Gardener's Monthly Checklist For March
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Successful gardeners in Colorado and the surrounding region know there's always something to do throughout the year. Whether it's planning your layout, starting seeds, planting or fertilizing, InColor is here to offer key steps each month to help keep you on track throughout the year.
March means spring is almost here! How excited are you for the upcoming growing season? Let’s go over this month's checklist to find out how you can better prepare yourself and your garden for the season ahead.
1. Remove protective barriers
Before winter started, you may have prepared your yard for freezing temperatures with tarps and protective sheeting either for your garden beds or your trees. Now is the time to free them from the shields so they can begin getting themselves ready for spring.
2. Plant your cool weather vegetables
If you’re ready to get something in the soil, mid-March is the perfect time to start planting cool weather vegetables. Some good options would be carrots, lettuce, spinach, peas, radishes, broccoli, cabbage, onions, and turnips. Most of these crops can stand a light frost while others can withstand harsher freezes.
Be sure to read our blog: 14 Cool Season Vegetables For Colorado
3. Plant your cool weather flowers
Bulb flowers are one of the easiest plants you can watch grow and thrive in late winter and early spring. There’s also other flowers that can live in these conditions. For bulbs, try planting daffodils, iris, tulips, and hyacinth. Other flowers that can make it through these light frosts are violets, pansies, primrose, snapdragons, alyssum, and even decorative kale.
Be sure to read our blog: Top 4 Cool Season Flowers In Colorado
4. Fertilize bulbs for spring
You’ve decided to plant those bulbs in your garden but now they need food to thrive. We recommend a liquid fertilizer made up of a 10-10-10 ratio of nutrients or a bulb-specific fertilizer. Most of these can be found at any home improvement store or garden center. Fertilize after planting and then again after the bulbs begin sprouting their shoots. Once they start flowering, there’s no need to fertilize.
5. Weed control starts now
Pre-emergent herbicide is vital if you’re looking to stop the weeds before they begin. It’s important to wait until the ground has warmed up enough to keep a temperature of at least 50F so the herbicide can do what it does best. It will focus on the weeds as they sprout while leaving mature and dormant root systems intact and unharmed. They can keep your yard clear for 6-8 weeks.
Have fun preparing for spring!
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