my March 2011 garden to-do list

I was just looking back at my March 2010 post and noticing how I said I love this time of year - still lots of time to dream of the new possibilities for the garden in the coming year, and just a little bit of excited anticipation starting to creep in.  Well, this year it's different.  I have big ideas and I can barely wait to get started!  I thought you were supposed to get more patient as you get older...

We took the decrepid, rotten greenhouse down last March and the spot waited, empty, for the rest of the year....  My husband has promised to build the pergola/playhouse replacement this year but I can tell I am going to have to take the initiative in the planning department if this is going to get done.  So this month I will be getting down to the nitty gritty details of the playhouse design.  Actually, it's only fair since he doesn't really care what it looks like but I do.  For me, designing a structure is not nearly as fun as planning a new front yard garden, but I will try to stay focused! 

For the regular, yearly garden-related stuff, here's my March to-do list:

• Don't expect to do anything outside until at least April to avoid disappointment!  We get the most snow in March.  And then if we do get the odd chance to get out and tidy or prune, it will feel like a gift.
• Start fertilizing house plants with a half-strength water-soluble fertilizer.
• Start seeds when appropriate i.e. do not, I repeat, DO NOT start seeds too early!  The average last frost date in Calgary is considered to be May 24 so count backwards from then to figure out when to start various seeds.  Information about number of weeks before the last frost date will be on the package. I've also posted a useful table about when to start vegetable seeds in Calgary.
• This year I'll be starting verbena bonariensis, agastache, castor bean and cosmos seeds in early March and tomatoes in late March. 
• Finish pruning dormant, late-blooming shrubs and trees.
• Raspberries can use a little tidying up now too if you haven't done so already.  Old canes that have produced fruit should be removed and anything thinner than a pencil can also be cut down to the ground. Newer primacane varieties that produce fruit on first-year growth should all be cut down.

From the archives:

• for the record - first seeds planted for 2011
• seeds I've ordered for 2011
• winter ain't over till it's over!

• What can you do in a Calgary zone 3 garden in mid-March?

• How to winter sow seeds in a milk jug.

• Happy St Patrick's Day and the benefits of clover

• Why hire a garden coach?

• What to do before a garden coach comes.

Other resources:

• How to winter sow seeds from Urban Sustainable Living
• sowing seeds indoors from Urban Sustainable Living
• 10 Seed-starting tips from Fine Gardening magazine
• Seed-starting strategies from Vegetable Gardener magazine
• Estimating viability - how long do seeds last? from A Way to Garden

If you would like a beautiful and successful garden that nourishes your body and soul, view My Services for consultation details.

Comments

[Paula H.]

Where do you grow/keep your little seedlings? Do they have their own room or are they out in your living space? And do you use grow lights?

[Janice Miller-Young]

Good question! I should post a picture sometime soon because it is the most unglamorous little set-up... I have to laugh at myself every time I dodge around boxes of stashed, unsorted toys and other miscellaneous items to get to my little seed-starting shelf set-up in the furnace room!

But yes, I have shelves and lights. And a heat mat. Lights are a must if you start things this early - light from a window just isn't enough. Are you considering setting something up?

Janice

[Paula H.]

At the moment I do not have a good space to set up - which is why I wondered where you kept yours. Sometimes I get things started in May on the kitchen island! I would eventually like to be able to start veggies early.

[random bunch of letters]

I grow my seedlings in the basement. Garden Retreat sells a very handy light system for about $100. The basement is around ~17C which really helps with keeping the seedlings from stretching.

This is the system:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-2-Foot-Start-Light-System/dp/B0006856EQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299521803&sr=8-1

I use a self watering tray system from Lee Valley:

http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=10645&cat=2,44713,40757&ap=1

If you're keen, you can start tomatoes now. You'll have to transplant them to 6 inch containers but you'll have very large plants by the time frost-free weather hits. If you start something like 'Tumbler' now you'll have tomatoes by the end of June.

[random bunch of letters]

Oh yeah, I have the lights on a timer - you can just get something at CT, HD, Rona, etc.