Take advantage of March's cooler weather with these gardening chores | Sally Scalera
March begins on Wednesday, and even though some of February’s temperatures have been in the 80s, more cold temperatures could be in our future before the hot weather is here to stay.
For information on an upcoming gardening class series and ideas on how to keep your yard looking great, continue reading.
Garden Discover Days. The Brevard Discovery Garden is open to the public on from 9-11 a.m. the first and third Wednesdays of March Garden Discovery Days, so please visit us. Come to the UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County office at 3596 Lake Drive in Cocoa. The entrance to the garden is behind and to the west of our office building. When entering from the west parking lot onto the deck, overlooking the pond, follow the pathways to the various demonstration gardens. There will be no plants for sale during the Garden Discovery Days, just time to wander through and explore the different gardens.
Florida-Friendly Landscaping. Are you new to the area or having some issues in your landscape? Come discover how to grow plants in our sandy soils and receive the answers to all your landscaping/gardening questions in the eight-week Florida-Friendly Landscaping Class Series. The classes will be from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays in April and May, covering two topics each morning, with two ticket choices, either in-person or via Zoom if you would prefer to learn remotely. For more information, check out this link 2023fflclassseries.eventbrite.com.
Wait to fertilize. Don’t be in a hurry to fertilize your lawn or landscape, because the plants should be actively growing before you fertilize. You can still wait one more month!
Inoculate before planting sod. This month you can sod, plug or seed new lawns and bare spots. For the greatest benefit, inoculate the planting hole (for plugs) or the ground (for sod and seed) with a granular inoculant containing a mixture of both endo and ectomycorrhizae. For more information on this important topic, email the Master Gardeners at brevard-mg1@ifas.ufl.edu.
More by Sally:Bats, soil health and Indian River Lagoon main topics for garden seminar
More by Sally:Here's a list of deciduous fruit trees to grow in Brevard County
Let clippings fall. When mowing, let the grass clippings fall so the organic matter and nutrients return to the soil. Begin mowing weekly to keep weeds from being able to set seed.
Flowers to plant. Flowers that can be planted (or sown) this month include gaillardia*, coreopsis*, tropical sage* (Saliva coccinea), ageratum, amaranthus, blue salvia, celosia, coleus, cosmos, Dahlberg daisy, gazania, gomphrena, impatiens, sun impatiens and lisianthus, marigolds, melampodium, portulaca, red salvia, sunflower, vinca and zinnia. Don’t forget the inoculant for these also. (*Florida natives)
Bulbs to plant. Bulbs to plant in shady areas include achimenes, Amazon lilies, caladiums, eucharis lily and walking iris. For moist areas plant canna, Louisiana iris, blue flag iris and walking iris. In sunny areas, plant amaryllis (be sure to plant the bulbs high so that the top half of the bulb is above the soil line, or they won’t flower), blackberry lily, crinum lily, day lily, rain lilies, and society garlic.
Herbs to plant. Some herbs that can be planted now include basil, chives, garlic chives, dill, fennel, sweet marjoram, rosemary, mint, sage and thyme.
Spray the seaweed. Continue (or begin) spraying the foliage of fruit trees and vegetable plants with liquid seaweed (i.e., Maxicrop soluble powder, liquid kelp, etc.) solution on a weekly basis. For extra protection, follow the research done at the University of Rhode Island and add some dissolved aspirin to the solution. Dissolve three chewable aspirin in a little hot water and add that to enough cold water to make 1 gallon. Then you can add the liquid seaweed to that solution and spray them together.
Volcanic rock powder. Speaking of supplying plants with trace elements for better health and nutrition, also consider re-mineralizing the soil for fruit crops, vegetables, and herbs by broadcasting volcanic rock powder (i.e., Azomite). Rock powders are also beneficial for ornamentals, so if any of your plants are having issues, give them some also.
Plant your vegetables. Vegetables that can be planted in March include arugula, beans (bush, pole and lima), cantaloupes, carrots, celery, Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, kohlrabi, okra, bunching onions (green onions and shallots), peppers, radish, Southern peas, spinach, squash, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard and watermelon. Inoculate the beans and peas with nitrogen-fixing bacteria labeled for peas and beans and around the other vegetables with free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The vegetable plants can also be inoculated with endo mycorrhizae.
Veggie seeds to sow. Vegetable seeds that can be started now, for planting in April, include beans (bush, pole and lima), Chinese cabbage, okra, Southern peas, squash, sweet corn and Swiss chard.
To market, to market. The Brevard County Farmers Market is held from 3-6 p.m. Thursdays at the Wickham Park Pavilion. Here are some of the delicious items that will be available this month. Vendors will be selling fresh herbs, microgreens, shoots, and wheatgrass. Vegetables that will be available are tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and potatoes. In addition, there will be honey, beef jerky, fresh salsas, candied jalapenos, sweet relish, cupcakes and other sweets, homemade jams, apple butter and jellies, and a variety of homemade nut butter. For pasta lovers, there will be freshly made pasta, sauces, cheese, and other delicious Italian items available. On the second Thursday of every month, Deep Roots Meat comes with their Florida-grown, grass-fed Angus beef straight from their farm.
Sally Scalera is an urban horticulture agent and master gardener coordinator for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences. Email her at sasc@ufl.edu.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Here's what to do in your Brevard yard during March
