List of Things to do for March

• Fertilize perennials. Lime as soil test shows need.
• Prune roses when vegetative buds swell. Fertilize and lime as test shows need.
• Fend off hungry rabbits with dried blood, a commercial repellent or a mulch of prickly prunings.
• Plant dormant roses, lilies, perennial and biennial plants.
• Enjoy blooming snowdrops, squills, crocus, hellebores, primroses, heaths.
• Start seeds of tender vegetables needing 10 to 12 weeks before settling out.
• Plant hardy seeds marked "as early in the spring as the ground can be worked" as soon as a handful of soil from a spade's depth will crumble rather than making a soggy ball.
• Root cuttings of sweet potatoes on a sunny windowsill.
• Fertilize asparagus.
• Prune, repot, propagate as plants resume active growth.
• Begin fertilizing when active growth begins.
• Keep potted spring-flowering bulbs and cyclamen, cinerarias, calcerolarias where nights are cool, as low as 50 degrees.
• Begin a "rainy season" for cacti, watering once a week, to induce flowering.

Making Compost tea

Making compost tea is not difficult and has many benefits. Compost tea-When plants need some immediate care, perk them up with nutrient-rich water made by soaking a cloth bag full of compost in a watering can or barrel for a couple of days. Dilute the resulting solution to a weak tea color-reuse your tea bag a few times, then apply the remaining solids to your garden. Here are some resources for you. http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html/105-0647806-1860457? http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/compost-tea-notes.html

Bit of Spring for your winter?

Winter is often a time of year for subtleness in the garden. We all need color in the winter garden! Try Hellebores. They are native to mountainous woodlands and open meadows of Western Europe. These are really great plants. The foliage is dark green and leathery, with very fine serrations along the leaf margin. The leaves remain an attractive green into January, when they start to collapse and discolor. Aside from locating them with winter interest companions all Hellebores require a well-grained location and prosper with afternoon shade. All are drought tolerant, and provide ample seedlings for naturalizing and are deer resistant. For more information, please visit www.RutgersGardens.org