Gardening Calendar for March - Colorado State University Extension Tri River Area Mesa Delta Montrose Ouray Counties

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Week 1
Call the Dial-a-Garden Message weekly at 970 244-1706 to learn the latest for the week.	Asparagus ferns should be cut back as soon as possible to avoid damage to the new spears that will be emerging later. A string-weeded and sharp rotary lawnmower works well, but if these implements pull the asparagus crown out of the ground, stop and wait until the soil dries somewhat before continuing this necessary gardening task.	A spray will be needed on the American Sycamore tree at bud swell, bud break and the early leaf development to avoid the fungus problem Sycamore Anthracnose. This is more important during springs when rains are common. A publication on this disease is available from CSU's on-line site.	Pull and dispose of all dead stems and leaves that were left in the garden last fall. Add these to the compost pile where any disease causing pathogens can be killed. If possible, chop these up with the lawn mower or a leaf shredded before adding them to the compost pile.	Avoid overfertilizing lawns in the spring. Apply one-half the rate recommended on the label. Applying too much fertilizer in the spring increases turf disease problems.	Lawn areas that do not green up with the rest of the lawn in the spring may be damaged by a snow-mold fungus or feeding damage of winter mites. Your local Extension office should be able to identify the problem if you take them a sample.	Workshops continue to be presented by the Extension staff during the month of March.
Week 2
Rake up all the leaves from under and around your lilac, roses and other woody plants that had powdery mildew last year. This will help reduce powdery mildew problems this year. These leaves can either be turned into the garden (completely covered with soil) or added to the compost pile.	Compost piles commonly quit working in the winter months due to cold. Now is the time to turn those piles that have not completed the composting process. Add nitrogen and water to obtain the consistency of a damp sponge. Do not add new material to an old pile. Use new material to build a new compost pile.	Prune fruit trees to remove dead, dying, and insect and disease injured branches. Interferring (rubbing) branches need to be removed. Peaches need to have 50 to 70 percent of last year's shoot removed in order to provide fruiting wood for next year's fruit crop. For further information on the pruning of peach and other stone fruit trees, give us a call. Pruning workshops will be conducted in Mesa, Delta and Montrose counties during early March. Check with your local office to determine the time and location.	As peonies begin to emerge from the soil, a spray of copper sulfate, Bordeaux mixture or other contact fungicide will help reduce problems with bud blast (Botrytis fungus) problems. This spray should be applied on occasion during these early weeks as new peony shoots develop. This spray is critical during springs when rains are frequent.	Vinca, pussytoes and other perennials that `burned back' during the winter can be sheared bcak with a rotary lawn mower. Use a grass catcher attachment so these leaves can be added to the compost pile.	Vegetable transplants should not be started too early. Transplants do best when they are of the proper size and age when set into the garden. You can determine the proper age of your vegetable transplants by reviewing the handouts on vegetable transplants, and planting time along with the climatic data for Western Colorado. Copies of this information is available on-line and at the area Extension offices.	Crocus, tulips, daffodils and other spring blooming flowers need moist soil. Check the soil (three to four inches down) in these planting beds and water if necessary. Water to wet but not to saturate. Allergy sufferers can expect Arborvitae and then junipers to shed polled soon.
Week 3
A dormant oil spray is normally applied during this week to all fruit trees. This oil and water spray suffocates eggs and adult insects and mites. Neglecting this spray can result in a serious infestation of aphids and mites later in the season. Additional information on sprays for the control of insect and disease pests of fruit trees is available on-line. Download the publications on Backyard Orchard: Apples and Pears and Backyard Orchard: Stone Fruits for that information.	Diazinon became illegal to use after December 31, 2004. Thiodan can be added (at label rates) to the dormant oil spray to extend the effectiveness of the spray. Add benomyl (Benlate) to the oil spray when spraying Jonathan, Rome Beauty and other powdery mildew susceptible apples to help control this disease.	For more detailed information on sprays needed for the various fruit crops grown in Western Colorado, download the backyard orchard spray guide from CSU's In-Line Publication Site or give us a call.	Aspen, ash, lilac and other ornamental trees and shrubs should be treated with a dormant oil spray to help control aphids, mites and other damaging pests. This oil must be applied prior to leaf emergence. Applying this spray too early (i.e. before a hard freeze) can result in bud damage.	When forsythia begin to bloom is when treatments of pre-emergent herbicides should be applied to lawns to prevent the germination of annual weed seeds.	Cold-hardy vegetables can be seeded into the garden this week.	Ornamentals are best pruned as close to bud break as possible. This avoids problems with winter dehydration that occurs through pruning cuts and reduces the chance of disease problems due to organism attacking through pruning wounds. The faster the callusing of pruning cuts occurs, the less chance disease organisms have to effectively attack and damage the tree. Callus tissue develops quicker during the growing season than it will during winter months.
Week 4
Avoid pruning roses until one week prior to the average last killing spring frost. In the Grand Junction area that means delaying this task until	Orders continue to be taken for seedling trees and shrubs. These seedlings are to be used for windbreaks, reforestation and wildlife habitat projects, erosion control and Christmas tree plantations. Participants must have two acres of land to qualify. Seedlings normally arrive in our area about the end of April.	March is an excellent time to seed a lawn to one of the cold-season grasses (i.e. Kentucky bluegrass, turf-type dwarf fescue, and perennial ryegrass). This is only possible if water is available for irrigation.	Tilling soil when it is wet destroys its structure and increases problems with hard-pans.	The seeding of warm season grasses such as Buffalograss, Bermudagrass and Blue grama should be delayed until May.		Have a salt test done prior to seeding to determine which of these grasses will do best on your site. A salt test (electrical conductivity test) can be done by local soil testing labs or the CSU Extension office in Mesa County.
Week 5
Plant samples taken to the local Extension office should be of sufficient size for identification or problem diagnosis. Turf samples should be at least three to four inches across, taken at the edge of the problem so that healthy as well as diseased tissue is present, and include roots and attached soil.		The Ips beetle will begin leaving dead infested pine trees to attack neighboring pinons. Insecticide sprays applied to healthy trees can prevent their death.