March is a great time to get geared up for the season ahead. It’s the tail-end of winter, or the beginning of spring, depending on the day or your outlook on life! With that in mind I’ve included indoor and outdoor activities that will get you one step ahead of the game and keep your green thumb happy!
- Clean your tools. Sharpen pruners and spades to make your work easier. You can use a file or get a an electric grinder to do this yourself. Check your local hardware store to see if they provide sharpening services if you’d prefer to have someone do it for you. It’s well worth the effort, cutting and digging is easy work when your tools are sharp.
- Pruning. This is a great job for a sunny late winter day. Click here for some basic pruning information to get you started.
- Clean up. Pick a day that is sunny and not too windy and this will be a pleasure, getting some fresh air and getting things tidy. What to clean up? Any perennials, grasses or annuals left from last fall. Pick up branches and twigs from the lawn, too. No need to get out a lawn bag, just break them up a bit and throw them back in beds as mulch (yes, I’m serious! Click here to read about mulching in place) or add them to your compost pile.
- Planning. For those days when it’s better to sit inside, cozy, rather than brave the outdoors, spend some time thinking about what you’d like to see from your windows looking outside. What projects would you love to see happen this season? I created this free workbook for you to download to help you get clear and map out your goals.
- Getting ready for the vegetable garden? It’s about time to start sowing seeds. A few easy ones to start indoors are lettuces, kales and other salad greens. If you want to start warm weather crops like tomatoes and peppers I’d wait until mid to late March, 6-8 weeks before May 15th, our last frost here in the Chicago area. If you haven’t ordered seeds a few to try are Baker Seeds, Pinetree Garden Seeds and Kitchen Garden Seeds. There are so many to choose from, I’d love to hear your favorites! AND here is a link for how to start seeds indoors that includes a list of materials to gather so you’re ready to sow!
- Start a compost pile. Fill it with the clippings from your clean up.
Get your FREE Garden Goals Worksheet here!