An overview of the complex of garden work, which must be carried out in the month of March

Summer residents and their gardens are looking forward to spring days to give a start to the new season. But more often than not, the first month of spring only on the calendar shows the change of the season. In reality, frosts continue to fry, snowdrifts lie, and there seems to be nothing to do in the garden. In fact, already in March, the approaching heat is felt, the day is lengthening, and the trees are slowly beginning to emerge from the hibernation period. Therefore, some work in the garden is still carried out in March. There are not as many of them as there will be in May, but the yield of fruit trees and the abundant flowering of ornamental shrubs largely depend on the March care.

In temperate climates, snow lies in the gardens until almost half of March. But due to daytime thaws, it becomes loose, wet and heavy. If the branches of trees and bushes (especially young ones!) Are covered with luxurious caps, arm yourself with a pointed long stick and shake them off. A large weight of adhered snow can easily break the branches, because they have not yet acquired elasticity and remain fragile, frozen.

Snow in the garden

Snow on the lawn and under the trees should not be trampled, otherwise it will too compact the wet soil and block the access of oxygen to the roots

In low-lying areas where drainage is laid, snow is also removed and water intake grooves are cleaned. Excess dampness is useless here, so it can be reduced by clearing the ground in advance.

At the same time, all the snow on the ground must be used profitably. Remove the layer from the beds with a snow shovel so that they warm up faster, and lay them in the tree-trunk circles. It will stop the rapid thawing of the roots, which is quite dangerous in March. The dark soil warms up quickly, and sap flow can begin before the night frosts pass. And live, awakened branches are very sensitive to subzero temperatures and quickly freeze. If there is a lot of snow, divide it between trees, raspberries, and strawberry beds.

Loose snow

Loose watery snow at night turns into a dense crust of ice, which must be pierced in many places with a garden pitchfork in order to thaw faster

If you have sprinkled cuttings, twigs for grafting somewhere, then throw snow on them, and sprinkle with sawdust on top. Those will reflect the sun’s rays and slow down the melting of the snow “coat”. Those who have not had time to prepare cuttings since autumn can cut them now, provided that this year the winter was not too frosty (not lower than -25 °). They are hidden in the same snow pile with a cap of sawdust on top.

In areas with a strong slope, it is worth creating horizontal ramparts from the snow. They will trap the snow as it melts, and the earth will receive more moisture. But rose bushes, rhododendrons, hydrangeas and other thermophilic cultures, sheltered for the winter, should be slightly opened with the arrival of warm days, giving air access to the roots. This will help prevent mold growth, which loves humid, secluded spots.

Ventilation

During the day, steam is formed under the film of covered roses, which settles on the plants by condensate by night. To avoid fungus, slightly open the film on both sides.

Since in March, temperature jumps from subzero temperatures at night to + 10-12 ° in the daytime are often observed, the crust cannot quickly rebuild to such a regime. As a result, under the sun’s rays, trunks and branches get burned, and at night – frostbites. To protect the garden from damage, it is at the beginning of March (and not before Easter!) That the spring whitewashing of trees is carried out. You can buy lime and quench it in boiling water, or you can also special paint. Whitewash on a windless day at above-zero temperatures outside.

Whitewashing in March

The thin bark of young trees especially suffers from changes in night and day temperatures, so it is advisable to whiten them as early as possible.

In addition to the trunks, the butcher of coniferous ornamental shrubs is very sensitive to the March sun. They will withstand frosts at -40 °, but under the scorching sun, the tender upper branches will instantly burn out. Therefore, in early March, rare conifers (thuja, junipers, etc.), and from evergreens – boxwoods must be covered with non-woven material or wrapped in newspapers and tied.

During the winter, some trees could be damaged in the form of frostbites, frozen twigs, and cracked bark. Before the start of sap flow, it is necessary to treat and heal the wounds, and everything that is frozen must be cut off.

The wounds are cleaned with a knife until healthy wood appears, coated with copper sulfate (10 grams per liter of water) and covered with garden varnish. If you find a solution of succinic acid on sale, then it speeds up healing. This composition is used to lubricate the cut off parts of the trunk, and then carry out the rest of the processing.

Pruning trees

To check which branches have frozen over the winter, just cut off the tops and look at the wood. If it is light, it means that it is alive, if it is brown, cut more.

In March, it’s time to do spring pruning to remove frostbitten or improperly growing branches. In this case, it is imperative to wait for stable temperatures above zero.

Which branches are cut:

  • twisted;
  • broken;
  • underdeveloped;
  • frostbitten and seemingly blackened;
  • growing inside the crown;
  • which cross and cling to others.

Try to cut it off so that no stump remains. Smear the place with a garden pitch.

Fruiting bushes usually form in the fall, so in March they only correct what went unnoticed. Cut off the ripening branches of raspberries, old trunks of currants and gooseberries. The tops of young raspberry twigs are shortened by 10 cm so that the berries are larger.

Ornamental shrubs are also pruned taking into account the branches frozen out during the winter. If in the fall you did not have time to cut forsythia, lilacs, jasmine and other plants that begin to bloom early, then it is better not to touch them. Otherwise, the bush will bloom poorly. If they are slightly frozen, then shorten exactly to the point where the living tissue begins. When trimming any plants, waste is immediately burned or crushed and placed in a compost pit.

As soon as the snow begins to melt, the mice leave their burrows and go to the cellars and basements. To destroy rodents, pickled grain is laid out in secluded spots of the garden or other baits are used.

All kinds of small pests hibernating in the bark of trees are destroyed by chemical and physical methods. For this, a special hunting belt is put on each trunk.

Trapping belt

If for the winter the trunks of large trees were covered with roofing material to protect them from frost, then in March they are removed and replaced with trapping belts.

After restoration of stable temperatures outside (more than 5 °), the entire garden is sprayed with insecticides. At the same time, drugs for the prevention of tree diseases, for example, Bordeaux liquid, can be added to the solution.

For stunted shrubs, not chemicals are used, but hot water treatment. Gooseberries, currants are poured from a watering can, trying to hit each branch. Liquid temperature – 70 °. A 60-degree shower is enough for strawberry beds.

After the snow has completely melted, the upper part of the root system may be exposed in some perennials and bushes. It will simply be kicked out of the ground when moisture moves. To keep the plant healthy, all protruding roots must be mulched with peat or humus. But first, the plant is “planted”, i.e. try to return to their original place in the soil, gently pressing down on the soil so that the roots settle lower.

A thawed lawn also requires care. We need to shovel up the garbage that has flown over the winter. Just use a light fan rake for this that does not sink into the ground. Otherwise, you can pull out a lot of blades of grass from the wet soil. If there are bald spots, add these places. An unexpected frost will only harden the seeds, and they will sprout more amicably.

By mid-March, it is advisable to hang up bird houses if you want to attract birds to protect your property from pests. Two birdhouses are enough to maintain a garden of 10 acres.

Bird houses

A pair of starlings will rid the site of most caterpillars and tree pests, so do not be too lazy to knock down the birdhouse in winter to hang it in the garden in early March

At the end of the month, after thawing the soil, fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers is carried out. They stimulate the rapid growth of young shoots and foliage.

Grapes and roses at the end of March can be freed from winter shelter, provided that the frost has finally left your domain.

Garden work

As soon as the snow finally leaves the garden and slightly warms, you can lift grapes, roses, raspberries, blackberries on the trellises

As you can see, gardeners do not get bored in March. And if you consider that this month they begin to sow seeds, dive seedlings, then the owners will have a mouthful of trouble.

Anna Evans

Author-editor

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