Your March Gardening Jobs

 

1. Care for dahlias

MARCH IS PEAK SEASON FOR DAHLIAS!

Encourage bigger blooms with a liquid plant food that is high in phosphorus and potassium and low in nitrogen, such as Neutrog Strike Back for Orchids or Yates Thrive for Flowering Plants. Hot weather can stress dahlias. Water regularly at ground level and provide temporary shade for blooms using umbrellas or old hats secured to stakes. Watch for pests, especially mites that can cause severe damage. Remove leaves from the lower part of the stem to increase air circulation.

 

2. Grow garlic

IT’S TIME TO PLANT GARLIC.

This bulb takes seven months to fully develop before being harvested in November. Split garlic bulbs into individual cloves, and select the plumpest for planting out. Choose a sunny spot with well-drained soil. Garlic needs good drainage to prevent bulbs from rotting. Improve the soil with well-rotted compost, manure, plus blood and bone a few weeks before planting. For heavy clay soils, you can mound the soil to improve drainage. Plant cloves with pointed end up, in holes 5cm deep and 7-12 cm apart. Water well then spread a 7cm layer of mulch.

 

3. Sow sweet peas

ST PATRICK’S DAY (17 MARCH) IS THE TRADITIONAL DAY TO SOW SWEET PEAS

but the reality is that you can sow them right up until June! Choose a sunny, well-drained spot and prepare the soil. Add pelletised manure or a good well-rotted cow manure, then a sprinkle of dolomite. Sow seeds directly where they will grow next to a trellis or support. Water well, and do not water again until seeds germinate – over watering encourages seed rot. Support young seedlings with twigs until they reach the support. Once flower buds appear, feed with a soluble fertiliser high in potassium.

 

4. Feed citrus

EARLY MARCH IS AN EXCELLENT TIME TO GIVE CITRUS TREES A BOOST.

Apply a generous double handful of rock dust per tree, along with well-rotted chook manure and pelletised chook fertiliser. Use about a 5L bucketful per mature tree, and half that amount for younger trees. Water everything in well with seaweed solution and cover with a 10-20cm layer of mulch.

 

5. Eat your veg!

THESE SLOW MATURING VEGETABLES NEED TO BE PLANTED NOW

so you can harvest them in winter. Broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, celery, leek, onion, beetroot, spinach, fennel, spring onion, bokchoy (pak choi), rhubarb and silverbeet can all be planted now. 

 

6. Grow better blooms

ENCOURAGE BIGGER AND BETTER BLOOMS ON ALL YOUR ORCHIDS, ESPECIALLY CYMBIDIUMS.

Water with a high-potassium fertiliser, like Neutrog Strike Back for Orchids, using it at half to two-thirds of the recommended strength once a fortnight. Position plants in dappled shade, such as under a tree, where they receive morning sun and afternoon shade.

 

7. Time to watch and act

WATCH OUT FOR THE PESKY CLIVIA CATERPILLAR,

also calledlily caterpillar, that hides during the day and feeds at night. It is more active in warm humid weather. Left unchecked, this caterpillar causes serious damage, often death, to clivias. Distinct yellow, grey and black stripes run the length of the body. Eggs are laid in clusters, so you should act quickly as these guys are very hungry. Spray plants thoroughly with eco-caterpillar killer (OCP). Feed clivias in March, April and May with potash to encourage flowers.

 

8. Plant spring bulbs

DAFFODILS, JONQUILS, FREESIAS, HYACINTHS, RANUNCULUS, ANEMONES, SPARAXIS, IXIAAND BLUEBELLS

can all be planted now in the garden and in pots. Tulips need six weeks in there frigerator to chill before planting in late May, once soil temperatures have dropped. Mother’s Day is a handy reminder to pop them in. Order bulbs now from online bulb suppliers: tesselaar.net.au, redearthbulbs.com and vdqbulbs.com.au