March To Do List

Pre- & Early-Season Plant Management

Strawberries

  • Monitor crown health
    • Plan an appropriate course of action if damage is evident
  • Plan new plant crown pickup, field planting layout, planting labour, etc.

Raspberries

  • Thinning of floricane raspberries / removal of spent floricanes
  • Mowing to ground and removal of last year’s growth from primocane raspberries
  • Remember – using Reemay row covers will increase earliness and yield of primocane raspberries
  • Make first application of nitrogen at month’s end (snow melt); 2nd application in Mid-May
    • Floricanes – 20-40 lbs actual N/acre for each application (total 40-80lbs N/acre yearly)
    • Primocanes – 35-60 lbs actual N/acre for each application (70-120 lbs N/acre yearly)
    • NOTE – Adjust rate if banding

Saskatoon Berries

  • Pruning / Thinning
    • Dead, diseased, low-spreading branches before bud break
    • Branches bigger greater than or equal to “Loonie” sized
  • If regenerating or renovating entire orchard – Mow entire orchard

New Orchard Planning

  • In planning new Saskatoon berry orchards which will eventually be mechanically harvested consider:
    • Lay of land, slope, flat
    • Rows in line with prevailing winds, shelterbelts
    • Don’t mix varieties
    • Keep Saskatoon berries and chokecherries separated
    • Row spacing for machine harvesting should be 5-6 m (16-20 feet)
    • Ensure sufficient headland area for turning harvesters around
    • Choice of varieties – choose varieties that ripen uniformly
    • Ease of irrigation set up, proximity to water, delivery
    • Grassing requirements

Vegetables

  • Some vegetable transplants may be started this month, but only those that require 6 or more weeks to grow

General Plant Management

  • If / when soil conditions permit it, carry out soil sampling (if not done in fall). Calcium, magnesium, sulphur, sodium are important components, in addition to main macronutrients (N, P, K)
  • Do a last minute check up on all equipment that you are going to use this spring (if you haven’t done this already)
  • Depending on what sort of spring you are having, some field preparation activities may be possible
  • Final planning of planting / packing layout
  • Prepare rough summer schedule for planting, spraying, irrigation, etc.
  • Go and visit another grower

Marketing – Generalities

  • Take a look at all of your existing product market “outlets” for each crop
    • Determine if they are adequate
    • Make adjustments (if necessary)
    • Do this for projected markets as well (it never hurts to be prepared)
  • Do a review of your pricing
    • Is it adequate?
    • Has anything changed to might allow price adjustments?

Pest Monitoring / Management

  • Brush up on disease and insect pest identification

Saskatoon berries

  • If plants progress rapidly, 1st Decis application may be required at month’s end (green tip to bud elongation)

 

NOTE: Daylight Saving Time starts the 2nd Sunday in March so … SPRING FORWARD

March To Do List PDF