Gardening And More

In March the weather teases gardeners into believing spring is almost around the corner, with lots of continuous sunny and warm days. During this time of year, the weather is very unpredictable for planning and the weather is like a roller coaster, one day it’s nice and sunny, then the next day it’s cold and rainy.  As gardeners we get antsy, we want to get out in our garden and play in the dirt. But we know better, the last average frost date is still a month or two months away, depending on your gardening zone. This is when we can start planning for this year’s spring garden. Spring is a good time to check out new gardening books. There are two gardening books I would like to recommend  Southeast Style Gardening and Gardening for the Butterflies  and the books are on sale on Amazon. Here are the links: Southeast Style Gardening and Gardening for the Butterflies. The books can help you plan your garden for spring. March Gardening Chores As we patiently wait for spri...

Fruits, Nuts, and Berries For The South Most fruit trees require pollination and chilling temperatures from November to mid-February to break dormancy in the spring. Pollination is the process of pollen from one flower being transferred to another flower, required by certain plants and trees. The process of pollination can be by insects, animals, wind, or humans.   Most fruit trees need pollination for good fruit set, which occurs when a recommended fruit tree, (pollinator) is planted nearby. A plant or tree starts to go dormant when exposed to chilling temperatures. Chilling temperatures for a plant or tree are when night time temperatures drop to 45°F or below. Chill hours can be described as the number of hours the plant or tree receives temperatures at or below 45°F. Chill hours are required by the plant or tree to trigger the development of leaf and flower buds. Listed below are a few cultivars and pollinators for southern fruit trees, nuts trees, and berry plants....

March Gardening Calendar Fertilize winter flowering annuals with a blooming type fertilizer. Water in all granular type fertilizers. Tattered Liriope leaves can be cut either with a weed eater or your lawn mower set on its highest setting. Lawns should have lime at least yearly. Have you limed your lawn lately? Use 40 pounds per 1000 square feet. Start spring flowers and tomatoes from seeds indoors. It takes about 6 weeks to get strong seedlings. Spring is a good time to prune your boxwood shrubs. Peach and Apple trees need to be sprayed with a fungicide recommended for fruit trees, and spray the trees while the blossoms are on the tree. Prune back Holly shrubs that have gotten too large. If needed, you can prune back to 18 inches. Need to divide your Hostas? When the leaves start to show you can divide and plant elsewhere in a shady part of the garden. Use a solution of SuperThrive as a root stimulator for best results after planting. Fertilize Pec...