just need to be patient. Just so you know – that’s not my strong suit! If there are particular seed varieties that you are looking for, let us know, and we can let you know if we are expecting them, and set them aside for you when they do finally come in. We’ve already gotten a number of requests, so do let us know if there is something we can hold for you, so you don’t miss out.
I’m finding plenty of other things to keep me busy while I wait for seeds to arrive…
Indoors:
- Planning for my garden is the biggest thing keeping me busy right now. Making a plan helps me figure out
what I need for the upcoming season, including seeds, supports, fertilizers, tools, etc. I don’t necessarily stick to my plan 100% – I figure need to be flexible so that I can fit in new varieties I didn’t know I was going to find, for instance. While you are making your plans, determine what you’ll need in the way of seed-starting supplies, such as peat pots, starting medium, heating mats, etc. All of these are on sale this month at the Garden Mill, both in-store and online! - Do you start your own veggie and herb plants from seed? If so, start parsley early in the month; broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, head lettuces, kale, and most herbs mid-month. Basil can wait until the end of the month.
- Early to mid-March is the time to start zinnia seeds, and mid to late-March is the time to get a number of flowers going, including amaranth, catmint, cleome, gaillardia, nigella, stock and thunbergia.
- If you stored tender bulbs over the winter, check them now and discard any that are soft, damaged or diseased.
- If you potted bulbs for forcing last fall, check their progress. When your bulbs get a few inches of growth, it’s time to move them into a cool (60 degrees) sunny spot, but not in direct sunlight.
Outdoors:
- We’ve had a bit of winter this year – some heavy snow, some ice, some wind – that may have caused damage to trees and shrubs. Now is a good time to check to see how your trees and shrubs fared, and prune off damage you find, and if you didn’t finish other pruning to get that done as well.
- While you’re out pruning, take some cuttings from spring-blooming shrubs and trees, such as forsythia, cherry, quince, and redbud, and bring them indoors for forcing. Trim the ends, using long, slanted cuts to help the branches take up water. Place the branches in vases of water (be sure to change the water every few days).
- As tempting as it is to get out and get to work in the yard and garden, stay off the lawn and out of garden beds as much as possible while the ground is wet.
- This time of year is prime for frost heave in our gardens. Frost heave occurs when wet soil freezes and expands, causing the roots of plants to push up and out of the soil, which can be harmful or even deadly to the plants. If we get some days when the ground has had time to dry out (after the snow has melted and in between rain events), do take a walk around and look for plants that may show signs of frost heave.
- While you’re out checking for frost heave, pull any weeds you find in your flower beds. This will make the spring chore a little easier, and it gets you outdoors and in the garden – as long as the ground isn’t too wet!
Birds:
- Some of our migrating birds will be returning to Michigan this month looking for places to nest (the redwings are already back at my house, and I literally just heard my first cranes of the season as I was writing this!). Providing our returning birds with food, water, and shelter can help to encourage them to hang around in your yard – which is great for a few reasons. Birds can be very entertaining to watch and can provide you with hours of fun, but the best reason to encourage them in your yard if you’re a gardener is that they eat lots of insects!
- Feeding birds at this time of year is important – it helps them keep up their energy, as they are looking for nesting spot and finding nesting materials. Feeding also helps birds preserve their energy for staying warm on cold March nights. So, keep filling up those feeders.
More info on all of these tips can be found in our monthly newsletter: Read the March 2022 issue of Let’s Get Gardening
Happy Gardening!
All Seeds and Seed Starting Supplies are
On Sale All Month!
In Store and Online. While Supplies Last.
(seeds are coming!)
Cannot be combined with any other offers.
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