Grden Jobs for March The Old Farmers Almanac

Re-pot houseplants so they will grow well during spring and summer.
Water gloxinias and African violets from the bottom, avoiding getting any water on the leaves. Dust the leaves with a small, soft brush.
Consider ordering a few blueberry plants. Not only will they provide delicious fruit for jams, muffins, and pies, but they are also an excellent choice for landscaping plants, offering scarlet fall foliage and creamy white spring flowers. Blueberries serve neatly in a hedge or as specimen plants.
When choosing fruit trees, remember that apple, apricot, and pear trees need two varieties present to ensure pollination. If space is limited, try peach, nectarine, or sour cherry, which will bear fruit on a single tree.
Garden work should begin when a lump of soil squeezed in the hand is dry enough to fall apart slowly.
Uncover bulb beds and hardy borders near the middle of the month.
Plant deciduous trees and shrubs this month.
Trim out the old canes from the rows of berry bushes. The bramble fruits are borne on new wood of last year's growth.
Prune fruit trees until spring buds swell. Maple and birch should not be pruned until they leaf out.
Sprinkle wood ashes around berries and fruit trees. The potash will enhance the sweetness of the fruit.
Remove mulches from snowdrops and crocuses so the shoots can come through.
Uncover mulched perennial and strawberry beds gradually, pressing into place any plants that have been heaved up.
Dig up over-wintered parsnips as soon as the soil is loose enough. They will not benefit from any additional time in the ground.
Set out pansies as soon as the ground is ready. They'll happily withstand cold weather and will bloom steadily if the spent blossoms are kept picked.
Remove the mulch from your perennial beds gradually. Take it off as the season progresses and add it to your compost pile.
If your compost pile has been frozen all winter, add some manure now and turn it frequently.
Check trellises, latticework, and fences for winter damage. Repair before spring growth begins.
Dormant spraying for fruit trees should be done before spring growth begins.
Resist the temptation to uncover spring-flowering plants such as daffodils and tulips. Mulch may be loosened, but the shoots will still benefit from protection against cold, drying winds.
Manure can be spread over the garden now, especially on the asparagus and rhubarb beds.
Be sure that flats and pots used for starting seed are perfectly clean. Likewise, the soil should be clean and sterile.
Mark and label your sown seeds, indoors and out.
Water newly started seedlings carefully. A pitcher may let the water out too forcefully. A mist sprayer is gentle but can take a long time. Try using a meat basting syringe, which will dispense the water effectively without causing too much soil disruption.
Give peas a chance. The earlier they mature, the sweeter they'll be. Sow them right under the snow, if necessary, but save some for a later planting as well.
Spread dark plastic intended for mulch out over the garden site to hasten the warming of the soil. This will provide for earlier and better germination.
Keep plastic milk jugs or other coverings on hand to protect the flowers of pansies, crocuses, and other early bloomers against the return of severe weather.
Start seedlings of annuals in flats -- aster, larkspur, alyssum, and balsam should be started now (or 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost date in your area). If summer season is short, zinnias should be started now. They will need to be potted up in individual pots after 4 to 5 weeks.
Start some vegetables in flats now: Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and lettuce are good choices.
Seed alpine strawberries now to make attractive and bountiful hanging baskets for summer.

http://www.almanac.com/garden/jobs/index.php?month=3

Spring is Coming

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You'll find helpful info here in our blog, to get you ready to hit the ground running this spring!

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Beginner gardening tips By Yvonne Cunnington

Your first season? Beginner gardening tips
"Help: I'm beginner gardening this season. I don't know where to start."

Before you sink your spade into your first garden bed: Relax! "It's just gardening, not rocket science," as one of my favorite gurus likes to say.
I remember my first spring poking around the yard of the older home we had just bought wondering what was coming up - it was 1991.
First came snowdrops and crocuses, followed by tulips and mysterious (to me) little blue flowers that turned out to be forget-me-nots.
That's right, when I started, I didn't know a forget-me-not from a fritillaria. My motivation for gardening was the need to turn a plain-Jane backyard into an inviting garden. I learned by digging in.
What made it easier for me was that I'd had plenty of practice in my mother's vegetable garden while growing up, so while I didn't know much about flower gardening at the time, I did know the basics of planting and weeding.

Beginner gardening - so where do you start?
If you're like most of us, you won't start with a plan. Even I had no grand plan, just raw enthusiasm.
In the first few years, I moved plants around so much that my husband joked that my perennials should have had wheels, not roots.
The fact is that most gardens evolve. It's difficult to draw up a plan on paper (as instructed by garden designers) when you can't tell a daisy from a dianthus.
Once you've learned a few horticultural ropes and have discovered what appeals to you, you'll have a better idea about how you would like your garden to look.
First things - you need some garden tools
So to get started in the garden, you're going to need a few tools. (Isn't the fun part of a new hobby shopping for gear?) The best-quality tools are often carried by specialist suppliers. Information about tools is here.
Start with annuals - easy plants for beginner gardening
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The great thing about annuals is that they're widely available and easy-to-grow. If you follow the simple basics about light, spacing, water and fertilizer, you'll have your first success. Find out how with these beginner gardener tips for growing annuals, and then learn more about other flower garden plants.
Improve your soil before you plant
Most plants thrive in moist, but well drained soil. Sounds contradictory, right? But it simply means soil that retains moisture and doesn't stay too wet. Ideal garden soil has the texture of crumbly chocolate cake and is easy to dig.
The way to improve almost any kind of soil - from sticky clay to porous sandy soil - is actually the same. You add hummus (composted manure, compost or leaf mould, or a combination of them). For more information, see Garden soil 101 - dealing with sand and clay.
If you have sandy soil, the hummus acts like a sponge to hold moisture. And if you have clay, it breaks up sticky particles to create larger pore spaces that drain more easily and help plant roots get the air they need. More information about fixing your soil is here.
Right plant, right place - light levels
Unless you live in a neighborhood dominated by huge shade trees, you will have areas of full sun, and perhaps some spots shaded by buildings (house, garage, shed) or trees.
Remember that most perennial flowers and roses do best in full sun. That means at least six hours of full sun. With only two to three hours of sunlight, sun-lovers will struggle, but plants that like part shade will do well. Usually, shade and part-shade plants will do best where they don't get hot afternoon sun.

Plant shopping can be overwhelming at first
Here are some plants to grow in lower light situations: astilbe, hosta, cranesbill (hardy perennial geraniums), bleeding heart, foxgloves, columbine, heuchera. More tips for shade gardening are here.
When you go to buy plants
Good garden centres group plants according to their sun and shade requirements. Trees and shrubs also have light preferences, so read the plant tags and do some research before deciding what to plant.
Check out more info from Yvonne Cunnington
http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/index.html