March Gardening Calendar
at Garden-Helper.com

This calendar is available as a Gardening Podcast to take with you on your iPod or other mp3 player while you are out in the garden. Finally after a long cold winter and possibly chilly spring you can now spend much of this month in the garden. All Garden-Helper podcasts are available both through the iTunes music store and at Yahoo! podcasts.

As you enjoy the flowering rhododendrons, magnolias and camellias this month remember that the work you put into the garden in April can spare you much more work later in the season.

Other Calendar Months Coming Soon

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March
April
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Yellow Flowering Bulb Garden Price: 24.95

White Flowering Bulb Garden Price: 24.95

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April Gardening Chores

Check here for a complete list of what to plant in April.

House Plants

If you have been overwintering spring flowering plants such as geraniums or fuchsia now is the time to re-pot them. Re-pot these plants and begin them on a regular feeding cycle of every three to four weeks. This will prepare them for steady growth and to be set outdoors once weather permits.

If you are growing amaryllis now is the month to encourage new leaf growth through exposure to bright light.

With all the celebration of lengthening days and the accompanying exposure to sunlight, there are still some plants who will not benefit from this. African violets ought to be moved away from southern exposure windows in order to avoid leaf scorch.

Lawn Care in April

April is a great month to begin giving care to the lawn. An application of fertilizer in spring will help the lawn with depth of color and appearance. Use a slow release nitrogen fertilizer and be sure to spot treat broadleaf weeds which may take advantage of the fertilizer.

Soil pH

Test your soil pH level to determine if you need to add ammendments.

Click here to purchase a Soil pH Meter

Vegetables And Fruits

April is the definitive month for getting the vegetable garden underway. Perennial vegetables like aparagus, rhubarb and horesradish should be planted in April. Peas, carrots, beets, spinach, cabbage and cauliflower are also looking to be planted in April. Beans and corn can get a later start this month. Root vegetables such as parsnips and radish may be planted at any time this month.

If you already have an established asparagus planting thin the plants by harvesting until the spear size decreases.

If you have a strawberry bed remove the mulch so the ground may warm faster. Prune raspberry and blackberry plantings.

Transplant broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower starts to the garden this month.

Control weeds and aerate the soil by cultivating between the rows of plants.

As crops that have been direct seeded begin to sprout sprout be sure to thin them out to avoid overcrowding.

Flowers

Summer flowering bulbs like dahlias, gladiolas and lilies should be planted in April. Mix bulb fertilizer, processed manure and peat moss into the planting soil. Likewise annual seeds of asters, cosmos, marigolds and zinnias should be planted this month. Tuberous Begonias and Canna should not be set outdoors until all danger of frost has passed, so you want to wait until next month.

Remove the winter mulch (or pull back from the base of established plants) from perennial garden beds.

Remove seed heads from spring bulbs. Do not cut off the green foliage of these plants as the leaves continue to grow for a few weeks providing food for flowering the bulb next year.

Divide perennials like Daylilies, Delphiniums, Iris, Chrysanthemum, Daisy and Phlox.

Planting and Transplanting

Check here for a complete list of what to plant in April.

Bulbs We recommend the use of Bulb-Tone Bulb Fertilizer to get your bulbs off to the right start.

April is a great month for planting new fruit trees, rose bushes, berries, and other deciduous plants. Nurseries typically have a complete selection of new plants this month, so you can get to choose from the best selections. As for transplanting, it should have been done during the dormant cycle but if not you can still transplant although it may be harder on your plants. Many plants will have started their spring growth making transplating more difficult on them.

As a general rule for March or April transplanting get it done before buds have swelled or broken open and they should fare well.

Trees and Shrubs

Aside from walnut, maple and birch trees which are best pruned after leafing, March is a good month to prune your trees. Avoid pruning flowering shrubs, though, until after they have bloomed.

If you choose to mulch trees and shrubs do so at a depth of between two to four inches, but keep the mulch away from the trunks. If you have younger trees that were wrapped for the winter remove the wraps for summer growing.