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March in the Garden

by David Maher

 “Beware the Ides of March”:  autumn is traditionally the driest time of the year in many Australian climatic zones. Let us hope that all the good outcomes of recent rain events are not dissipated in March/April, 2008.

(The Ides of March was the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated. In the ancient Roman calendar, the Ides was the 15^th March.)

Gardens at the end of summer are generally beyond their best, and either waiting for the cooler weather to activate their autumn parade of colours, or, in the case of herbaceous perennials, expecting their owners to remove spent flower stalks and to trim back their tired and fading foliage so that nutrients can be conserved in the remainder of the plant. Overcrowded perennial clumps will need to be rejuvenated through their division and either replanted into fresh soil or re-potted into premium potting mix so that reinvigoration will occur before next spring’s and summer’s flowerings.  Deciduous shrubs, however, will welcome the seasonal opportunity to display their cavalcade of fiery red, butterscotch and golden autumn colours. These happenings all confirm the truism that nothing stands still for long in an active garden.

FERTILIZING

Citrus / Passionfruit Vines:  Fertilize early in the month with Thrive or Manutec citrus food, water in thoroughly and  four  to six weeks later, apply a mulch of aged poultry manure or sheep manure or  another organic product to a depth of about five centimetres.  

Roses:  If not summer-pruned and fertilized in February, give an application of blood and bone and potash or rose food or Yates’ Organic Dynamic Lifter in early autumn to ensure that the autumn flowering is sustained and productive.

SPRAYING

Capsicums, Grapefruit, Mangoes, Lemons, Figs, Guavas and Tomatoes:  Vigilance in spraying with the insecticide, Lebaycid, will be essential in many localities to combat fruit fly.  In the case of citrus, the fly seems to enjoy grapefruit and lemons more than any other citrus.  Unless these are sprayed regularly, considerable fruit infection and wastage can occur.

Tomatoes should be picked before they ripen fully. Hot sun drenches much of the flavour from tomatoes.  Hence, pick when the base of the fruit is pink and the top is still showing some green. Picking at this stage can also reduce fruit fly infection.

MAINTENANCE

N.S.W. Christmas Bush, that is, Ceratopetalum gummiferum:  Cut back behind the spent flower heads, if not done earlier.

Compost:  Fork over the heaps every few days so that aeration is maximized and the contents are mixed, heated and decomposed. Autumn leaves can be composted. Ideally, they are best shredded before use by mowing over them slowly with a lawn mower. As leaves break down slowly, the addition of blood and bone or manure to the heap will assist decomposition.  Add one part of blood and bone or manure to four parts of leaves. Composting will be accelerated and maximized if the heaps are kept moist & turned regularly.

Propagation: Semi-hardwood cuttings of natives, perennials and gardenias can be taken, dipped in a hormone or rolled in honey or vegemite and potted in a mix of sand/peat or zeolite crystals/peat. I have just completed this task with daphne and dianthus tip cuttings.

SEEDS TO SOW IN MARCH

Pansies, lobelias, poppies, violas, sweet peas, alyssum, snapdragons, and cinerarias – sow early in the month in Yates’ or Searle’s Seed Raising Mix and maintain a consistent moisture level. Alternatively, you might wish to try Brunnings’ new coir seed raising mix which is available from most garden and produce stores. March 17^th has been the traditional day on which many gardeners plant their sweet pea seeds.  Sweet pea seeds should be soaked overnight and can be either sown directly into drills or into seed punnets for germination. Yates Sweet Pea Bijou is an excellent variety to grow because it can be grown in containers and as an edging plant and does not have to be staked. For those who wish to grow their plants on a frame, I suggest ‘Colourcade’.

Sow cool season vegetables such as:

• Broad Beans – sow where the plants are to grow.
• Beetroot – sow ‘Derwent Globe’ or ‘Cylindra’ direct into drills or into punnets – I usually sow in the second week of March but because it has been cooler, I sowed in late February - harvesting can occur as early as the end of May.
• Carrots – suitable varieties of carrots include Majestic Red – harvest from mid-June to the end of August. Try growing some baby carrots using the seed tapes that have the seeds embedded into paper strips. Mix superphosphate into the soil at least one month before planting for root vegetables.
• Cabbages, Cauliflowers and Broccoli – seeds sown in March will enable harvesting to occur in July/August. I have had great success with Yates’ Earliball’ and ‘Sweet Eureka’ cabbages and ‘Phenomenal Early’ cauliflower.
• Lettuce – choose from a great variety of lettuce plants including ‘Iceberg’ and the mignonette types. Personally, I find ‘Iceberg’ difficult to germinate, hence consider purchasing seedlings. I planted ‘Imperial’ seedlings in mid February.
• Spinach.
• Potatoes can be planted in early March in frost free areas.

PLANT OF THE MONTH

Scaevola, the Fairy Fan flower, is one of the very best native ground covers that I have ever grown. It is a genuine sun lover that spreads freely but is not invasive. It was a genuine survivor in my garden throughout the drought and in May, 2007, I saw it growing in the Simpson Desert.  The leaves are serrated and the fan shaped flowers are blue/purple. Flowering commences in spring and is continuous throughout summer. Generally, it is freely available, often in 8 to 10 cms pots. N.B. My experience is that it performs poorly in full shade.

SOIL PREPARATION

In my garden, soil preparation has important tasks including: lightly forking over soil which had sheep manure or compost added in January or February and the addition of a mix of blood and bone (5 parts) plus potash (1 part) or Organic Life into the top 15 cms of the soil and in containers where spring-flowering annuals and bulbs are to be planted through March to June. The digging in of a green crop, such as mung beans, in vegetable beds which needed rejuvenation, is the second important task.  These should be dug in at the flowering stage because that is the time when they contain the maximum amounts of nitrogen. (Mung beans should be sown in November/December. Mine were dug into the vegetable bed in February this year as they matured much earlier than in past years.)

PLANT PROFILE

Camellia sasanquas: Arguably, camellia sasanquas are among the most resourceful of all gardening plants. They rarely attract any diseases and mites; they flower profusely; they are generally frost insensitive to a significant degree; and they can be grown successfully in the ground and in containers. Moreover, they are great plants for espaliering. They do have a preference of acidic soils but will tolerate most soils to a pH of 7. In the warm temperate zones, where most of my subscribers live, red coloured cultivars are the most successful.

Herewith are some of my preferred cultivars:

Red: ‘Hiryu’ and ‘Bonanza’ and ‘Shishigashira’.

Pink: ‘Jennifer Susan’ and ‘Chansonette’ and ‘Plantation Pink’.

White ‘Mine No Yuki’ and ‘Setsugekka’ known as ‘Elegant Friends’.

For Espaliering: ‘Little Pearl’ and ‘Early Pearly’ are outstanding; the former is more sun tolerant.

Upright plants for containers: ‘Yuletide’ and ‘Star Above Star’’ and ‘Yuletide’.

P.S. My day lilies will be available for sale during April, May and June. Catalogues and order forms are available on application and prices are $3 or $5 or $10 per plant. The latter are new introductions.

Happy gardening!