Growing Tomatoes in the Home Garden

• REMEMBER, the best defense against weeds is a healthy lawn.  Learn how to care for your lawn throughout the year.  Visit TurfFiles and click on Turf Tips to learn more about your lawn type.  Keep it happy, healthy and weed free.
• Control existing weeds now, before they get large and/or set seed.  A little work now will save a lot of trouble later.
• For yards with an established weed problem, use pre-emergent herbicides to kill seedlings as they germinate. Pre-emergent herbicides can be used to control crabgrass and other broadleaf weeds.  Pre-emergent herbicides (according to label directions) should be applied while the forsythia  is in bloom, late February to mid-March.
• Sharpen mower blades!  A sharp blade cuts.  A dull blade tears - making grass susceptible to diseases.

• Divide fall-blooming perennials that are overgrown, such as asters, primrose, irises, violets, shasta daisies and mums. This is an easy way to enlarge your garden.  
• Control leaf gall on azaleas and camellias. Leaf gall, a fungal disease, shows up as swollen leaves covered with a white powdery material. It is unsightly but generally not harmful to the plant. Pick off the affected leaves and dispose of them to avoid spreading the fungus.  
• Do not compost diseased plant material.
• Remove protective winter mulch from tender perennials in early March to warm the soil and stimulate the plant to grow.  Apply fresh mulch in April after perennials have emerged.  Mulch helps with water conservation and weed control. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-608.html
• Spring flowering shrubs such as quince, spirea, forsythia, azalea, Camellia japonica, Carolina Jessamine , viburnum, mock orange, weigela, Oriental magnolia and Indian Hawthorn flower on old growth. Prune them soon AFTER they bloom.
• Time for heavy, rejuvenation pruning of summer-blooming shrubs.  Prune holly, Nandina and Beautyberry before new growth begins.
• Althea, Buddleia, Vitex, Crape Myrtle and Pomegranate can be pruned at the beginning of March to stimulate more flower production later.
• Prune roses before bud break. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-641.html
• For a better show next spring, let the foliage of spring-flowering bulbs die back naturally. 
• Are you fighting to keep grass growing under your trees? Or is there bare ground that erodes in heavy rains? Trees usually win in any competition for moisture and nutrients, and turfgrass is not well adapted to life in the shade. Mulch or living groundcovers are better choices than grass under large trees.
• Ground covers act as "living mulch." Low-maintenance, shade-tolerant ground covers include pachysandra, periwinkle (vinca), ajuga (bugleweed), liriope or mondo grass.
• A 2-3” thick layer of composted mulch conserves moisture, reduces erosion and provides nutrients to the tree. Keep mulch away from the trunk of the tree to discourage rodents and rot.
• Protect shade tree roots from injury. Remember that most of a tree's feeder roots are near the soil surface, under and just outside the tree canopy. If digging, foot traffic, or vehicles injure roots then damage to the tree can range from slowed growth (minor) to the death of the tree (major!). Some trees, such as dogwoods, are very susceptible to root damage; others, like maples, are more tolerant.

• Plant cool-weather vegetable crops such as lettuce, mustard greens, sugar snap peas, radishes, onions, potatoes, spinach, and cole crops (such as cabbage and collards) as soon as soil can be worked. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8016.html
• If a ball of soil crumbles when squeezed in your fist, the soil is workable.
• Take a soil test (we have free kits here) to see how much fertilizer to apply around pecan trees.  It's time!
• Beets, broccoli, cauliflower and Chinese cabbage can be started by the third or fourth week of March. 
• Now is the time to start seeds indoors for vegetables such as tomato, pepper, eggplant, and others to get a jump-start on the summer growing season.

• Put up martin and bluebird houses by mid-March to encourage these birds to nest.  Learn how to build a blue bird nest box at nabluebirdsociety.org/nestboxspecs.htm or nabluebirdsociety.org/nestboxplans.htm
  
• Clean out last year's birdhouse nesting materials to make them more attractive to house-hunting birds.

• Take photographs of your yard while your spring bulbs are blooming, so you can remember where to plant more bulbs in the fall.

• Repot houseplants in fresh commercial potting mix. 
  
• Before re-using old pots, clean them with detergent and water, or a 10% chlorine bleach solution, to remove salts and disease-causing microorganisms.
• Wait a month after repotting before fertilizing.