March Gardening Tasks

Spring will be upon us soon, what are somethings that you can be doing to help your garden?

Get out your gardening tools and be sure they are cleaned up and repaired if repairs need to be made.

Start indoor transplants of tomatoes, lettuce, eggplants, parsley, peppers, and other vegetables.

Turn your compost pile. (really this should be done weekly)

Start putting out your birdhouses. 

Fertilize shrubs and trees.

Prune fruit trees before the buds swell.

Start preparing the soil for your vegetable garden.

Peas, sweet peas, asparagus, rhubarb, artichokes, strawberries, blueberries, fruit trees, and horse radish can begin to be planted now.

Repair damaged areas of your lawn.

Preparing Containers for Plants

To use a container in your container garden you must be sure that it has enough drainage, is clean, pest free, and disease free. It also needs to be in good condition so that it will last longer. Whether you use planters, buckets, or a metal wash tub for your plants the following tips should be beneficial to you.

Clean Your Container:
If your container has been used in the past whether for planting or other things, you will want to be sure that you wash the container with a mild detergent. While washing your container checked for any damaged areas that may need to be fixed. Cracks can give way to the pressure of a plant's roots against them resulting in a broken container during the growing season. If the container cannot be fixed you may want to discard it in lieu of another one.

Proper Drainage:
Container grown plants have trouble if they do not have adequate drainage. The excess water can cause your plants to become water logged and this will make them sick or even kill them. You will need to have holes at the base of your container for excess water to be able to escape. If your chosen container does not come with holes already in it, then you will need to carefully drill some. To keep the holes from being clogged you will want to add gravel to the bottom of your container, 1-2" should suffice.

If your plant is on a surface that needs to be protected from water, then you will want to have a drip tray beneath it to catch the excess water that will come out.

Getting Ready for Spring

Don't' wait until the last minute to prep everything you need for your spring gardening. Here are some things that you can tackle now:

Work on your tools. You will want to tackle your gardening tools so that they are in the best shape possible before you begin using them. Sharpen any cutting tools. Clean, oil, and sharpen your digging tools. Replace any tools that are too damaged for repair.

Once the ground has thawed you can start planting your woody plants. If you have any shrubs or trees that need to be relocated the same rule applies to them as well, it can be done once the ground has thawed.

Clean up your yard. Winter can leave a lot of debris lying around. Broken branches, dead plants, leaves, etc. Get out your rake, wheelbarrow, gloves, and anything else that will help you tackle the mess.

Using compost or fertilizer bring your yard back to life and give your soil the much needed nutrients it will need to help your plants grow this spring.

Prune and shape any woody plants that need it.

Now sit back and plan our what you are going to plant this spring.

Handy Tools for the Gardener

Tools make gardening easier. From being able to get out weeds, plant your seeds, spread fertilizer, and more. Here are a few tools that even the most basic gardener can benefit from owning:

Garden Seeder: makes planting larger garden areas easier.

Hand Cultivator: great for roughing up soil for seeding in small garden beds or containers. Can also be used to remove weeds. 

Hand Trowel: great for using in container gardens and planting small annuals, herbs, and vegetables. Be sure to invest in a hand trowel that is comfortable for you to grip. 

Lawn Weeder: makes pulling dandelions and other weeds a much easier task.

Lopping Shears: great for pruning and dead-heading trees, shrubs, bushes, and vines.

Rake: Good for getting up leaves and other plant debris from your yard and/or garden area.

Spade: square-headed shovel with a short handle. Great for digging holes for planting, edging garden beds, removing sod, and moving small amounts of soil. You will want to have a spade that has a steel head and a strong handle. 

There are many more tools that can be used in a garden, but whether or not you need them depends on your garden size. Use your best judgement and get advice from other gardeners with gardens similar to yours as to which tools they find the most beneficial.

When investing in gardening tools be sure to invest in high quality tools so that they will last longer. Also be sure to keep them in out of the weather to help lengthen their lifespan.

Don't forget Red Hill General Store carries Garden Tools. 

More Tomato Companion Planting Info

We've discussed companion planting with tomatoes in the past. But with the huge amount of traffic that blog has received, we've decided to look at this topic in more depth.

Tomatoes are one of the most popular plants in gardens, so it is natural that so many people are interested in the plants that they grow best with.

Asparagus: Tomatoes are a friend of asparagus. They help to protect asparagus from asparagus beetles by releasing solanine and attracting natural predators of the asparagus beetle. A chemical derived from asparagus juice has been found effective on tomato plants as a nematode killer,, including the root-knot sting, stubby root and meadow varieties.

Basil: Improves growth and flavor of tomatoes. 

Bee Balm: Like basil, it helps to improve the growth and flavor of tomatoes. It also helps attracts beneficial insects like bees.

Borage: Helps to deter tomato hornworms. Also attracts bees. When planted near tomatoes it helps to promote growth and disease resistance.

Carrots: These share space well with the tomato. Carrots can be planted while the tomatoes are still small and are usually ready for harvest by the time the tomato plants start to take over all the space.

Celery: Grows well with tomatoes. 

Chives: Improves growth and flavor of tomatoes. Helps to deter some insects and pest.

French Marigold: Helps to dispel white flies. 

Garlic: Can be used as a spray to help control late blight on tomatoes also helps to prevent red spiders.

Geranium: Repels Japanese beetles.

Horehound: Stimulates and aids fruiting of tomatoes.

Mint: Improves tomato health and deters ants, rodents, flea beetles, fleas, and aphids.

Nasturtium: Deters aphids, whiteflies, and pests of the cucurbit family. Attracts predatory insects.

Onions: Get along with tomatoes when planted together.

Parsley: Adds vigor to tomato plants. Attracts hoverflies and parasitic wasps.

Peas: Gets along with tomatoes when planted together.

Peppers, Bell: Does well when planted near tomatoes.

Petunias: Helps repel pests.

Poached Egg Plant: Attracts hoverflies.

Do not plant the following near tomatoes:
Brassicas, Corn, Fennel, Kohlrabi, Potatoes

Tomatoes like to grow in the same place year after year unlike other plants. They also make a great container plant, there are special tomato planters made just for planting tomatoes in containers.If planting tomatoes in the garden, you will want tomato stakes to help stabilize the plants as they get large and heavy.

Do NOT Compost These Items

Sometimes when you are just starting out with a compost pile it is hard to know just what you should and shouldn't put in there, for a list of items you should add please visit Over 70 Things for the Compost Pile. We've done some research on the things you should NOT add to your compost pile.

Cat, Dog, or Human Fecal Matter. While manure from chickens, horses, and cows is fair game, carnivorous animals' waste can introduce disease and parasites to your garden and to you when you harvest your food.
Diseased Plants. Plants that are diseased should never be added to compost. This can introduce the disease to new plants.
Meat, Fat, Grease, Oil. These items can attract pests and they can also coat your items in the compost preserving them and preventing them from breaking down.
Printed Glossy Paper. There are chemicals in the ink that may not break down well, as well as foil and glossy papers that do not do well in the breaking down process of your compost.
Salad Dressing, Mayo, Oily food stuff. These items will not break down well. They will stink up your garden and attract pests.
Sawdust from Treated Wood.
Weeds. Do not compost weeds as some seeds are not killed by the heat of the compost and the weeds will come up where you place your compost later.
Anything Treated with Pesticide or Herbicide. This can cause your compost to be fatal to your garden.

Don't forget, Red Hill General Store carries composting equipment and tools.

Over 70 Things for the Compost Pile

Sometimes when you are just starting out with a compost pile it is hard to know just what you should put in there. We've done some research on the best items for your compost pile.

Things you CAN compost:
100% Cotton non-dyed Clothes - cut into small pieces
100% Wool Clothing- cut into small pieces
Barnyard Animal Manures - bury well in your compost to avoid flies. Do not use pet or human waste in your compost.
Beer
Brown Boxes - shredded/torn
Brown Packing Tubes - shredded/torn
Brown Paper Shopping Bags
Burlap Sacks - shredded/torn
Cereal - stale
Christmas Tree - should be chopped up very well, preferable with a wood chipper
Coffee Grounds
Coffee Filters
Corn Husks
Cotton based tissues, napkins, and paper towels
Crackers - stale saltines
Crepe Paper Streamers
Dead Leaves - not from diseased plants
Dried Grass
Dust Bunnies
Egg Cartons - the PAPER ones
Egg Shells - need to be mashed into a fine powder
Fall Leaves
Feathers
Fish Parts/Seafood Scraps - best for large piles so they can be buried well
Floor Sweepings
Flowers from floral arrangements
Fresh Cut Grass
Fruit
Fruit Peelings
Hay
Herbs & Spices that are old
Jack o'Lanterns
Jelly, Jam, or Preserves that are old
Kelp
Kitchen Scraps
Laundry Lint (not fabric softener sheets)
Loofahs - the natural ones not synthetic - shredded/torn
Nut Shells - not walnut those can be toxic to plants
Oatmeal
Old Bread
Paper
Paper plates - be sure there is no waxy coating on them
Pasta leftovers - must be plain and cooked
Pencil Shavings
Pickles
Plant Prunings - not from diseased plants
Pine Needles
Pizza Box - shredded/torn
Pizza Crusts - tear into small pieces and bury well in the pile
Popcorn Kernels
Potpourri - ONLY natural
Pretzels - stale
Rice leftovers - must be plain and cooked
Sawdust - from untreated lumber
Seaweed
Shredded Newspaper
Soy/Almond/Rice milk
Spent Flower Blooms
Straw
Tea Leaves/grounds/bags
Tofu/Tempah
Toilet Paper & Paper Towel Rolls - shredded/torn
Trimmings from electric razor
Twigs - old & dry need to broken into small pieces

Vegetables
Vegetable Peelings
Wine
Wine Corks
Wood Ashes - in small amounts
Wood Chips
Wrapping Paper Rolls - shredded/torn
Wreaths - ONLY natural

Don't forget, Red Hill General Store carries composting equipment and tools.