John Hethrington has been gardening since the age of 9. He spent his early life gardening in Toronto and earned his certification as a Master Gardener before moving to Meaford where he cultivates 2.5 acres with 20 different gardens. He publishes monthly garden tips for local newsletters and his column will appear on CollingwoodToday.ca as well.
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If you're going to get to April showers bring May flowers, you've got some work to do in March. These are the gardening tasks recommended by Master Gardener John Hethrington for the month of March:
- Start tuberous begonias and caladiums in pots.
- Plant brassicas (cabbage family) seeds and hardy annuals for April-May planting.
- Start tomatoes, lettuce and other fast growers from seed in late March to early April.
- Make a list of spring chores in the order they should be done, if you haven’t already done so.
- Order summer flowering bulbs.
- Order/buy seeds for summer planting now! It is reported that they will be in short supply this year.
- Check, repair and sharpen gardening tools.
- Apply combination dormant oil spray to fruit trees and pest-prone shrubs when above-freezing weather permits.
- Bring spring indoors. Start forcing branches of spring-flowering shrubs like Forsythia.
- Prune summer-flowering shrubs and vines.
- Loosen up packed winter mulch and press perennials that have heaved, back into place.
- Plan to plant a few bird-attracting, native berry plants.
If there are any students out there who are Interested in garden work this spring, please get in touch now. There are lots of jobs available. John Hethrington [email protected]
