March is Here

 My Garden activities for March:

Violas in pot

• Re-pot tomato starts after 6 leaves appear, pinching of cotyledons.  
• Enrich melon patch
• Start feeding Blueberries
• Divide and take cuttings of yarrow.
• Plant  starts of lavender, mint, oregano & cilantro when ground is cool.
• Divide Shasta Daisies as shoots appear
• Fertilize honeysuckle as new growth appears
• Apply car wax to outdoor furniture and do paint touch-up.
• Re-pot house plants is needed or top-dress with new soil.

Cedar waxwings flocking to fountain

It is March here in North Atlanta and the Spring flowers are in full bloom: tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, grape hyacinth, forsythia bushes, camellias, and  flowering trees. We had a huge flock of cedar waxwings hanging around our yard last week!  They were in and out of the trees, eating the berries off of the hollies and would flock down to my front water fountain.  I think I took 250 pictures trying to get a fantastic one.  But we don't usually have these birds in our yard.  Then this week they were gone!  They must have been migrating through.  It was fun to watch them.

onion sprouts in garden

A week ago, I tilled up the garden with the tiller- I was so sore afterwards,  but I love doing the work.  We took down the chicken wire fence that needed help.  I got my younger girls out there and we planted the onion and garlic sprouts.  I re-seeded the cool-season vegetables.

summer bulbs by back fence

This week I tried to do a gardening activity every day.  I have been moving around some flowers that wintered over, dividing yarrow and cosmos.   I started an new bed of extra cannas, gladiolas, irises and lilies behind the vegetable garden.  These taller plants, hopefully will give some color to the back fence till the vegetables get going.

ornamental sweet potato tubers

I also emptied some hanging baskets that I had in the greenhouse.  I threw the dried up and dead stuff in the compose pile.  Finding the sweet potato vine tubers, I took them inside, laid them in an ice cream bucket with soil and placed it in the kitchen window.  So, hopefully, I won't have to buy any sweet potato vine this year!

Red verbena in greenhouse needs trim

I have been trimming the starts that overwintered in the greenhouse, like verbena, so they will be more compact when I plant them in my pots.  I hate cutting off the flowers buds, but I know it will make for better looking plants.

I started some coleus seeds and "Little Sprite" zinnias.  I love coleus for its leaf color in pots, so that you don't have bland spots when other flowers fade.  I was looking for a zinnia that I could us in hanging baskets, so hopefully this will fit the bill.

tomato sprouts

pepper sprouts

And the peppers, tomatoes and basil are coming along.  The tomatoes are getting tall.  So after their are 6 leaves, I will re-pot them in the containers so more of the stem is under the dirt.