Are you wearing green?
And a happy St. Paddy's day to you all! I'm not Irish, but it's always fun to wear the green and pinch those who forgot.
The gardeners among us are all itching to get out there and get at it. Every-where we look, something is needing attention. Thanks to all the tall pine trees, my back yard is a disaster. For once, the needles are the least of it as the lawn is covered with chunks of branches, large and small. What a mess!
I have to keep reminding myself to stay in the house as tromping on the lawn right now is a really bad idea. The same advice goes for all the other jobs we're itching to do out there, such as cutting back perennials. Only do these things if you can avoid walking on the yard. (If you figure out how to do this, please let me know.)
March is the month we start most of our seeds indoors. That job should keep us busy for a while. Hold off on the "warm weather" plants such as squash and pumpkins. They grow so fast that they will take over your house before they can be planted outside. In our area, that means the end of May or first of June, depending on weather.
In honor of St. Patrick's day, many stores are selling shamrock plants now. These are actually oxalis, but do we really care about that? These are easy to grow and are in bloom most of the time. They need a lot of light to produce those flowers. I use a very diluted "bloom" fertilizer each time I water.
Oxalis plants can be found with the standard green leaves but also come in an attractive purple. Flowers are either white or pink. These plants will occasionally go dormant. You'll know this as the leaves collapse and the whole plant looks like a goner. It isn't - just set it aside for a few weeks, then bring it back into the light. Soak it well and it will soon be off and running. They will live for years.
On warm sunny days, it's easy to get itchy feet and think about fertilizing the lawn. Don't. Lawn fertilizer does no good until the soil warms up. It will just run off and end up in the river or lake.
The average home has only about 28 percent humidity during the winter months. The furnace may make us comfortable but it wreaks havoc on our plants, furniture and people as our skin and hair suffer too. To combat this, run a humidifier every day. Other ways to increase the humidity in the air include running a teakettle of water on the stove or setting your plants on trays of water. Be sure the pots are propped up out of the water so the roots don't rot.
March certainly did come in like a lion. We were so tickled to see the "Pineapple Express" follow shortly after. The warm winds and warm rains got rid of our snow in record time. Hopefully the yards have dried out by the time this is printed.
More good news: The first official day of spring is March 20. By George, I think we made it!
Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting in 4-H. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is currently serving as secretary for the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls. Her column appears in the Press every other Sunday from early March to late October. Email is eandtjcerny@aol.com