March garden chores outlined

    There is plenty to do at the start of this year’s gardening season. What to do first depends on where your priorities are for the garden. If you are big on vegetable gardens, then that is the place to start. If not, then it might be perennial beds, fruit trees, fruit bearing plants or a great-looking turf. So let’s break this down, making each of these aforementioned items a priority.
    For all the vegetable gardeners, March is a time for sowing seeds. If you love radishes, March is the time to direct sow into the garden. Each week, you can plant a new row of radishes for succession planting for up to four weeks in a row. Radishes take four weeks to mature. The last row of radishes would be ready for harvest in the last week of April. Keep in mind the heat tolerance of the variety you are planting, and keep planting for another week or so, if you really love radishes.
     If you enjoy broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale or fennel, then start sowing indoors. You could sow the kale directly in the garden after mid-March along with peas. If you enjoy eggplant, peppers or tomatoes, wait until after mid-March to start sowing those indoors. It is recommended to wait until April for Brussel sprouts, spinach, beets and lettuce. However, if you plant in early fall, spinach overwinters and you will have a crop ready to harvest in the spring.
    For those interested in perennial gardens, in March divide the perennials which are summer- and fall-blooming before they start to grow. This way it provides the least amount of shock to the plant. If it is a sunny day when transplanting, try not to expose the roots to the sun while transplanting. If it is a cool and cloudy day, it is a better time to transplant; however, do not expose the roots to the wind. The small root hairs on the root tips can become dried out very quickly. After that happens, the plant cannot absorb water. While you are dividing, throw away any diseased or dead areas of the perennial plant. Using a digging fork helps to loosen the soil before you totally remove the plant. Remember to keep the plants moist until they become re-established.

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