Your online resource for garden information, ideas and advice.
March & April in the Garden!
The temperatures are moving up above zero and the snow is melting away. If your weather permits, now is the time to get back outside and start working on the garden - and start seeds inside!
- Cut ornamental grasses to about 3". Tie a string around the mid-section before cutting. It makes the clean up much easier.
- Look for any dead or damaged branches on small trees and shrubs and remove or prune them now.
- Prune any fall/winter blooming shrubs now. Leave the spring blooming ones until the flowers fade.
- Pansies should start to show up at garden centres soon. Put a pot on the porch or outside a window you frequently view from to enjoy a splash of bright spring colour.
- Start vegetable seeds like tomatoes and peppers indoor - and try a few perennial or annual seeds.
- Check around for any plants that may have lifted due to frost and press them back into the ground.
- Finish any clean-up that wasn't done last fall. It will save time once April arrives and the real work begins.
- Review your veggie garden plan to ensure you've got all the right seeds.
- Give any plants that line the roadway a good soak to remove any salt buildup from the winter.
- Sort through your annual tubers and bulbs. Get rid of any that didn't survive the winter storage.
- As soon as the ground thaws, fertilize trees and shrubs before the new growth begins. Give some to the spring bulbs too as they start to peek out.
- If you don't have one, put out a rain gauge so you can monitor how much water your plants receive. Remember - not everythings needs just 1 inch a week...plant needs vary.
- And get that lawn mower ready for the season now! You'll need it before you know it.
Happy Spring!
When the Peepers Peep, Plant your Peas!
Ok, so what is a peeper, why does it peep, and what does that have to do with peas?
Spring Peepers are like Robins - they're a sure sign that the season we all wait for is right around the corner.
Peepers (
Pseudacris crucifer) are a nocturnal, brown frog, 1.5" long, sport large toe pads for climbing and are found in woodland areas and grassy spots near ponds and swamps, but overall prefer the loose debris of the forest floor.
Marked with a dark "X" on their backs, but often hard to see, when you hear their nighttime chirpy chorus, they're saying, "it's time to get the peas in the ground".
Chirping only at night, they bring forth a short, high-pitched call individually, but when chirping as a group present a sound simliar to sleigh bells. They are also the first frogs to announce the start of the spring season.
You will start to hear peepers late March or early/mid April - the perfect time to get your peas in the ground. Peas typically take around 60 days to maturity and do prefer the cooler weather. You'll be harvesting them in June, just in time to replace those spent vines with winter squash or zucchini.
