Sauk County Gardener: Spring’s arrival offers indoor, outdoor gardening opportunities
“Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breath the air deeply again.” ~Gustav Mahler
This coming week is full of spring garden events – St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), Spring Equinox (March 20) and National Flower Day (March 21). When I lived in Missouri, I was always told to plant potatoes and peas on St. Patrick’s Day. However, based on the amount of snow I still have on my raise beds, I don’t think that’s an option as the ground is still pretty frozen. That doesn’t mean though I don’t have opportunities to plant and “celebrate” these events and maybe even start some outdoor tasks if the weather permits.
If you haven’t finished ordering your perennial plants, it’s time to complete this task so they arrive once the ground is workable. I’m still trying to narrow down my list of new chrysanthemums that I want as I want get my order placed by the end of the week. For those of you with houseplants, begin a regular fertilizer schedule. Also, take any cuttings from the houseplants you want to propagate. Get your seed-starting station set up and start your cabbage, celery, cauliflower, head lettuce and parsley seeds. Then start your tomatoes, peppers, and broccoli. If you plan to start any slow-growing annual flowers from seed, get them started now so they are ready to be transferred in May to a cold frame. Some slow-growing annual flowers include China asters, flax, lobelia, snapdragons, and verbena. Finally, finish potting up tender bulbs you have such as begonias, calla lilies, cannas, and dahlias. My garage got colder than I expected this past winter so I’m not sure how well my stored begonias, cannas, and dahlias are going to sprout this spring.
As the snow melts and we have sunny days, take advantage of the warmer weather and get outside. When you can, remove the mulch around your spring-blooming bulbs only. Resist the temptation to remove mulch from your other perennials – we can still get some cold weather so wait to remove the rest of the mulch until around mid-April. Check your perennials for any heaved roots. If you find any, gentle press them back down and pull some mulch up and over them. My heuchera are notorious for doing this so I will be checking them out as soon as the snow is gone from my shade beds where they are located. If you have climbing roses, you can cut out old canes to promote new growth.
If your soil is fairly dry and not frozen in the vegetable garden, rake off any mulch to help it finish dry and warm the soil. Remove any remain plants from last year’s vegetables. I currently have quite a bit of snow in my raised vegetable garden beds but I’m hoping that will be gone soon so I can get them ready for planting my cole crops come April. If you left any parsnips, carrots, or any other vegetables in the ground over winter, harvest them before they start growing to prevent spoilage. If you have a compost pile, turn it and add kitchen scraps, composted manure and dry leaves.
Walk around the yard and check your trees and shrubs for animal damage; protect them with wire if need be. Take the time to fertilize your asparagus beds, grapes, shade trees, evergreens, fruit trees and shrubs as needed. It’s also time to finish any pruning you might need to do on your trees while they are still dormant. Some trees, such as maple, willow, birch, walnut and elm will ooze sap excessively in early spring but will not harm the tree. If you need to prune an oak, pay attention to the daytime temperatures. Stop pruning when daytime temps reach 50 degrees to help prevent oak wilt. Also finish pruning grapes, berry bushes, and summer-flowering shrubs. Finally, if you didn’t do it last fall, service your lawn mower so it’s in tip-top shape and sharpen the blades. Lawn mowing season will soon be upon us. Gardening season is starting to ramp up – get some of these tasks done now so you can enjoy the season.
Remember to contact Extension Sauk County if you have any gardening questions. Please send an email to haley.weisert@saukcountywi.gov or call the University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension Sauk County office at 608-355-3250.
Jeannie Manis is president of the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association (SCMGA).
