Seasonal Tips
WINTER
- Rest! No weeding for awhile!
- How do you like your garden in Winter?- Is there something to look at? an evergreen, colorful stems/bark, garden art or grasses with seed heads? Take notes for future changes.
- If there has been a wet heavy snow brush it off those evergreens that could be damaged. If they are bent over at a crazy angle, take a pic and then brush it off.
- Salt for icy sidewalks can damage your plants if it ends up running into your beds, use sparingly and try kitty litter or sand.
- House plants could be stressed. Less light and humidity in the winter plus toasty houses can cause drying out and sometimes pests will show up. If think you might have a pest do some research before you bust out the insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Figure out what you are dealing with first.
- All the catalogs are coming in the mail now! Make a short list of plants to try-make sure they match your conditions and your budget.
- Prune Fruit trees-this may take some research. Here are a couple quick rules: Never prune more than 1/3 off a tree or shrub. Prune out anything that looks damaged or diseased. Prune interior branches so that the plant is getting good air circulation.
- Have you tried seed starting inside? You are probably going to need a grow light, a sunny window may not be enough.
- Remove and destroy bagworm bags from affected trees- principally on evergreens. The bags contain hundreds of eggs that will hatch out and feed later this spring. Make sure to dispose of these bags; don’t just throw them on the ground because they will still hatch.
SPRING
- Rake leaves out of beds. If you have a composting area, great! If not, bag them and move on.
- Late winter-early spring is considered the second best time (the best time is late August through mid-October) to seed your lawn make repairs, or to cover bare areas. Consider applying a crabgrass pre-emergent if your lawn has a history of crabgrass problems. Depending on the weather begin applying in mid-March through early April.
- Avoid the temptation to turn over or dig into wet soil. Tilling wet soil can cause it to become cloddy and brick hard when it dries out. How do you know when your soil can be turned or tilled? One test is to form a clump of your soil into a ball. Bounce it up and down in your hand a few times. If it breaks apart easily it’s probably OK to dig!
- Spring bulbs are emerging and some are even flowering at this time. Exposed leaves may be burned later by very cold temperatures but the spring flower display will not be adversely affected.
- By mid-late March Cool season veggie crops can be sown in rows in ground or in a pot. Hold back on those transplants-there could still be a late frost! If you cant resist buying those tomatoes or peppers or flowers make sure you keep them some where protected.
- Summer veggies and flowers want the soil to be warm-even though you may have a few 70 degrees days in April doesn’t mean the soil is ready to help those plants grow. They will just sit there..and silently chastise you for jumping the gun!
SUMMER
