Garden Jobs for March...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.

Hydrangeas The Old Farmer's Almanac

Gardening Question

How do I change the pH in my soil to change the color of my hydrangeas?


It's easy to modify your soil's pH. Start with the Hydrangea macrophylla variety. Soil that is on the acid side (pH between 4.5 and 5.5) will produce blue hydrangeas. Once established, you must fertilize them yearly with an acid fertilizer... It's easy to modify your soil's pH. Start with the Hydrangea macrophylla variety. Soil that is on the acid side (pH between 4.5 and 5.5) will produce blue hydrangeas. Once established, you must fertilize them yearly with an acid fertilizer according to the package directions. When you plant initially, modify the soil with two pounds of sulfur and peat moss. If you want pink to light red hydrangeas, the soil needs to be neutral to alkaline, with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Add ground limestone only around the plant to make the blossoms pink. A pH above 7.5 will result in poor growth. http://www.almanac.com/garden/index.php

Growing Poppies by Fran Sorin

If you‘d love your garden to be filled with poppies this spring, here are some simple tips on sowing them directly in the garden.
The poppies that I am talking about are the annual strains of Papaver such as Somniferum, Giganteum and others. They need loose soil, preferably 3 inches of it. Use a pick or fork to work the soil, making sure that all rocks are removed.
Because poppy seeds are so small, the best way to sow them is to sprinkle them on top of the soil. Mix the seeds in with some sand to thin out before sprinkling them onto the soil. Tamp soil down. Poppies do not like to be transplanted so be sure to sow the seeds where you want the flowers to be.
Contact Fran Sorin at fransorin.com.

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Winter Pruning Guide..From the Farmer's Almanac

Winter Pruning Guide

Abelia
Autumn to early spring maintain a graceful arching form by cutting away some of the oldest stems at ground level. Pinch growing shoots in spring if you want bushier growth.
Azalea
Late winter or during the growing season before growth begins for the season, improve the form of the bush by shortening stems that jut out of place. During the growing season, pinch growing shoot tips where you want bushier growth.
Butterfly bush
Late winter cut all stems to the ground.
Chaste tree
Late winter or early spring Evergreen species need little pruning beyond cutting out weak, twiggy, dead, or broken branches.
Crape myrtle
Late winter Wherever the plant is not totally winter-hardy, cut off winter-killed wood or cut the whole plant to the ground. Little pruning is needed where this plant is cold-hardy.
Hydrangea
Mostly late winter for smooth hydrangea, cut all stems to the ground. For bigleaf or oakleaf hydrangea, cut stems with old flowers still attached back to fat flower buds.
Smoke bush
Late winter or early spring, before growth begins needs little pruning unless you grow it for its purple leaves rather than for its flowers. In this case, prune severely to stimulate vigorous new growth each spring.
- from The Pruning Book, by Lee Reich

http://www.amazon.com/Pruning-Book-Lee-Reich/dp/1561583162

Gadening Jobs For February..From the Farmer's Almanac

Spread wood ashes around lilacs to benefit growth and bloom in the spring.

Test buds of peaches and other sensitive fruits for freeze damage. Bring in a few twigs cut from the trees and place them in a vase of water. If the twigs bloom in a week or two, expect blossoms in the spring and a crop next fall.
Set up birch branches that may have been bent by snow or ice, as soon as possible. If neglected, the branches will permanently adopt their leaning position.
Cut poles for peas, beans, and other climbers now. Peel off the bark and set them in a dry area until they are needed.
Keep this in mind while pruning. Fruit usually grows on the horizontal branches, rather than the vertical ones. Vertical branches may be trained to become horizontal by weighting them down for a few weeks. This may also be done in the summer.
A barrel or other covering placed over rhubarb plants will hasten the spring crop.
Start onions from seed now. They'll be ready for setting out in April. Onions from seed are generally firmer and longer lasting than from sets.
Start parsley indoors now. You may think you have successfully wintered over the plant, but it is a biennial and will soon go to seed.
Take cuttings of wintered-over lantana, coleus, fuchsia, and begonia for plants to be set in May or June. http://www.almanac.com

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