Let's Get This Season Started!

There has been just enough warm weather to make me want to get outside and play in the dirt...how about you?

First things first, though...

Under the Grow Light:  Lettuce and Herbs



I have a metal 5-shelf shelving unit set up inside the screened-in porch, which has been "plasticized" and is where the ferns, palms, and assorted over-wintering plants are residing during the cold weather.  I keep a small fan/heater going most of the time to attempt to keep the temperature from ever dropping below 50 degrees.  Think of it as a greenhouse...I do.  And, last weekend, Mr. T attached a fluorescent light fixture under the top shelf to give me direct light for starting seeds (photo right). Yippee!!


Over the past week, I got started with my herbs (parsley, rosemary, and thyme), including a couple of pots of chives that were created when I divided one big, overgrown pot from last season.  Then, I couldn't stand it, so I popped a few Ferry-Morse Early Girl tomato seeds (left over from a packet from the 2010 season, which I'd kept in the refrigerator in an effort to keep them "fresh") in some seed starting mix (I use Jiffy Organic Seed Starting mix which I purchased at Tractor Supply last weekend).  And, last but not least, I seeded an oblong deck planter with Grand Rapids leaf lettuce, which is said to be the best variety for "greenhouse" or cold-frame plantings.  Am happy to report that the lettuce has sprouted and is growing toward the light!

Season 3:  Row Covers protecting (r. to l.)
carrots, spinach, lettuce and onions

Right now, about the only thing growing in the garden is the onions planted last September.  I've got several rows seeded and row-covered (for protection against the cold nights) in the garden (photo, left).  I haven't checked them today, so I'm hoping I'll find that things have germinated since the Big Rains of the past two days.  I also put in a half-row of garlic last week, knowing full-well that garlic goes in in the Fall...but I couldn't find any seed-garlic last Fall, and I did find some last week at (you guessed it...:) Tractor Supply.

That's not all we found at TSC:  bare-root apple trees!  I know, I know.  My Master Gardener Training class a couple of weeks ago convinced me that we had to make a change in our plan of planting our orchard this Spring to planting it this Fall, when there is a better chance of success.  But, who can resist little tiny sticks with colorful tags picturing fat, juicy Cortland and Golden Dorsett apples?


Season 3:  Planting the first apple trees in the orchard
A Cortland and Two Golden Dorsetts

In watching the weather report for the week ahead, we saw that the Big Rains were on the way for NC, so Mr. T moved all the machinery into the Way-Way Back to do the final digging on the holes to plant the new apple trees (photo, right).  He'd already made the first dig last year, mulching the tops of the holes with oak leaves for the Winter.  Now, it was time for the deep digging, so he used the big tiller to assist him.  We also incorporated a "Sidney" idea:  when planting a tree, add a vertical length of pipe that will help you water directly to the roots for the first few years.  I remember my Daddy doing this with a dogwood tree he planted near the back door of our house in Henning...and I remember how healthy that dogwood was.  He finished the plantings off with water-collars (berms of soil around the tree, to aid in getting more water to the root system) and a layer of oak leaves for mulch (photo, left/below). 


Gus supervises Mr. T as he plants the
Cortland Apple Tree - Season 3


Of course, if these apple trees don't make it through the Long Hot Summer to come, I'll feel terrible...and totally responsible.  But, if they do...I'll be ecstatic!  Fingers crossed...trowels, too!










Tasks for the week ahead:

• Start seeds of broccoli, cabbage, and peppers in the greenhouse.
• Plant a row of beets, a row of head lettuce, and another row of carrots in the garden.
• Cut up the Yukon Gold seed-potatoes to let them "seal" before planting in the garden after March 1st.
• Continue to set up beds and rows.  April will be here before we know it!

What To Do in Your Garden in February

Let's face it.  Here in Zone 7, the month of February can be such a tease.  One day (like today) it's 48 degrees.  Another day (like last weekend), it's 68 degrees.  And yet another (like our forecast for tomorrow sounds), "38 with possible snow flurries."  What's a gardener to do?

Create a checklist of things that you can do, including some indoor activities for those bitterly cold days you know are standing between you and Spring.  Before we get to the checklist for February, be sure you've done the following first:





Soil testing in the veggie garden - 2011


1. Create your plan, if you didn't do this in January, including your kitchen garden (veggies, herbs, and edible flowers), your orchard, your berry patch, your flower and speciality gardens (such as a rose bed, bog or wetland garden, and containers), and your lawn and natural areas.  Get some graph paper to make it easier to draw your plan to scale, or invest in a software application that will do this for you, if so inclined.
2. Do your soil testing (photo, right) to determine what your soil needs for optimal conditions for what you plan to plant there, if you didn't do this in January.  Here in North Carolina, soil testing is free (as of today...:); you can obtain the soil test boxes and instructions from your county extension office.  Be aware that the longer you wait to submit your soil test(s), the longer it will take to receive the results.  This is the same time of the year that farmers are submitting their tests, too, so the line will be substantially longer than if you did your soil testing in December or January.  You will need to re-test every 3-5 years.
3. Contribute to your Garden Journal on a regular basis.  Keeping a record may sound like a time-consuming chore, but it is actually a time-saving tool.  You will be able to review what you did in the past, what worked, what you would change or do differently.  You will also have access to what your garden looked like two, three, or ten years ago...without having to rely on memory alone.  Consider creating a spreadsheet to keep track of monthly chores and planting activities.  Or, use one of the one's found by an online search.  Here's a link to one by the Farmer's Almanac folks that you can adjust by entering your own zip code:  http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/NC/High%20Point

Checklist for February, Zone 7, Piedmont of North Carolina --



First rows tilled in 2011
Peas planted

 Kitchen Garden:

• Select seeds from catalogs as early as possible.  Some varieties do sell out rapidly, especially some of the heirlooms.  Visit websites for the most up-to-date information.   Check out the extension service for your area to find suggested varieties that do well in your climate and soil, such as the one by the North Carolina Extension Service:  http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/pdf/hil-8103.pdf
• When the weather permits...and the soil is dry enough to work...till a few rows to prepare for planting early Spring crops (photo, right/above)
• According to the Wyatt-Quarles Seed Company's Seed Guide, you can plant the following, beginning February 1st:
• cabbage plants (Early Jersey Wakefield, Stonehead Hybrid, All Seasons);
• carrots (seeds of Danvers Half-Long or Imperator);
• endive (Green Curled)
• mustard (Southern Giant Curled, Tendergreen, Florida Broadleaf, Old Fashion);
• onion sets (Silver Skin, Yellow Danvers); garden ("English") peas (Super Sugar Snap for edible pods; Early Alaska, Wando);
• radish (Early Scarlet Globe, Cherry Belle, White Icicle);
• spinach (Dark Green Bloomsdale, Hybrid 7); and
• turnip (Purple Top White Globe, Seven Top for greens only, Just Right Hybrid)
• Beginning February 15th, you can plant:
• beets (Detroit Dark Red)
• broccoli plants (Italian Green Sprouting, Premium Crop)
• kale (Dwarf Curled Scotch, Early Siberian)
• kohlrabi (White Vienna)
• leaf lettuce (Salad Bowl, Buttercrunch, Black-seeded Simpson, Romaine)
• head lettuce (Great Lakes, Iceberg)
• As the end of the month approaches, you can start the following seeds indoors for transplanting later:
• tomatoes
• pepper plants
• some herbs
• If you have overwintered the plants, divide thyme and chives.

Orchard and Berry Patch:

• Plant fruit trees, blueberry and blackberry bushes, and grape vines.
• Prune established grape vines.
• Prune fruit trees.

Flowers, Scrubs, and Trees:

• Plant or transplant trees and scrubs.
• Plant bare-root roses.
• Divide perennials like day lilies and daisies.
• Prune trees and evergreen shrubs; however, wait until after blooming to prune forsythia and azaleas.
• Fertilize spring bulbs as soon as you see the leaves breaking through the ground; remember to leave the leaves on daffodils, even after the flowers bloom in order to feed the bulb for next year's growth.

Other:

• On those bitter cold days, tend to your indoor garden:  check all houseplants for pests or any signs of stress or disease; trim off any dead leaves; and make sure you are watering with room temperature water and diluted fertilizer solutions. 
• On milder days, clean up debris and downed limbs from the garden areas.
• Perform any required maintenance on mowers, tillers, and power tools to get them ready for the coming season.
• Clean and sharpen all garden tools, especially if not done at the end of the season last Fall.
• Check all garden furniture to see what needs painting or repairing.
• Check out garden catalogs, websites, and the library for new gardening titles to read on those indoor-only days.  On that note, I will be reviewing the book, "Garden Your Way to Health and Fitness," in a coming post. Watch for it!
• Be sure to keep up with your own off-season exercise program.  You do NOT want those muscles to go unused all Winter...and then feel every single one of them come the first warm day of Spring.  Let's be building our core strength in preparation of what lies ahead for us.  

See, we have plenty to do, even though we can't be in the garden every day of February.

Happy Hoeing!


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Sources for information for this post include:

• Piedmont Gardeners Almanac, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service
• The Smithsonian Garden Journal, Galison Books, 1987
• Wyatt-Quarles Seed Company's Vegetable Planting Guide, available online at:  http://www.wqseeds.com/documents/WQVegPlantGuide-revised.pdf