Mid-winter gardening
Amy Jordan
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Motivation for mid-winter gardening may be lacking, but for those days that you are inspired, there are plenty of things to do to get you back in the groove.
• If you have started to feed the birds, don’t quit. They may have become dependent on your effort. Black oil sunflower seed is a favorite of many. If you haven’t tried suet cakes before, start now. You may be surprised who comes to visit. Be sure to place feeders near doors or windows so birds can be viewed from inside.
• Place your seed orders. Peruse seed catalogs and make your picks for flowers and vegetables you want to try this year. Set up a florescent light over a table to start the seeds inside so they are ready to plant when the danger of frost has passed, usually mid to late April. Most seed packets recommend starting the seed 8 weeks before planting outside, but some perennial flowers take longer to germinate and mature, so many could be started now.
• Order fruit plants. If you have the space and desire to start an orchard, choose varieties that will do well here (call the Extension office for recommended varieties). If you have a smaller yard, consider using fruit plants as part of the landscape. Many berries or grapes could be incorporated into the landscape. For a small tree, ‘North Star’ cherry is a genetic dwarf that is both ornamental and a good producer of tart cherries.
• Avoid spreading wood ashes on garden soil unless you’ve had the soil tested to determine the pH. Wood ashes affect the soil much like lime and can contribute to excessive alkalinity. Many Lyon county soils already have a high pH, so ashes could be a detriment.
• If a snow or ice storm occurs, use caution if removing it from frozen branches. A hurried attempt to knock snow or ice off branches may cause more damage than the weight itself. Carefully brush off loose snow. Ice-encrusted branches are best left alone. It may help to prop up heavy branches to avoid breakage.
• Check stored bulbs, such as cannas, gladiolus or caladiums to make sure they are in good condition. Remove rotted or decayed bulbs.
• Clean and sharpen garden tools. Winter is a good time to get tools ready for the spring. Use a file or electric grindstone to sharpen mower blades and shovels. Inspect blades on pruners and replace blades if needed. Inspect your tool supply and add anything that is needed, such as scissors or a knife. Consider getting a tool attachment to put on a bucket so that your hand tools are always where you need them, and the bucket comes in handy for garden clean-up.
• Amy Jordan is a horticulturist with K-State Research and Extension in Lyon County.
hefjr42 (anonymous) says...
Somehow being in the middle of a blizzard has prompted me to think of a)Spring and b)my endangered apple tree branch.
My wife and I bought the acre of woods next door to assure our privacy and have a place for our dogs to run. After we cleared out the Honeysuckle, a certified noxious plant in Maine, we found an ancient and beautiful apple tree. We are not interested in the apples but in preserving one of the almost horizonal trunks (branch?). It is the longest apple trunk of its type I've ever seen, over 30' feet, definitely not in great condition but flowers and yields copious, though bitter fruit. I would like it to outlast me. That means preserving it for another 10 to, hopefully, 20 years.
I was told by an arborist, who said he would be in touch but seems to have vanished, that mearly propping up the trunk would lead to its long term weakness and that I should allow some vertical and lateral freedom of movement. That advice makes sense and I have come up with some ideas on the subject but if anyone knows the proper way to prop up a very long horizonal trunk that is yearly covered with heavy snow and subjected to 50+ mph winds, I would very much like to know.
Thanks in advance,
Bert
P.S. This site was one of the few I found on a Google search. If anyone has other sites in mind, I would appreciate that too.
February 14, 2007 at 3:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Grunt (anonymous) says...
Try asking this question in the forums section of the National Arbor Day Foundation website. They will help you.
http://www.arborday.org/
February 14, 2007 at 7:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )