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...because all the best garden advice is local
March 3, 2011

A Breath of Spring Air  


Greetings!

 

Veronica at potting bench _ creditI know it's the week of the girls' state basketball tournament, but dare I say it? Spring is most definitely in the air.
   Granted, this is the week we're supposed to get hit with the legendary girls' tournament snowstorm, but so far, so good.
   And even if we did, all the signs of impending spring are inevitable: We're being treated to occasional 40- and even 50-degree days. The snow is melting. I can hear Canadian geese squawking overhead on their migration back north. And the other night on a walk, it struck me: The air seemed so, well...soft. Exactly the opposite of the crisp air of fall, and it cheered me beyond measure.
   All this prompted me to go out and inspect my pussy willow bush. Not yet, but soon. This weekend I'll have to go out and cut some branches t
o force indoors so I can enjoy those distinctive fuzzy catkins at my kitchen table! 

Yours in anticipation of spring,  

Veronica Lorson Fowler


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Getting Planting

This year, I'm doing very little seed-starting, I've decided. I have to many short trips planned, with no one to baby sit them while I'm gone. However, I have decided to start two things: Basil and marigolds.

   Basil because I'm tired of paying $4 and $5 for a small pot--the only way I seem to be able to find it these days.

   Marigolds because the clear yellow African marigolds (common cultivars include as 'Inca' or 'Aztec') are staples in my garden. They get tall--about 18 inches--and are a snap to grow. They're also a dirt-cheap way to fill bare spots in beds and border. However, it's tough to find flats of just yellow--orange and gold are usually mixed in. So I'll plant my own. Besides, they're so easy to grow, it makes it painful to shell out $20 or more for a flat.

   Warm-season annuals such as basil and marigolds should be started between 6 and 8 weeks before our last average frost date (around May 15 in central and northern Iowa; around May 10 in southern Iowa).

   planting a seedYikes! That means I need to plant in a couple of weeks. Better get those seeds ordered.

   By the way, check out our nifty listing of "What To Plant When In Iowa." I hope you'll find it really useful.

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A Lovelier Lawn

 

a luscious lawnSigh. I live in an old house and as a result, I have an old lawn--a funky mix of disease-prone grasses and a soil surface that has more dips and rises than an Adventureland roller coaster.

   To smooth it out, I'll once again empty one of my compost piles and rake about a half-inch of compost into the low-lying spots. And as I do each year, I'll choose one smaller, especially low area to spread soil about 2 or 3 inches deep and then reseed on top of it.

   Meanwhile, check out our Lawn Care Schedule for Iowa. 

It tells you want to do when to get your lawn greener and lusher.


More Iowa Garden Information

 

We've got lots of information on a variety of topics. Go to our

home page for a complete listing. Otherwise, here are some of the most popular:

 

20 Must-Have Perennials for Iowa  

 

Eight Bulletproof Roses for Iowa 

 

Five Simple Steps to Healthier Tomatoes 

 

Controlling Creeping Charlie 

 

Flowers Less Attractive to Deer 

 

Deer-Resistant Trees and Shrubs for Iowa 

 

The Evil Japanese Beetle 

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Issue: 45
Garden To-Do List

Click here for a monthly to-do list and to create your own     Garden Journal.  

Start seeds indoors now of perennials, onions, and slower-growing annuals that you should start 10-12 weeks before the last average frost date (in Iowa, that's in mid-May.) These include snapdragons, annual salvias, and impatiens.
 
 The last week of March or first week of April, start seeds indoors of annuals that you should start 6-8 weeks before the last average frost date. These include marigolds, globe amaranth, sweet alyssum, and flowering tobacco.
 
 Once you can easily work the soil outside, plant directly in the ground seeds of fast-germinating cool-season vegetables, such as radishes, spinaches, and lettuces.
 
In southern Iowa, plant bareroot trees, shrubs, and roses at the end of the month, once you can work the soil easily.
 
Prevent diseases and insects on fruit trees by spraying with horticultural oil, also called dormant oil. Do so when temperatures are in the 40s.

Start to prune most deciduous trees and shrubs now, while they're dormant.

Stock up! Work off your spring fever to buy now pots, potting soil, seeds and seed-starting supplies, tools, soil amendments, fertilizers, etc. You'll save trips to the garden center during the spring rush. And get out there and clean up and organize your garage or shed, wash up pots, etc. so you're ready at the starting gate.

  How's your mower? If you didn't get it tuned up ast fall and the blade sharpened, do it yourself now or take it in before the spring rush.

Same for any shears or other sharp cutting or slicing objects, including spades and hoes. If you haven't already, invest a few bucks in a sharpening stone. It makes all the difference. Click here to learn how. It's easy after you do it once or twice.
Click here for a monthly to-do list and pages to make your own garden journal.    
Garden Events  

 

Now Through Late Spring
Insect Displays

Reiman Gardens, Ames
The insects theme for 2011 is kicked off with a large public display of leaf cutter ants -- an amazing colony of Atta columbica working to build their own fungal gardens. Fascinating pop insect art also is on display.  

 

Learn on Saturdays

Des Moines Botanical Center
10 a.m. class/11 a.m. class. $5-$10.
March 5: The Weather and Gardeners/Rain Gardens
March 12: Succulents /Creating  Water Gardens
March 19: Green Infrastructure for Residential Gardens /The Greening of the Cathedral of St. Paul
March 26: Crazy for Coleus/Crazy for Hostas

 

March 18-20
Iowa Flower Lawn and Garden Show

State Fairgrounds, Des Moines
Various times. 10 huge landscape displays, talks, freebies, and things to buy! $7.95-free.  

 

March 25-27
Flower and Garden Show
 

Quad Cities
Starts 10 a.m. each day. Great smells, sounds, displays and speakers. Lots of exhibitors! $7 to free.    

 
Garden Quote  


"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

 

--Charles Dickens