Gardening To-Do List for March
Essential gardening tasks for the month of March from our HGTV experts.

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Cleaning the Garden
I will be cleaning out the vegetable garden and planning for this year's upcoming garden.—Melissa Caughey
Buying Chicks
Coop Clean-Up
Sowing Seeds
The kids and I will be planting some seeds inside to plant in the garden this spring.—Melissa Caughey
Diagnosing the Hive
Feathering the Nest
Testing the Soil
This month, I’m doing soil tests on my garden beds (I’ll grow flowers in one and vegetables in another) and lawn. I’ll add lime and/or fertilizer, as the tests indicate. I’ll also top off my beds with compost.—Lynn Coulter/Atlanta, Georgia
Start Tomato Seeds
Spraying Houseplants
I’m spraying my houseplants as needed. I’m battling whiteflies on my orchids and African violets.—Lynn Coulter
Pruning Roses
I’ll prune my rose bushes early in the month.—Lynn Coulter
Feed the Bees
Direct Sow
In the garden, as soon as the soil is crumbly enough to work, I plant direct-sow crops such as radishes, carrots, peas, and beets.—Mary Beth Shaddix
Reconfiguring Raised Beds
This year I am reconfiguring placement of raised beds and adding new trellis and fencing structures. I hope to complete this in March before the mad rush of planting the majority of our crops mid-April.—Mary Beth Shaddix
Adding Mulch
If you missed the window in February like me, now is an excellent time to top all beds with a heavy layer of mulch. It keeps the soil moist and cool, but I use it to blanket out any weed seeds thinking of getting a head start on my perennials. Who wants to weed when you can spend your time harvesting and eating?—Mary Beth Shaddix
Bird Watching
Clean the Coop
Give Ornamental Grass a Haircut
I will cut back ornamental grasses that I left up for winter interest. I usually cut them to about six inches and clean up any leaves that get stuck around the crowns.—Kim Visokey/Winnetka, Illinois
Turn the Compost
After things thaw enough, I’ll be anxious to turn my compost bins with a pitchfork and hopefully find some nicely decomposed garden debris from last summer. This will make a nutritious and attractive top dressing for my perennial beds.—Kim Visokey
Divide and Conquer
I took notes last summer on which plants will need to be divided this spring. March will be the perfect time to review those notes and determine if I’m relocating the divisions or offering them to friends or local school gardens.—Kim Visokey
Maintaining the Fence
Planning a Woodland Garden
I love the green, lush shade gardens of Highlands, North Carolina and am trying to figure out how to evoke that feeling in my own side yard. I want to bring a variety of shades of green and textures to the garden and one plant I am hoping to integrate is Aralia cordata 'Sun King', whose bright chartreuse-gold leaves and appeal to honeybees will make it a great addition to the space.—Felicia Feaster
Pink Flowers
Stair Mastering
A big project for this spring and summer will be a DIY attempt to add stairs to my sloped side yard. I'm planning on wooden rail ties as risers and pea gravel for the treads.—Felicia Feaster
Planning a Patio Garden
This spring I will start committing to what I want to actually plant. I’ve been sitting with the window open, watching how much sun my porch gets. Verdict’s in: I’ve got a shade garden. (That’s not going to stop me from trying to grow a salsa, garden though!)—Jessica Yonker/Atlanta, Georgia
Strategizing Containers
I’ve been strategizing the best way to grow the things I want to grow on my patio. I’m working with a wide wooden crate, a rail planter, a soon-to-be-purchased hanging planter and a couple of pots as my containers, so I’m trying to puzzle-piece what needs to planted in what.—Jessica Yonker