Last Week of March Gardening Tasks

Things that you may want to be working on in your garden this week:

Planting leaf lettuce: keep in mind that they need 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day.

Start your leeks (inside): remember to plant one starter container for every leek you want to grow.

Plant green onions: your onions will need 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day.

Plant carrots: they need 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day.

Start tomatoes (inside): plant one starter container for every 10 to 12 lbs of tomatoes that you want. Also don't forget to invest in tomato rings and cages for when you plant them in your garden.

Companion Planting with Peas

Peas are a great addition to any garden, they taste wonderful cooked, or in salads, they are also a great addition to soups. A wonderful little vegetable. So what plants will your peas thrive by or help by being planting near them?

Beans
Carrots
Celery
Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Peppers
Radishes
Spinach
Tomatoes
Turnips

Just don't plant those precious little peas next to:
Onion
Garlic
Leeks
Shallots

So once you've grown and harvested your pea pods the fun of shelling them begins. Many people still shell peas by hand, but some  people use a pea sheller to help in the process, just make sure you don't run unripe or overripe peas through them or you'll end up with mashed peas.

Companion Planting with Lettuce

Lettuce is a staple in many gardens, no summer salad is complete without it. To help your lettuce be its best in your garden you should plant it near radish, kohlrabi, carrots, or beans. Mint can also be helpful if planted near your lettuce as it helps to repel slugs.

When harvesting your lettuce if it is not head lettuce, cut it off just above the stem (sometimes this will encourage the lettuce to grow more leaves). If it is head lettuce then you should cut it just above the ground.

For harvesting, sometimes harvest baskets make things simpler, as they give you a great way to carry your fresh produce easily into your home.

Companion Planting with Hot Peppers

Hot Peppers are great companion plants to a lot of other plants, especially in areas of your garden where you have trouble with root rot and Fusarium diseases. The hot pepper's root helps to get rid of those types of problems. But for plants that help the hot pepper, you need to look at plants like the tomato, green pepper, and okra. These types of plants help to shade your hot peppers, keeping them from drying out and helping keep some humidity for them. Many hot peppers will need to be planted together also as they fare better while growing.

Plants to avoid planting near your hot peppers: beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, caulifllower, cabbage, and/or fennel.

Remember when harvesting and preparing hot peppers to wear gardening gloves or other protective gloves, as some peppers are hot enough to burn your skin, and you also do not want to wipe near your eyes with the juice and oils from the peppers on your hands.

Companion Planting with Onions

 

Many people enjoy onions, whether on burgers, sandwiches, in soups, salads, or just plain, they are definitely a great little way to add a little spice to a meal. So it would make sense to plant them smartly in your garden by planting them near plants that either benefit them or that they benefit.

Onions repel and/or distract aphids, carrot flies, and other garden pests. They are very useful in a garden, but shouldn't be planted near beans, lentils, peas, or parsley.

After cutting an onion you can keep it fresh longer using an onion saver container.