Heart of Missouri
Master Gardeners

March Calendar

March - Zone 5

Vegetables

A busy month under those fluorescent lights! Start seeds of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and other warm-season veggies. Also start cole crops like broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese greens, cabbage and kohlrabi, as well as other greens.
If you have a frost-free cold frame, plant early spinach, lettuce and other hardy greens. Place onions and tomatoes started in February in a frost-free cold frame by mid-month.
It's traditional to plant peas and taters on St. Patrick's Day, but if your garden soil feels like Play-Doh, wait until later to plant [if it's like chocolate cake, go ahead !]
Fertilize the garden as the soil is being prepared for planting. unless directed otherwise by a soil test. University Missouri Guide Sheet G9110, [How to Get a Good Soil Sample]. Soil samples can be taken to your county extension office to be analyzed.

Trees & Shrubs & Fruits

Prune fruit trees before the buds swell, and spray with horticultural oil if scale is a problem. Look for overwintering insects as you prune trees. Set out new trees and small fruits.
All fruit trees but peaches and nectarines, which are best pruned before they flower, should be pruned now as well as bramble fruits and grapes.

Lawns

In the spring, thoughts often turn to brown spots on the lawn. Try to determine the cause of dead grass, but at times it may be impossible to do. Lawn spot repair should begin by cleaning out dead grass. Prepare the soil for grass seeding in the same way you would plant a vegetable garden. Prompt seeding is important to establish a dense turf. [MU Guide Sheet G06700]
Proper applications of fertilizer make grass plants strong and healthy so they can withstand drought and traffic and crowd out weeds. In the spring, use a fertilizer with a 2:1:1 ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus and potash. In fall, use a fertilizer with a 1:2:2 ratio for healthy root growth during winter. Apply about 4 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Slow-release fertilizer is the best form.

Flowers

A gardening decision to be made now is whether to plant seeds of annual flowers or to purchase plants later. Time, interest and plenty of growing space are the keys. Without any one of these, purchase healthy, vigorous plants at planting time.
Many garden perennial flowers can be divided in early spring. The multiple shoots that form the crown, or clump, may be pulled or cut apart and reset. Select only the most healthy and vigorous portions for replanting.
Fertilize bulbs with a "bulb booster". Broadcast over planted beds. Hose off any granules that stick to foliage.
Seeds of hardy annuals such as larkspur, bachelor's buttons, California poppies and nasturtium sown directly into the prepared beds.
To control Iris borer, clean up and destroy the old foliage before new growth begins.

Miscellaneous

Let's raise the Purple Martin houses or if you have not taken them down from last year, lets get to cleaning them out. A bunch of grumbling songbirds having to clean house does not make for a pleasant good-morning. Purple Martin should be arriving on or about March 16.
Set up nesting boxes for Bluebirds.
Remember to continue to feed the birds. This time of the year their natural food supply is dwindling.
Watch for the fuzzy blooms of the Pussy Willow. Turn your eyes to your flower beds. Spring bulbs will be popping up soon.

Last Updated Tuesday, June 04, 2002

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Nancy Hendrix and Sharon Young