March Garden Tasks

Tomorrow is the first day of March and soon thereafter the much anticipated spring season will arrive. Here is a short (very abbreviated) suggested list of tasks to attend to this month at the garden.

1. Check on your fall garlic/shallots (if you planted some) and slowly remove some of the mulch from the tender shoots. There was a bit of hail on the ground yesterday but it did not seem to damage many garlic shoots.

2. Check underneath your row covers in you have planted fall or winter crops. Check their progress, weed, and control slugs. (Sluggo is a product that is OMRI registered.)

3. If you have planted spring bulbs or perennials and have a thick mulch on your garden, check to see if shoots have begun to emerge and gently remove some of the mulch.

4. If you plan to sow cool season crops, check the soil temperature (with a soil thermometer or by paying attention to the lowest nighttime temperatures) in order to decide when to sow your seeds. Here is a chart from WSU that may help.

5. Clean and sharpen garden tools.

6. Visit your plot and control weeds.

7. Towards the end of the month, pick up your compost if you purchased some for March delivery.