The chill of winter is starting to wane and the first buds of spring are beginning to show. Although this might make avid gardeners anxious to go outside and start making the magic happen in the lawn and garden, first there needs to be some repair done on a little damage and wear from some pesky pests and the harsh weather from winter.
First early in March, Tsugawa held a Mole Clinic during which they shared just how to convince those “hill-digging, tunnel-plowing, nearsighted” critters to find a new home. Then, coming up, learn how to bring back that vibrant lawn after the winter’s toll with the nursery’s Liven Up that Lawn seminar. Then, get ready for Bonsai. Join the staff at Tsugawa for an informative class all about bonsais. All experience levels are invited.
All garden seminars are held at Tsugawa Nursery, located at 410 E. Scott Ave., Woodland. Here are the dates and times for upcoming seminars in March:
• Bonsai, Sat., March 21, 11 a.m.: Join the staff for this informative class all about bonsai. All levels are invited. This class is free and open to the public. Space is limited, register ahead online at www.tsugawanursery.com/events.htm or call (360) 225-8750.
• Liven Up that Lawn, Sat., March 28, 11 a.m.: Was the winter a little unkind to your lawn? When was the last time you thatched or limed? Or are you unsure what that even means? This time of year brings a lot of questions about lawns, especially when you have beautiful goals for your landscape. Join the experts as they discuss how to get your lawn back into shape and share how to maintain its healthy and vibrant greenness. This seminar is free and open to the public. Space is limited, register ahead online at www.tsugawanursery.com/events.htm or call (360) 225-8750.
What to do in the garden in March
Want some tips on what should be done in the garden and landscape during the month of March? Tsugawa Nursery’s website provides tips for what should be done each month of the year, and here are the tips for March:
Due to the usually extreme weather in November, March is the time when effects of winter damage on plants starts to show. Do general pruning to clean up plants and wait to see how the plant material leaf out before doing any major pruning. Apply Dr. Earth Fertilizers and top dress with Soil Building Compost.
• Planning: Plan your vegetable garden for spring, summer and fall vegetables. Don’t have room for a vegetable garden? Plan your vegetable container garden. Look through garden magazines, visit the nursery and see what looks good and what you need to add to your landscape.
• Prep: If soil is dry enough, prepare your vegetable garden area – apply compost. Clean and prep flower beds and containers.
• Planting: Fruits & vegetables – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, rhubarb – see our help sheets at www.tsugawanursery.com. Early cool season crops – carrots, beets, leeks, parsley, chives, peas, radish, spinach, kale, kohlrabi & celery – can be directly seeded into your garden. Be sure to use Garden Inoculants on peas and, later, beans for better growth and higher production. Pre-started – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, leeks, onions, peas, Brussels sprouts, lettuce can be planted. Pre-start vegetables indoors – tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to be set out in garden after danger of frost is gone. Mid-March: potatoes, onion sets & shallots. Flowers: Cool season annuals – pansies, violas, snapdragons, dusty miller, dianthus. Iris’s, sweet peas. Pre-start indoors – annuals to be set out after last frost date. Bring out overwintered geraniums, fuchsias, begonias - water and lightly fertilize.
• Prune: Spring and fall Flowering Clematis – Fall clematis produce flowering buds on new wood and can be trimmed to strongest canes. Spring flowering clematis should be pruned after they are done blooming. Fruit trees (except cherries). Gooseberries, Currants, Grapes and Kiwi. Early spring flowering shrubs – After they are done blooming. Ornamental shrubs and grass – Prune for air circulation - help prevent fungus diseases. Trim or sheer Heather when they are done blooming. Cut back Ornamental grasses a few inches from ground. Tree and shrubs – Prune where showing winter damage. Butterfly Bushes, Crape Myrtle, Oak leaf Hydrangeas, Rose of Sharon’s, Clethra and Caryopteris – these shrubs bloom on new wood. Hedges – spindly hedges can be helped with a hard pruning - fertilize when done.
• Fertilize: Lime and fertilize fruit trees. Gooseberries, currants and blueberries. Asparagus and rhubarb. Evergreen shrubs and trees – if needed. Rhododendron, camellias and azaleas. Caneberries – raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, loganberries and raspberries. Roses – apply Dr. Earth Alfalfa meal & Dr. Earth Rose & Flower Fertilizer. Fertilize perennials, groundcovers and vines as growth appears. Daffodils, crocus, snowdrops, and tulips with Espoma Bulb Tone.
• Compost/Mulch: When applying compost and/or mulch around your trees, be sure to keep it pulled away from the crown of your plants. Apply Soil Building Compost and Harvest Supreme Compost to your vegetable garden. Apply 3 to 4 inches of Soil Building Compost around fruit trees. Apply 3 to 4 inches of Soil Building Compost around small fruits: raspberries, blueberries, grapes, currants and gooseberries. Apply 3 to 4 inches of Harvest Supreme around rhubarbs. Apply 3 to 4 inches of Harvest Supreme over your asparagus bed. All planting areas will benefit with a 2-to-4-inch layer of compost/mulch.
• Dividing: Ornamental grasses - if needed. Hosta, daylilies, mums, rudbeckia and saliva – you can tell when perennials need to be divided when centers become less vigorous or die out in the middle.
• Apply Preventatives: Sulphur dust around Iris, Peonies, Gladiolus, and other plants to help prevent fungal diseases. Infuse fungicide to Roses, Photinia and Exbury Azaleas to help prevent black spot, powdery mildew. Aluminum Sulphate to Hydrangeas to encourage beautiful blue flowers. Bonide Annual Tree & Shrub Insect Control to birches, beech, willows, firs, spruce, and pines. Apply pre-emergent to flower beds and shrubs – use Treflan and Concern Weed Preventer.
• Dead Head: Dead head spring blooming bulbs when they are through blooming. Primroses, pansies and spring flowering trees
• Protect: Protect new plant growth from slugs and snails. Apply Mole Max to deter mole activity in your landscape. Spray trees and shrubs for webworm and leaf rollers use Bonide Captain Jacks at first sign of webbing. Apply Bonide Grub Buster for Cranefly control. Put out Coddling Moth Traps.
• Lawn: Begin mowing as needed. Apply Garden Pearls Lime. Overseed - if necessary. Thatch. Apply Bonide Weed Beater Complete granular on lawns not needing to be re-seeded. Fertilize – for organic lawns use Dr. Earth Lawn Fertilizer or Simplot 22-2-12 for slow release. Moss control – Lilly Miller Moss Out! or Lilly Miller Moss Out plus Fertilizer. Grub Beater for Cranefly Control.
• Birds: Put out bird feeder. Clean existing bird feeders. Feed birds.
• Water Garden: Re-pot root bound water plants. Put in Microbe Lift bacterial water conditioner. Feed your water plants with
• Aquatic plant tablets. Do not fertilize water lilies until you see three to five leaves (if you feed them too early they will rot). For String Algae use Green Clean. For Cloudy green water and String Algae use Algae Fix. Remove dead organic matter from bottom of the pond to help prevent algae. We suggest not feeding fish until water temperatures is above 50 degrees consistently.
• Bonsai: This is a great time to “lift your Bonsai out of their pots.” Check your trees root zone for health. Look for and remove any slug eggs, pill bugs, worms and dead roots. Clean away any soil fines that have accumulated in the bottom of the pot and on the screens. Root prune if needed. Reposition and repot.
Celebrating 30-plus years, Tsugawa Nursery is a family-owned-and-operated business. The Tsugawa family began berry farming in Woodland in 1947. George and Mable Tsugawa were married in 1950 and raised six children. The Tsugawa family worked hard together to make their farm successful, initially growing strawberries. In January 1981, the Tsugawa family purchased a defunct nursery in Woodland. They opened Tsugawa Nursery in March 1981 with very little nursery stock but plenty of vision for things to come. The Nursery has grown and become well established as one of the area’s best places to shop for garden and landscape plants and supplies.
