After a cold, wet, crummy winter, March 20 -- the beginning of another spring -- can't get here fast enough. With the coming moderate temperatures, fresh foliage and blossoming flowers, doing this month's garden chores will seem more like play than work.

Check soil before tilling. After such a wet winter, don't be too eager to till or turn over your soil for the spring garden. Test the soil first to see if the garden is ready to get roughed up. Grab a handful of dirt and squeeze. If it remains a tight ball, the soil is too wet to work, and in this heavy clay soil, trying to do so will only result in a bumper crop of dirt clods!

Start seed trays indoors. Growing warm-season annuals from seeds usually offers the largest choice of varieties for gardeners. The beginning of this month is a good time to start seed trays indoors to have young plants ready for planting time about the middle of April.

Heat up those seeds. For better germination rates with annual seeds, provide bottom heat to the planting trays. Call your favorite nurseries to see if they have heating cables that are specially designed for planting trays. Or, if your water heater is accessible and is warm on top, recycle wasted home heat by putting a tray or two on the top. In either method, make sure the seed tray soil does not dry out. (Commercial seed trays usually come with a clear plastic covering, which is great for trapping and conserving moisture.)

Fertilize the young ones. Young trees and shrubs that are beginning to bud out in the moderating spring temps will benefit from an application of time-release fertilizer now.

Put fungicide on roses. As new leaves on roses start to appear, begin applying fungicide on a regular basis to susceptible cultivars to help prevent problems such as rust, black spot and powdery mildew. Want to try a little kitchen chemistry by conjuring up an earth-friendly fungicide for your roses this year? Mix three teaspoons of baking soda and one teaspoon of horticultural oil in a gallon of water. It's called the Cornell Formula and has proved to be somewhat effective against powdery mildew and black spot. Spray it on rose foliage once a week throughout the growing season. During an especially wet summer such as the one we experienced last year, I personally think commercial fungicides are more effective, but if you prefer fewer poisons in your garden, it's worth giving the Cornell Formula a shot.

Plant cool-season veggies. Favorites such as lettuce, broccoli, carrots, turnips, spinach and radishes can be planted this month.

Don't forget the potatoes. If you want a compact way to produce more potatoes, grow up instead of out. Accomplish this easily by by first digging up the planting bed and setting the spuds-to-be 2 to 3 inches below the soil. When plants begin to stick up about 3 to 4 inches above the ground, cover all but the upper leaf tips with finely ground leaves or --even better -- compost. Repeat the process until you have a 2- to 3-foot potato pile and then allow the plants to stretch out above the ground. After the flowers fade, poke your hand in the pile and begin hunting for the treasure trove of potatoes.

Prune summer blooming plants. Many summer blooming plants such as althea, crape myrtle, oleander, buddleia, pomegranate and vitex flower on new wood, so pruning early this month will encourage more blooms in the summer.

Wait to prune early-bloomers. Early-blooming shrubs such as spirea, forsythia and flowering quince are best pruned after their flowers fade.

Be on watch for bugs. New plants and fresh foliage attract old enemies. Watch for aphids attacking developing leaves on plants and cutworms, cutting down young annuals as they emerge from the ground.

Clean up to avoid camellia petal blight. If your Camellia japonica specimens are lighting up the late winter and early spring landscape with their blooms, rake up the spent flowers weekly and dispose of them. It will help prevent camellia petal blight.

Clean up the water garden. Scoop up and dispose of any leaves or other floating debris in the water garden. Also, consider replacing 15 percent to 25 percent of the pond's water with fresh water to reduce the amount of phosphates in the pond. This lessens the chances of algae blooms turning the water an ugly green when temperatures begin to rise.

Get ready for the birds. Migrating birds will be returning. Have the welcome mat out for them by cleaning old nests out of birdhouses, washing the birdbath and removing any old seed out of bird feeders.

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