This is a guest post written by my buddy Heather from Massachusetts. I thought it would be fun this year to post Monthly Garden Chores from both the West Coast and East Coast. You can see my March garden plans for my Seattle, Washington garden HERE.
Aaaaahhh March. Even though it’s just March, it’s March, which kinda feels like the light at the end of the dark, dark, winter tunnel. Literally, the sun is out earlier and staying out later which makes a huge mental difference and makes me want to plant things – any thing!
My New Year’s promise this month to make one “new” dinner a month is chugging right along. This month I made Mavis’s Homemade Pizza, Ritz Cracker Chicken, Oatmeal with Caramelized Bananas, and the Chicken Tortilla Casserole.
Seeds I’m Starting Indoors this Month
I’ve started 12 Italian Romo tomato plants and a flat of Romaine lettuce a flat of Butterhead at the beginning of February, which are doing great. I also had started some organic celery in water until it sprouted and then planted it, which surprisingly worked really well! Lastly, I started basil and cilantro in two glass bottles – terrarium style.
I’m also giving winter sowing a whirl this winter. For those of us in cold climates, it’s basically magic. I’ve started 29 winter sowing greenhouses so far (Perennial Bloom, Marigold, Hidcote Lavender, Chervil, Aubrietia, Bishops flower, Echinacea, and Lemon Balm as well as Broccoli, Kale, Swiss Chard and Brussel Sprouts). I’ll be using the perennials I grow in the winter sowing greenhouses to create a flower fence around my garden to encourage more bee activity.
March will be a busy planting month, now will be the time to start all my cold weather plants (broccoli, brussels sprouts, more lettuce) under the grow lights so I can put them out as soon as I can turn the soil (right now it’s still hard as a rock). I’ll also start peppers and eggplants under the grow lights so I can put them out first thing after the first frost in May.
What I Plan to Transplant Outside this Month
Odds are we’ll still get another major storm or two in March or April, so until May I’ll sneak downstairs and whisper sweet nothings to the plantlings under the grow lights.
Plants and/or Bulbs I Plan to Purchase this Month
Well, I don’t have any plans to buy more seeds or bulbs – but you know how that goes! Every time I walk into the feed store, I get trapped by that wall-o-seeds. I can’t be the only one, I mean they’re only a dollar or so and they hold such promise. 😉
What I plan to Harvest This Month
My lettuce is only about 3” high so hopefully by the end of this month I’ll be harvesting some homegrown lettuce – even if just enough for a baby salad.
Trees and Shrubs
Last week I declared to the hubbahubba that I was going to rip out the front boxwood hedge along the front of the house. It’s scraggly, thin, and prickly and I HATE it. I must’ve caught him at the perfect moment because he said, and I quote “whatever you want wifely”. SWEET! It’s gonna be hard work, but the second the ground thaws I’ll be out there singing while I dig with my handy-dandy pick axe. I have plans to replace it with a Hidcote Lavender row.
Now’s also the time to thin the blueberry and raspberry bushes in preparation for new sprouts.
Weed and Pest Control
Alas, my lemon tree has absolutely been invaded and covered with scales. From what I understand I could use a chemical treatment (not likely) or non-chemical treatment (wipe down the ENTIRE plant with rubbing alcohol then spray it down completely with cottonseed oil, repeat until gone, wear gloves and try not to gag – those scales are nasty!) However neither treatment can be done until the weather is above 30*. Yikes – that won’t be for another week – I hope lemon can hold on that long.
Chickens
Chickens are funny critters. I found that if I throw some pine shavings over the snow they’ll go out and hang out and hang out in the pen.
PS: the woodworking project went well, however I have to admit I choose the times to build in the living room very strategically (read: when the HH was not home). J Check it out – how do you like my chicken tractor?
Lawn Care
Lawn Care this month is revolving strictly around re-arranging snow. Sure, you can call it shoveling or snow blowing but when you get right down to it – it’s just a hobby built around rearranging snow. 🙂
**These garden chores are based on my Zone 5b Southeast/Boston MA location. Find your garden zone HERE.
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Kelly says
I’d love to hear more about the winter sowing!
Amy E says
Wow! I love the idea of milk gallon greenhouses. Can you post a little DIY guide to growing in them? How much cold can they take, watering, venting, etc. I’d love to try this next year, or maybe even right now to get more seeds started.
Catherine in MI says
I’m intrigued by these little greenhouses, too!
Carrie C says
wow! I’m thankful I live in central NC and just planted peas, spinach, radish, carrots, and lettuce all outside. It’s 67 degrees today!
Ann Heinzer says
My meyer lemon has been the SAME this year. Scales, scales, spider mites, and more scale. It’s nearly spring now, but I think I finally have it beat. Get yourself some NEEM oil. Its an oil from a tropical plant that is insecticidal (and fungicial, if you ever need that in future). Spray it down. Wait a week, or 10 days. Spray it again. Done. It doesn’t smell so great the first day after spraying – but if you do it in a tub/shower, you can wash out the shower afterwards and your whole house won’t stink. My lemon was in sad shape and seems to be much happier now and scale-free!
Mari says
To treat the scale on the lemons, or aphids on roses etc or white fly in greenhouses…. He is a simple home made, safe remedy that you can use indoors and out. It is all I have ever used on any nasties.
1 tsp ordinary liquid kitchen soap/detergent
1 tsp any cooking oil
1 litre water (1 quart to you)
Put this in a spray pump bottle, shake and spray.
Remember most insects do damage from the softer underside of leaves so it is important to spray well under the leaves. You need to spray every 2 or 3 days to get the various stages of the bugs, then once controlled, do it once a week. Also lightly spray the top of the soil with this.
This mix is safe to use on all plants, including lettuces and cabbages etc. It kept my lemon scale and honey dew free and it has cropped marvellously. It is perfectly safe to use around pets and chickens too.
Mary says
Can you post information on the milk jug greenhouses – I love the idea. Do you cut th jug in half? Leave the lid on? off?
Thanks
Heather from MA says
Thanks Mari, I’ll give your recipe a go. The weather is up and down and all around this week (today was 50ish, tomorrow will be in the 30’s) so I’ll pick a nice day, roll it out to the deck and begin mission “scale attack”! 🙂
Mandy M. says
Mavis could you do a post on the milk jug greenhouses? I love the idea of them! They’re so cute and look like they would be a really great idea. Love your blog Mavis!!!!
Diana says
Love the gallon jug terrariums. I second the request to post the DIY instructions.
I’m do encouraged by your guest, snow has been
Our primary concern here in virginia too.
I’m very interested in starting seeds inside but don’t
Have ‘big bucks’ to buy one of those all encompassing kts
Do you recommend a couple of places to buy
Good garden stuff online like grow lights, rain barrels etc? .
sandra says
For winter sowing google “winter sowing 101” and that will bring you to a great informational site on the topic. Between Mavis, winter sowing and MIGardener you can learn almost anything that is important in life!
Vanessa says
A huge thank you for these East Coast gardening posts! I’m in Western Maine and while it looks like we have quite a bit more snow on the ground up here, these posts will be very helpful for this new gardener (planted my first garden last year) throughout the growing season!
Jeane says
http://www.agardenforthehouse.com
I think that is where I first saw the winter gardening in plastic milk jugs. I put them out last January and they stayed out in the cold, only covered a couple really cold nights with a blanket. Otherwise they did fine and almost everything came up. One hint, be sure to mark the jugs well, I used a permanent marker but it came off, so I had to guess at few things until they got bigger
Elizabeth says
Winter Sowing is the BEST. I’ve been doing it for 5 years with most of my veggies and annual flowers and always get great results!! Plus, they harden off naturally 🙂
Also… “snow rearranging” haha, love it!
Cass says
Can we have a link so we can follow Heathers blog as well? I’m from Mass as well and I love posts so close to home!
Heather says
Thanks for posting. I am excited for Spring to finally get here. Time to get in gear!
Lana says
We took out our 30 year old boxwoods about 5 years ago. WHAT a job that was. The roots had grown in corkscrews in our clay soil and it finally took a chain and our 4 wheel drive Suburban to get them out of there.
Heather from MA says
Hi Cass, I don’t have a blog – I just write sporadically for Mavis. 🙂 Frankly between work, teenagers, making dinners (Uggg), the garden, the teenagers sports…. I have NO IDEA how Mavis creates so many (quality) posts! Plus, I’m still learning 😉
Heather from MA says
Oooooh Lana, say it ain’t so!! I know I’m just kidding myself with the magnitude of this job. How do I get myself into these springtime crunches? Aaaah well, I always feel better with a project or two on my plate. If only I could Wile E. coyote those bushes 😉
Heather from MA says
Mari – THANK YOU FOR THE RECIPE to get rid of the scales on my lemon tree. It’s working like magic – and all natural, gotta love that! I’ve been rollin ol’ lemon onto the front stoop (which is south facing and the only warm enough spot here in New England for poor lemon), then spraying her with the soap, oil, water solution you’d suggested. Spraying every three days like you’d said, to kill all the stages, is the key. Thank you, thank you.
Kate says
I love this! I too am in Massachusetts and it is so great to see what someone else is doing now in their garden around here. We will have to try your milk jug greenhouses, too. Aside from starting seeds, I am thinking of teaching the kids how to melt the snow by staring at it- kind of like watching paint dry. (; Can’t wait to see more!
Heather says
I would love the link to the chicken tractor.