Lowes has everything you need for your garden all year round. With a Lowes Money Off Coupon from We Are Coupons gardening cots less. March is a great time to complete hardscaping projects and early spring garden tasks. It also provides a chance to remove weeds and other debris from your garden before they grow too big for the space.
Pruning
Pruning is a vital part of a gardener’s routine as it helps to maintain the health and appearance of both young and established plants. It promotes healthy growth, deters pests and wildlife, prevents injury, and encourages natural plant shape and proportion.
To prune effectively, it’s important to understand how a plant grows and develops. Each shoot or branch of a plant ends in what is known as the terminal bud, below which other buds grow in specific patterns that are unique for each species of plant.
For most trees and shrubs, the best time to prune is late winter or early spring when they are dormant. This is because they are less likely to be exposed to extreme cold which can damage newly-cut branches.
If you have a tree or shrub that blooms on last year’s growth, pruning it in early spring will help keep the flower buds strong and increase the amount of flowers they produce. This is especially the case for spring-blooming lilac, forsythia and rhododendron.
When it comes to pruning shrubs and trees, understanding how a plant grows and develops is key. For example, apical buds on stems of trees and shrubs produce hormones (known as auxins) that inhibit the development of other buds further down the stem. Removing the apical bud allows these lower buds to grow and take their place.
This is also the ideal time to trim topiary shrubs, like boxwood, yaupon and holly. They give your garden a good show of foliage but will need pruning before spring arrives to avoid transplant shock.
Harvest
March is a time of transition for the garden, from cold rainy days to warm blue-sky spring days. It's a great time to get the garden ready for planting, harvesting and other gardening tasks. Here are some of the things you can do to get your plot ready for spring:
Seed sowing is one of the best things to do in March, even if the weather is still chilly and there is a risk of frost. Many hardy vegetables can be sown direct into the ground, while others should be sown indoors in trays or modules, under cover until they're ready to plant out.
When sowing seeds, remember that some crops only germinate at warm temperatures. This means that it's a good idea to sow them undercover and add heat and light. If they're sown outside in the garden, plant them after the last average frost date (late March to early April in zones three and four) or a few weeks earlier for cooler climates.
Once you've got the seeds in the ground, it's important to check the plants regularly for signs of maturity. Some vegetables ripen more slowly than others and the color and size of fruits and vegetables can provide clues to maturity.
The general rule of thumb is to pick when a vegetable has reached a useable size and is ready for harvesting. This will ensure that you're able to eat the most flavorful and tender vegetables possible without delaying their ripening process or sacrificing their nutritional value.
