Winter

Winter months can be the busiest time for gardeners

After a long spring and summer of planting, pruning, watering, and general maintenance, I find that the winter months are the most restful months. But it gives us time to plan for the next growing season. Winters, where we live can be long and cold, there isn’t much happening outside in the garden.

So what’s a gardener to do in the long cold winter months? Here are some ideas for us to do until we can start getting our hands dirty again this spring.

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Early Spring Garden and Yard Tasks

Clear Drainage Ditches

Leaves and debris gather in drainage areas over the winter. Now is the time to ensure that the spring rains will run off adequately. Spring seedlings do best in soil that drains well. Because vegetative growth is at a low point in early spring, this is the easiest time of year for clearing drainage ditches. And be sure to put the cleared material, usually dead leaves and small branches, into the compost. Spring compost piles are commonly short on carbon-rich materials, and every addition helps.

Fix Trellises and Fencing

Trellises and fencing are also easiest to repair in early spring, with less growth to work around and fewer roots to disturb.

Weed Young Spring Weeds and Mulch Bare Spots in Beds

Any weeds appearing in your garden beds will be easiest to pull now, when the roots are shallow. Covering bare spots with mulch or ground cover will minimize the emergence of new weeds. Adding mulch to a depth of three to four inches is usually sufficient. When adding mulch to garden beds or around the base of fruit trees, keep the mulch a few inches away from tree trunks and the crowns and stems of plants. This will help reduce rot on the stems of young plants and will protect the bark of young fruit trees.

When it’s Dry Enough, 'Top Dress' Beds

Top dress perennial garden beds with compost or well-seasoned manure in preparation for planting. Resist the urge to dig the bed; established beds have a complex soil ecosystem which is best left undisturbed. Nutrients added from the top will work their way down into the soil.

Early Spring is the Time for Lime

Soils with a pH below 6.2 will benefit from the addition of lime. Dolomite is the finest grind, and is recommended. With ground limestone it will take twice as long for plants to derive any benefit from it. Ideally, lime should be added several weeks before planting. Hydrate lime, or “quick lime”, is not recommended, since it can change the soil pH so rapidly that plants may be damaged. Soil pH can be determined by using a soil pH test kit.

Prepare Your Lawn for Spring

Early spring raking the lawn lightly only to remove dead growth and winter debris. This helps bring light and air to the soil level, encouraging the grass to grow. Once the soil temperature warm up, that there is signs of the grass plants starting to grow, it is a good time to de-thatch or aerator your lawn.

De-thatch: Renting or using a attachment on your lawn mower to remove any dead grass that lays on the top of the soil.

Aerator: is a machine to pull out soil plugs, to improve the drainage and to improve the growing condition for your lawn roots. For re-seeding bare patches of lawn. Rake bare spots firmly with a metal rake before seeding. Mix lawn seed into a bucket of peat moss and spread evenly over the bare spot. Keep well-watered until seeds germinate and the new grass establishes.

Thin Dead Foliage

Once new growth begins, it becomes difficult to thin ornamental grasses and ferns without damaging the plant. New growth will quickly replace the culled foliage.

Spring Vegetables You Can Start Now

This is the most exciting time of the year….SPRING
of course we all want to get started in the vegetable garden as soon as possible. We do have to be careful early in the spring for any cold sensitive items. Here are the early seeds or sets that you can start planting now.

1. Spinach
2. Chard
3. Lettuce
4. Radishes
5. Kale
6. Peas
7. Seed potatoes
8. Onion sets

As far as any vegetable transplant you can put in the garden now

1. Cabbage
2. Broccoli
3. Cauliflower
4. Brussels sprouts
5. Kohlrabi

Weather permitting other seeds or plants should be slowly introduced in the garden, when the weather is safe for them from any frost. Your planting maybe different then other locations make notes how cold your area is from season to season in the early spring.

The latest seeds to be planted are : Sweet corn and beans, these require very warm soil to germinate. They can rot in soil very easy, if the soil stays to cold.