Do's and Don'ts for March

 March is a cruel mistress. She teases with sunshine and warm weather and then drowns you in a snow storm. Don't assume anything in March. However, if you're like me, you just can't wait to get outside

Crocuses will start to bloom in March

and get busy and there ARE a lot of things you can do. Here's a list of Do's and Don't s for this month. 

DO clean up your yard. I know, I know it's not fun but it is necessary. Winter winds blow trash around from who knows where. You're kids have left toys out. Leaves have blown up in piles by the fence. Your herbaceous perennials are mounds of dead leaves and stems from last year. Now is the time to clean it up. Just like the inside of your house, it's much better to decorate the outside when you start with a clean slate. Trash (and some toys) gets tossed. All those dead leaves can go in your compost bin. 

DON'T plant anything heat loving. Just because it's going to hit 70 degrees later this week doesn't mean you can plant out anything that's frost intolerant. Tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, squash, melons and peppers cannot be planted outside till the last frost date which for York County, PA is around May 1st. 

DO apply fertilizer as needed. Now is a great time to feed your trees and perennials. You can also add amendments to your vegetable garden. Ideally, you'll get a soil test done and follow the recommendations. Most of us can benefit from an application of an organic, complete fertilizer and you can never have too much compost. 

DON'T prune anything. It's too late to do your winter dormancy pruning and for the vast majority of plants, spring is the worst time to prune. Unless you know for a fact that your specific plant is one of the rare exceptions, hold off on any pruning till at least the summer. Right now, the plants are putting lots of energy in sprouting buds and it's really hard on them to have many buds pruned off. 

Helebore are a beautiful early spring flower. 

DO start planting some spring veggies. April 1st is really the safe time to plant cool weather crops but sometimes March will pull through and you can get salads a few weeks earlier. The worst case scenario is that you'll be out a few seeds. To increase your chances, plant in a cold frame. I plan on planting lettuce, spinach, carrots, peas and sweet peas this month. Keep you eyes on the forecast. 

DON'T use any pesticides outdoors unless you absolutely must and the packaging specifically says it will work when nighttime temps are below freezing. The vast majority of herbicides and insecticides will not work when it's this cold. Besides, the bugs aren't out yet to threaten you anyways. I'm not a fan of pesticides in general but in March they just don't make any sense. 

There's my list of dos and don'ts for you. What projects are you tackling this spring? Feel free to
comment below.