Tuesday, March 11, 2008

March Madness-In The Gardens-at Sage Hill Farms

March is that month that gives and then takes away.

I'm speaking of the weather of course. It gives beautiful sunny days and tempts us to go digging in the gardens only to welcome us overnight to the coldest day of the year.

What's a gardener to do to keep from going mad....well, just put the brakes on and go with the flow. On those warm and sunny days, walk through your gardens and get aquainted with every little nook and cranny. Dig a few inches into the soil and meet the little guys that keep your soil rich and workable. ( earthworms) without these your soil will be hard and compacted.

Look for places that are inviting to toads and lizards, what? You don't have any!
Toads and lizzies are a must in the garden, they eat all manner of not so welcomed guest. You can make little homes for them by building a stack of rocks or broken bricks around a large flower pot-drain saucer. Keep the saucer filled with water and the toads and lizzies will thank you by working hard to rid your garden of unwanted pest.

Most every garden has a resident snake, you may not see it often, but know that it is there. Depending on where you live, make a point of knowing the kinds of snakes you can expect to see. There are good ones and bad ones...knowing the difference can be very important to your health and the health of the snake. My hubby thinks the only good snake is a dead snake. While I don't subscribe to that thinking, I also don't go out of my way to make friends with any snake.

What stage is your compost pile at this month?

You should have a bin full that has been working during the winter and ready for spring planting. Composting is the most valuable asset to your soil, right up there with the earthworms, in fact the worms turn your soil into natural compost.

Now, for those days that are dark, rainy and cold.
Curl up in your favorite spot with a good garden book and a cup of warm and nourshing tea from Sage Hill Farms. http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com
Many flavors to pick from and if you want your own blend, just let me and I'll see what I can do.

Make March a Mighty month in your garden!

Bea Kunz
EatWell-BeWell~

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I have done some of those very jobs this week while we had a nice stretch of weather.
Digging some holes for future native plantings and reconstructing my raised bed, turning my compost bed and adding soil,and checking for signs of growth on anything. We don't want things peaking out too quickly.
I'm afraid this coming week of our Spring break won't have as many nice days as this week did but I'll be prepared.
Thanks for the post, Bea.

BeaK. said...

Hi greeny,

You sound geared up for the coming season.

We are so anxious for the better weather conditions this time of year I think we tend to forget that spring is a real turbulent time.

The lilacs and Bradford pears are in full motion, no stopping them now...so we just enjoy and hope for the best.

The herb beds are well on their way also, most are cold hardy so even if we get a later snap, they will be ok. A hard freeze and I start to worry. If we can get through April we will be home-free .

I'm happy to hear that you are planting native species. With the availability of plants from all over the country/world we tend to overlook the fact that native plants do better and add much more to the environment than plants that have to adapt.

Did my first cutting of chives yesterday...yummy!

Happy Gardening!

Bea Kunz
http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com
http://kunzdurham.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Hi Bea,

Just passing through to get a little peek at what my favorite herb grower is up to...

Your story about frogs and lizzies made me smile. Thanks. :)

Happy gardening!

Dina

BeaK. said...

Hello Dina,

Always sooo good to see you in my garden.

Oops, don't step on Lizzie !

The grandsons are with us this week, hubby is on a vacation week, so we are a busy crew.

Attended the movie " Horton Hears A Who," last night...so cute and very funny.

Today they are outside with Papa, doing "stuff," and at 2:30 we have an invitation to go fishing at a friends private pond.
The sun is shining and it will warm up by then, so I'm off to the potting shed to check on some new plants.

We have lettuce, 2 kinds, and Georgia sweet onions looking good.

Herbs are all greening up and I do think spring is here!

Something to "elebrate."

Thanks for the visit, see you soon.

Happy Spring day!

Bea Kunz
http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com