ECMGA 2021 GARDENING CALENDAR
The Ellis County Master Gardeners are proud to present our 15th Annual Gardening Calendar. Our theme this year is “Newcomers Guide to Gardening in North Texas.”
Your FREE copy is now available at all of the calendar sponsor’s locations. While you are there to pick up your calendar, please shop at their businesses. Also thank them for sponsoring this year’s gardening calendar! 2020 was a very challenging year and without them there wouldn’t be a calendar. Click here for our sponsor page
“It’s March … What needs to be done
PLANTING
- Plant these annuals early in the month for spring color: petunias, larkspurs, foxgloves and stocks. Other annuals such as marigolds, celosia and wax begonias may be planted late in the month.
- Plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplants from 4-inch pots after March 15th. Plants should be hardened off (gradually exposed to outside conditions) before putting in the ground.
- Plant warm-season vegetables — beans, corn, squash, melons and cucumbers starting mid-month.
- Plant herbs in raised beds with soil amended with organic matter. Harden off plants before planting.
- Plant perennial flowers in amended well-drained soil. Know each plant’s prime blooming season, height, width and color to ensure season-long color. Mulch new plantings.
FERTILIZING AND PRUNING
- Trees, shrubs, vines and ground covers can be fed with high-nitrogen fertilizer or compost. For patio pots and container gardens, apply a diluted, water-soluble, high-nitrogen fertilizer once a week.
- Remove old growth from Bermuda grass lawns by lowering mower one or two notches, allowing the grass to spread faster and choke out weeds. Bag the clippings for composting or as mulch.
- Prune spring-flowering shrubs and vines such as flowering quince, azaleas, forsythia, bridal wreath (Spiraea), Lady Banksia rose and Carolina jessamine immediately after they finish blooming.
GARDEN WATCH
- If frost or freeze is predicted, cover tender vegetables and annuals with frost cloth. It can make a 6 to 8 degree difference.
- Beware of close-out sales on bare-root trees as survival rate is low when planted this late in the season. Spend a little more on container-grown plants.
- Control black spot, powdery mildew and thrips on roses with an appropriate fungicide or systemic insecticide. Use a stream of water or insecticidal soap on aphids.
- Apply pre-emergent herbicide on lawns to control broadleaf and grassy weeds if needed. A “weed and feed” fertilizer is not recommended because it is too early to fertilize lawns.
EXTREME GARDENING TOPICS:
21st Annual Ellis County Master Gardener’s Lawn and Garden Expo EXPO AT CHAUTAUQUA — March 27th, 2021
Click here to read the complete E-Garden Newsletter E-Garden January Newsletter 2021