March 8-14, 2010
In the gardens, purple crocuses appeared – quite suddenly – and in the hills, small shoots of green rose among deadened stalks and branches. I sensed a rising feeling, a welling up, an expansiveness that filled up the dead spaces left by winter. If the universe expanded infinitely, some said, this spring expressed that expansion.
-Stephen Altschuler

Lunar phase and lore
The Running Maple Sap Moon, squeezing the late sap from the maple trees, wanes through its final phase this week, becoming the new Golden Goldfinch Moon at 5:01 p.m. on March 15. As daffodils bud and flower, goldfinches gradually take on their golden summer color, blending in with those new daffodils as well as with the bright forsythia soon to bloom.

Complete planting your first rows of root crops this week. Also get the raspberries and blackberries into the ground. Dig a hole and set in the new apple and cherry trees. Set out cabbage, broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts sets.

These are perfect lunar days to seed tomatoes, peppers and eggplants; they’ll be more than ready to move right into the garden on May 15, just a couple of months from now. Try summer and winter squashes indoors, too, but be careful to keep them nice and warm. March 13-14 are the last best lunar tobacco seeding dates for 2010.

The moon will be overhead at midday all week, encouraging fish to bite at lunchtime, especially as the barometer falls in advance of the March 9, 14 and 19 cold fronts. Dieters should expect a passion for rhubarb pie to develop at 11 a.m.

The dark moon encourages planting, but new moon can be almost as disruptive as full moon for people who are suffering from depression or anxiety. Public service workers should expect a slight rise in disruptive behavior as March 15 approaches.

Daylight Saving Time begins on March 14 at 2 a.m. For convenience, set your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night the 13th.

By 10 o’clock tonight, the spring stars are taking over the sky. The fertile planting constellation of Cancer is almost overhead between Pollux and Regulus. Hydra follows close behind, and May’s Virgo approaches along the southeast horizon.

The Big Dipper falls deeper into the southern sky. After midnight, search the night sky for the Normid meteors, that shower reaching its peak March 13-14.

Weather patterns
Odds for milder weather increase with every sunrise, with chances for an afternoon above 50 degrees rising to 40 percent by the end of the week. Frost strikes the early garden 60 percent of all the nights, however, and there is still a five to 10 percent chance each day this week for a high only in the 20s.

Odds for rain or snow are about one in three most days this week; March 10 is the wettest day, with a 50 percent chance for precipitation.

The sixth of spring’s 23 cold fronts (which cross the country Feb. 18-May 26) ordinarily arrives by March 9, and it is followed by the seventh front on March 14. That relatively long period between fronts can bring daffodils into bloom in the warmest gardens of this area.

Almanac daybook
March 8: Zeitgebers for this week: Honeysuckle bushes leaf out. White tundra swans usually arrive along Lake Erie. In Washington, D.C., the florets of cherry trees are showing. Chickweed and dandelions flower in the woods. Ducks move up from the south dressed in their mating plumage. Lambs quarter sprouts. Pods of last summer’s dogbane open.

The first major storm window of March opens today, and it remains open through March 14.

March 9: March’s third cold front, due near this date, is accompanied by floods and tornadoes more often than any other front during the first three weeks of the month, and March 9, 10 and 11 bring some of the chilliest temperatures of the first half of March.

As this weather ridge moves east, however, chances for highs above 50 degrees increase dramatically across the central and northern parts of the United States.

March 10: Bald eagle chicks hatch. Lawn growth is starting. This is the average date for flower and garden shows throughout the East. Deep in the South, the great spring dandelion flowering is turning the pastures gold. When the major dandelion bloom crosses the Ohio River, April will be here.

March 11: Purple martins migrate. Peregrine falcons lay their eggs. Sandhill cranes have begun their journey to breeding grounds in Wisconsin and Michigan. Watch and listen for them to pass over your property on their way north.

March 12: At this point in the year, soil temperatures begin to rise through the 40s, and crabgrass germinates in the garden – about the same time that yellow forsythia is budding and daffodils open. Try to apply your crabgrass herbicide (or deep mulch) just before germination and, ideally, when the moon is dark (now).

March 13: This is the time that the first mosquito bites and the box elders and silver maples come into bloom in the lower Midwest. The tips of resurrection lilies have risen a few inches above the ground, and spring beauties are budding.

The foliage of lemon verbena, mallow, lupine, phlox, columbine, coneflower, yarrow, sage, sweet pea, mallow, goldenrod, snow-on-the mountain, New England aster, Queen Anne’s lace, pyrethrum, bleeding heart and evening primrose is coming up.

March 14: As the moon darkens, the mid-March high-pressure system approaches, sometimes bringing much milder weather in its wake. Pull back the garden mulch to let the sun warm the soil. Get all your onion sets, spinach, beet and pea seeds ready.
Complete spring transplanting of berries, bushes and trees. Along the Canadian border, frost-seed the pastures. And remember that Daylight Saving Time begins today. Transition your livestock and family gradually to the change in mealtime.

Living with the seasons
The sun’s position and the weather make this is an excellent week to renew your diet or fitness program. The weather may still be changeable, but it will soon be perfect for outdoor activities. Get in shape for the things you want to do.

If you haven’t had a physical examination in the past year, consider scheduling one now. Activity and eating right will also help you get ready for the first major bout of spring fever, due to strike in only three weeks.

The great March planting time continues. Go out and get all the trees and shrubs you want and put them in. Transplant your snowdrops and other perennials, too. Countdown to field planting: two weeks before the oats go in the ground; two to three more weeks until the earliest corn and barley can be put in.

Plan to band seed alfalfa right after that. Then, a month to six weeks from now, get the soybeans planted. Is everything ready?
If you have lambs or kids, think about sales to the Easter market at the beginning of April. And get those health certificates for animals you intend to show this summer.