In March, the echoes of February blizzards are still heard, and caring summer residents have already rushed to their suburban areas to put them in order for the upcoming season. It would seem, what can you do in the garden in early spring, when the ground is not yet warmed up enough, and there is snow in the ditches? In fact, spring work in the country includes an extensive range of measures for cleaning the territory, taking care of trees, preparing the soil for planting.
First of all, it is necessary to remove from the garden and vegetable garden everything that served as protection from winter frosts. Covering material or special structures must be cleaned, rinsed, dried and removed to a utility room before the autumn cold. Garbage left over from autumn should be removed from the beds, flower beds and garden territory: windbreak, old branches, fallen leaves, withered grass. Even if harvesting takes place in the fall, some debris accumulates again by the spring.
It is quite possible that with the first rays of the sun, the enemies of cultivated plants – weeds – hatched. As long as the roots are weak, the shoots can be easily removed from the wet soil. In the warmth, moss begins to grow, in damp places – algae. Short growth can be easily removed with a stiff brush, and a path made of natural stone or brick with the first foci of young moss can be rinsed with a strong jet of water from a garden hose. Any activities with water should be carried out at positive temperatures, otherwise the summer cottage will turn into a skating rink.
Containers, flowerpots and flower pots also need to be cleaned, restored if cracked, and treated with herbicides. From containers that served as a wintering place for perennial flowers, you should get the old soil and replace it with fresh, and dry the tubers and rhizomes of plants thoroughly.
An overview of the complex of garden work that must be carried out in March will also be useful:
Early spring is a good time to repair polycarbonate greenhouses that may have suffered from snow drifts in winter.
Mulching is carried out in flower beds, in the garden and in the garden. A thick layer of mulch creates a comfortable environment for plants, warming their roots in the cold and protecting them from the scorching rays of the sun in the heat. It perfectly retains moisture, eliminates the appearance of weeds, protects against dangerous insects. Many cultivated plants (strawberries, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin) are less susceptible to rotting and increase yields on mulch soil. Do not forget about the decorative effect: mulched soil looks well-groomed and neat.
When biological fertilizer – manure – is added to the mulch (for example, to the bark or sawdust), it is imperative to check the degree of its overripe. An incompletely oxidized substance can kill plants
Material for making mulch:
- sawdust;
- compost;
- bark;
- chips;
- straw;
- rotted leaves;
- covering fabric.
Also mulch can be decorative, read about this:
In March or April, the soil is fertilized, even if it is considered saturated and rich. Fertilized soil provides fast growth and high decorative qualities of flowers and grasses, a rich harvest of vegetables and fruit trees. Potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen are especially valued, which are part of the complex universal fertilizers “Nitroammofoska”, “Azofoska”. Small granules are mixed with water or simply scattered over the beds with melting snow in strictly limited proportions indicated on the package. Read more in the article “How to fertilize your garden in spring: tips for choosing high-quality fertilizers.”
Simple gardening jobs for shrubs and trees rejuvenate them, increase yields and improve the appearance of plants.
Pruning branches and shoots
When the air temperature exceeded 0 ° С, became positive, but is still low, fruit stone fruit trees and berry bushes should be pruned. As a result of pruning, the crown of the tree should take on a bowl-like shape with an open center, which provides perfect illumination of each branch and excellent air access. Thinning the crown and shortening the branches are appropriate at a time when the trees do not have flowers, leaves, and even swollen buds. Together with the shoots, the trunk is also shortened.
Planting fruit seedlings
With the first rays of the sun, immediately after the snow melts, young seedlings should be planted. Planting is carried out while the trees are dormant, sleeping, that is, they do not have buds, otherwise the seedlings will die without living even a couple of weeks.
Planting young fruit trees takes place in the following order:
- A shallow hole is dug, on the bottom of which manure is laid and on top of it – a thin layer of enriched soil.
- The roots of the seedling are placed in a prepared hole, carefully dripped in and slightly compacted with their feet.
- A peg is driven in next to the seedling, which serves as a support for it at first.
- Water and make sure that the ground around the roots does not dry out.
Watch the video for more details:
Vaccination for new varieties
Spring is the best time to graft trees. With the same success, budding (grafting with a kidney) or copulation (grafting with a graft) can be carried out. Cutting shoots are the most viable, as shoots from a grafted bud hardly survive the winter. The best time for grafting is between mid-April and early June. The operation is carried out with a grafting knife or pruning shears. One of the main conditions for effectiveness is close contact between the rootstock and the scion.
Spring grafting of fruit trees is an excellent opportunity to have many varieties at your summer cottage, while planting only a few main trees
You can read more about grafting trees in the article: “Grafting Fruit Trees: A Comparative Review of the Best Ways to Cross Trees.”
Division of herbaceous perennials will be more effective if done in early spring. Thanks to it, the resource of planting material increases and old plants are renewed, which begin to lose color, weaken and rot. If you divide the rhizomes of bells, asters, phlox, crocosmia in time, then they will begin to grow more actively, and the flowering will be longer and more violent. Large bushes are divided into four parts with an ordinary bayonet shovel, placing them on a board. The place of dissection is the gaps between the kidneys. The roots of small plants are separated with a garden knife.
After the renovation procedure, bright crocosmias gain a second life: they should be dug out every 2-3 years, separated the children and sent to another place.
In order for the silky grass of the lawn to please the eye throughout the summer, from early spring it is necessary to carry out a whole range of activities, the main of which are:
- top dressing;
- combing out;
- aeration;
- weeding.
Sowing and rolled lawns respond equally well to early fertilization with nitrogen fertilizers, which should be applied immediately after the snow melts. Nitrogen in combination with phosphorus and potassium gives the growing grass strength, so feeding can be done even before the first shoots appear. One suitable fertilizer is Chimera.
The next stage is aeration and combing. During the winter, a lot of debris and plant felt has accumulated, which prevents free growth and lighting. The most suitable lawn brushing tool is an electric scrubber that carefully collects the felt. So that the dense soil does not become an obstacle to the air necessary for the roots, an aerator or ordinary pitchfork is used, methodically piercing the soil with them. Weeding should be done towards the end of spring. With a small amount of weeds, the manual method is sufficient; otherwise, chemical weeding with herbicides is used.
More information about lawn care technology can be found in the material:
For uniform and metered application of fertilizers to the lawn, there are many devices, one of which is a convenient trolley on two wheels
If the lawn is small in size, then you can use a regular garden rake for the combing procedure, and a pitchfork for aeration.
If the climate permits, then many vegetables are planted directly in the open ground. There are several ways to disembark, depending on the location:
- in trenches;
- on raised ridges;
- on embankments;
- on flat ridges;
- into containers.
If the soil is light, sandy, warms up quickly, but does not retain moisture well, it is better to use the trench method. Clay soils also warm up easily, moreover, they retain moisture well, so raised ridges are traditionally used for them. Several layers of manure, soil and compost, laid in a special pattern, form bulk ridges, which are called “smart garden”. Ordinary flat beds are used in greenhouses, and containers are used where there is not enough free space for planting.
The material on how to make beautiful beds in your garden will also be useful:
Raised ridges are used for planting vegetables and flowers. Their distinctive feature is a border made of wooden boards or ceramic tiles.
Unfortunately, with the onset of heat, harmful insects are activated, which can nullify all the efforts of hardworking summer residents. Many of them attack fruit trees and bushes. It is necessary to carefully examine all the branches and pay attention to the dry leaves fastened together. Perhaps these are the nests of the golden-tailed or hawthorn. They must be collected by hand and incinerated.
Weevil beetles are killed on cold days when they freeze and stop moving. A film is placed under the tree, then the branches are shaken. The fallen insects are burned. For moths and leafworms, an infusion of mustard or wood ash is used. Copperheads are afraid of infusion of garlic with tobacco.
For spraying trees from pests, a solution of copper sulfate, carbamide, Bordeaux mixture, iron sulfate is also used, and laundry soap helps from aphids
In addition to the listed types of spring work, there are many others, for example, planting flower crops, updating garden furniture, cleaning reservoirs.
