Thursday, February 23, 2012

March Home, Yard, and Garden Calendar

Rosie Lerner, Purdue Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist

HOME (Indoor plants and activities)
Begin fertilizing houseplants as new growth appears. Keep spent leaves and flowers removed to improve appearance and encourage more blooms.

Start garden seeds indoors for transplanting outdoors later in spring.

Check stored bulbs and produce for decay; discard damaged items.

Prune, repot and clean houseplants as needed.

YARD (Lawns, woody ornamentals and fruits)
Prune trees and shrubs, except those that bloom early in spring, while plants are still dormant.

Plant new trees and shrubs as soon as soil dries enough to be worked. Plant bare-root plants before they leaf out.

Fertilize woody plants before new growth begins, but after soil temperatures have reached 40 F - it might be several weeks early this year, given the mild winter.

Remove winter coverings from roses as soon as new growth begins. Prune and fertilize as needed.

Apply superior oil spray to control scale insects and mites when tips of leaves start to protrude from buds.

GARDEN (Flowers, vegetables and small fruits)
Plant cool-season vegetables and flowers as soon as the ground has dried enough to work. Do NOT work the soil while it is wet; wait until it crumbles in your hand. If the soil forms a solid ball when squeezed, it's still too wet.

Gradually harden off transplants by setting them outdoors during the daytime for about a week before planting.

Follow last fall's soil test recommendations for fertilizer and pH adjustment. It's not too late to test soil if you missed last year.

Start seeds of warm-season vegetables and flowers indoors; in northern and central Indiana, wait until the end of March or early April. Transplant to the garden after danger of frost is past.

Watch for blooms of early spring bulbs, such as daffodils, squill, crocus, dwarf iris and snowdrops.

Remove old asparagus and rhubarb tops, and sidedress the plants with nitrogen or manure. Plant or transplant asparagus, rhubarb and small fruit plants.

Remove winter mulch from strawberry beds as soon as new growth begins, but keep the mulch nearby to protect against frost and freezes.

Remove weak, diseased or damaged canes from raspberry plants before new growth begins. Remove old fruiting canes if not removed last year, and shorten remaining canes if necessary.

Prune grapevines.

New Vegetable Varieties in 2012

What better way to scratch your gardening itch this winter than to page through garden catalogs or surf websites with the promise of mouth-watering produce for the coming growing season! Here's a look at just a few of the new vegetable seed offerings for 2012. Try a few alongside your old standby favorites so that you can compare performance in your garden. See the full list here.

Corn and Soybean Export Progress

In December 2011, the USDA judged total corn production prospects in Argentina and Brazil at 3.54 billion bushels. That forecast was reduced by 120 million bushels in January and by an additional 160 million bushels earlier this month. All of the reduction has been for the Argentine crop. Similarly, combined soybean production in those two countries was forecast at 4.67 billion bushels in December, but was reduced by 90 million bushels in January and an additional 165 million bushels earlier this month.

Total precipitation has been well below average in southern Brazil since late January, suggesting that production there may fall short of the current forecast. Prospects for much smaller South American crops than initially forecast have raised expectations for stronger export demand for U.S. corn and soybeans during the remainder of the 2011-12 marketing year and in the first half of the 2012-13 marketing year. Over the past two months, the USDA has raised the U.S. corn export forecast for the current year by 100 million bushels, to a total of 1.7 billion bushels. The forecast is still 100 million bushels below the initial forecast made in May 2011 and 135 million less than exports of a year ago. The forecast of U.S. soybean exports during the current year has declined steadily from the initial forecast of 1.54 billion bushels to the current forecast of 1.275 billion bushels, 226 million less than exported last year. <Read More>