In the Garden

Spring is here

by Ray Mikula

When getting your shovel and pruners ready for the season make sure your tools are clean and washed This prevents any diseases from spreading from plant to plant or through the soil. It also helps your tools last longer. After cleaning, you can apply a little oil on a rag or paper towel and wipe them down. This will coat the metal and prevent rust and will also remove some rust as well.

Meteorological spring, astronomical spring, and Groundhog spring all begin in March. Our northern hemisphere will explode in color as the trees and shrubs and bulbs start to bloom. That's natures way of saying get your gloves and shovels ready because it's gardening time. Nurseries will open this month, the Cherry Blossom Festival begins, and the Master Gardeners are gearing up for their April 1st Spring Sym-posium. The Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 20th to April 16th. Peak bloom usually appears in our area about a week before it does in Washington, so watch the trees in your neighborhood as a clue of when to go.

The Master Gardener Symposium will begin at 8:30 am on April 1st at Gari gardening. There's still availability so check it out at MGACRA.org.

Your lawn will probably need some attention in the spring. To prevent crabgrass, you can put down a pre emergent that will stop the crabgrass seed that's in your lawn from germinating. Be careful to follow the directions on the bag and don't apply if you are planning to plant grass or other seeds there in the next couple of months because it will stop those from germinating too. Plan to apply the pre emergent when you see the daffodils and the forsythia in full bloom in your neighborhood.

If you left your flowered stems up during the winter so the birds could eat the seeds you can safely cut them back now. Cut back ornamental grasses and liriope as well. They will begin sending up their new shoots soon and you don't want to cut those off. You can also rake the old leaves out of your garden and remove spring weeds before the perennials start to grow too big.

It's not time yet to plant annuals unless your talking spring vegetables like lettuce, peas, radishes, broccoli etc. These types of plants love the cool weather and will bolt once it gets hot.

But most importantly it is time to breath in that fresh spring air, feel the warmth of the sun on your face, and take a glance around at the rebirth of the plant and animal life, in your garden, a public park or waterway in our area. After a long gentle winter, Spring is here.

RayMikula is a Master Gardener.He has several acres of garden space & has been gardening for 62 years. Before retiring Ray was a Earth Science & Astronomy Teacher