March Chores - March 5, 2005
By Denise Levine, UC Master Gardener
To Shakespeare, "salad days" were a reminder of one's youth, but to me, "salad days" means March.
March blends mild weather with plenty of moisture and more daylight hours to get salad crops off to a quick start.
I plant my salad in raised boxes and pots so I don't have to tramp through the mud to pick when the weather is gray. In a box that is three feet by six, I plant two rows of carrots, a band of 'Cherry Belle' radishes, a band of tapered white and red French breakfast radishes, three feet of lettuce and two rows of baby leeks that I harvest like scallions until they are grown. All of these keep me in greens for at least eight weeks.
I have two methods that most dependably supply me with lettuce. I amend the box with compost and then broadcast the seeds with an aim to have them land about an inch apart in all directions. If it is not raining as much as it did this February, water in gently and then don't water again until the plants have their first true leaves. This helps to avoid damping-off, a disease that kills seedlings. You can do the same thing in a large pot on your deck. Soon you'll have baby lettuces popping up.
For diversity of greens in your salad bowl, use a mesclun or salad seed mix. This is a great way to have lots of different kinds of lettuces, yet only have to buy one seed packet. If your family isn't fond of the more bitter varieties that give a bite to your salad, try to find Napa Valley Mix, a palette of red and green mild lettuces that kids usually like.
When your lettuce plants are an inch or so high, start to gently pick out one whenever you see two plants start to compete for space. Use the first leaves to perk up a sandwich. Keep selectively thinning and using your lettuces as they grow until finally the remaining heads are spaced about a foot apart.
Don't forget to reserve a spot for the March 12 workshop, Small Space and Container Gardening at Whiting Nursery, 738 Main Street in St. Helena. If you think you don't have room for a garden, this is the workshop for you.
If you have more room for early seeds, most all spring-sown plants can be started now. Beets for greens or roots, onions, potatoes, chard, spinach, leeks, celery, fennel, carrots and peas love cool weather and can be sown directly in garden beds.
Warm weather crops can be started inside now on a sunny windowsill. For faster germination and stronger root systems, use an inexpensive seed-starting mat found at local garden centers. Tomatoes, pumpkins, cantaloupe, peppers and eggplant can all be planted in peat pots or seed trays.
Bulbs for summer color can go into the garden or into pots now. One of my daughters brought home a beautiful calla lily on Valentine's Day. The elegant white petal furl with the pink lipstick "kiss" elicited so many "Ohhh's" at our house that we unanimously decided to plant callas this year.
Begonias, calla lilies and dahlias go into beds, and sprouted tuberous begonias go into summer pots filled with fresh soil mix. Water them well, keep them in a sheltered location and wait for their summer show. March is usually the best month in Napa to plant citrus. 'Improved Meyer' lemons are the most ubiquitous citrus in Napa, but many gardeners are also successful with naval oranges, mandarin oranges, kumquats and grapefruit. All citrus are susceptible to frost and will need protection if we get a cold snap.
Keep after the weeds, but don't put down heavy mulch until the soil warms. Watch for slugs and snails. Keep your garden picked up so they have fewer places to hide and plan midnight attacks on your garden. If you have a lawn, fertilize with a complete formula, such as 16-6-8. Later in the month, fertilize established shrubs and citrus trees with a 10-10-10 formula.
Dig and divide overgrown clumps of chrysanthemums, Shasta daisies, yarrow and other perennials. Only replant the healthy portions.
Trim back your herbs by half to promote new growth from the base of the plants, and take the opportunity to pinch out dead and crossed branches to open the center to the light.