Happy March! It’s time for This Month In The Garden, our monthly tips and tricks show we play on the first Thursday of every month here on In The Garden with UC Master Gardeners of Orange County California.
The key emphasis at this time of year are three words: Plant, Feed, and Control. But don’t jump the gun.
Remember what we suggested last month. Do one last thought about what you want where. Work up the soil. By knowing what you want to plant, you’ll know what type of fertilizer you will need. You’ll be feeding new plantings AND established plants that are starting to grow again.
Think about TOMATOES! How are you going to keep them off the ground? Teena and Katrina have wonderful suggestions and techniques for trellising or caging your plants. More than just tomatoes need support so what they describe can be used year-round.
Annual and perennial flowers! Yarrow, Coreopsis, Globe Amaranth, Rudbeckia. Look up how big they get so you can avoid overcrowding or planting tall varieties in front of short. Plumbago! There is a reason they are used as freeway plantings! 6' to 15' tall x 6' to 8' wide! Beautiful blue flowers that bloom for most of the year.
Just as your plants are hungry now, so are the pests that bother your plants. Feed the plants and you are, in turn, feeding those bugs that eat the fresh new growth. Now we talk about CONTROL. Stay on top of them the moment you spot them. Look up what you find on our UC IPM (Integrated Pest Management) website for specific pest notes at List of Pest Notes in HTML and PDF--UC IPM. An indispensable resource as is our Hotline Gardening Questions? - Ask Us! | UC Master Gardeners of Orange County.
For those outside of the FM broadcast boundaries, we invite you to find our station website and listen live at KUCI 88.9 FM – Irvine, Orange County Public Radio at 8:30am on Thursday mornings. After the broadcast, the show will be made available in our Master Gardeners of Orange County website, Radio Show & Podcasts page as soon as possible. Keep checking for all of our shows since the inception of our program!
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