OK - Now I really, really have to scoot. BBL!
Posted on 02/01/2008 6:27:10 AM PST by Gabz
Aren’t you glad that February is our shortest month? Whoever designed the calendar knew well what they were doing. February is dark and drear, cold and melancholy. A time for staying indoors and hiding like a bear, dreaming of warmer weather and sunshine, of flowers and green, growing things. The sooner it’s over, the better. Maybe this February won’t be so bad. Can you believe that some of the trees still had leaves well into January? On the other hand, did you notice how heavy the hollies and pyracantha were loaded with berries this year? Wonder if that portends cold yet to come or just acknowledges the fact that we had an extremely wet summer and the plants took advantage of it? Although, we had almost as much rain the two previous years and they didn’t show fruit like they’re doing this year. We’ll just have to wait and see. Put some bird seed out and feed our feathered friends! Their bright colors and amusing antics are as good as any circus.
Did you ever wonder why the same plant can have so many different names? Plants can be named for place of origin or color (Texas Bluebonnets), growth habit (giant, dwarf, creeping, weeping), fragrance (Banana shrub), and many carry local names as well (myrkle bushes). It can be very confusing! The same common name may apply to dozens of different plants, depending on where you live and what plants are grown in your area. That’s why, if you want the true name of a plant, most horticulturists use the Latin names. The Latin names tell you a great deal about the plant, although they are not always the descriptive names we tend to love. Lupinus texensis is the Latin name for Texas Bluebonnets. Lupinus means the plant is a member of the lupines, plants which have pea-like blooms. Texensis means it comes from Texas. The common name, Bluebonnet is said to come from the fact that they resemble a woman’s sunbonnet, blue of course! While descriptive names are much prettier, and more beloved, Latin names don’t change from one area to another. So Acer rubrum is always red maple, no matter where you live. Acer meaning maple, rubrum describing the color. Quercus is always oak, with all its many different varieties . Japonica tells you where the plant originated, in this case, Japan, or Chinensis, China. Latin names are used to classify plants and to identify them. Don’t worry if you’re not sure how to pronounce the Latin names, no one else is either!
Asparagus is one of the oldest vegetables known to man, and you either love it or hate it. It’s also one of the few perennial vegetables. (Can you think of another? Hint: it’s more of a northern crop, not liking our heat and humidity. It is used to make pies and jams, among other things.) The Romans recorded methods for growing asparagus and recipes for cooking it, and Caesar Augustus described “haste” as being quicker than you can cook asparagus. Asparagus likes rich soil with lots of compost. Pick a sunny spot you don’t plan to use for anything else, as asparagus beds can last 15 to 25 years, sometimes even longer. Dig a trench in well composted soil, anywhere from four to ten inches deep and allowing about 18 inches of space between plants. Asparagus is usually planted from one year old crowns, or root masses. Cover the plants at first with a just a couple inches of soil, gradually adding more throughout the summer, until the trench is filled. Sadly, you don’t get to harvest the first year. Some sources say harvest the second year is fine, some say wait until the third year. Like growing anything else, theories abound. Go with whatever works best for you. Asparagus plants are beautiful, lacy looking additions to any garden or flowerbed. (Think asparagus fern.) Plant some now and see what happens next year!
There are lots of things that need doing this month, if you can dredge up the energy and enough daylight. Fruit trees and shrubs need to be sprayed with dormant oil to kill any over wintering pests. Remember to fertilize your pecan trees this month using a 10-10-10 with added zinc, one to two pounds of fertilizer per inch of trunk diameter at breast height. That means, if your pecan tree trunk, measured about four feet off the ground, is ten inches thick, then you would use ten to twenty pounds of fertilizer. Spread it out to the dripline, which encompasses the area beneath the tree’s branches. If you haven’t pruned your roses yet, it’s not too late, especially since some of them still carried leaves last month. Prune bush type roses back to about 18 inches. Climbers don’t need to be pruned unless they are dead, diseased, or in your way. Martin scouts will be showing back up in late February or early March, depending on the weather, so get your Martin houses cleaned and put back up. If you haven’t done so already, send soil samples to the state college so you know how much fertilizer and what kind you need. After all the rain last year, the soil is really depleted. Sample boxes can be picked up at local garden centers or at the Ag Extension office. This service is free, except for the postage.
If you’re going to plant an early garden, now is the time. Things you want to get planted this month include; cabbage, broccoli, onions, peas, Vidalia’s, potatoes, snow peas, beets, carrots, rutabagas, and turnips.
If the dreary weather is getting you down, take heart! Soon Daffodils, Forsythia, and Hyacinths will be blooming, the first of the spring birds will be showing back up, and warmer, greener days will be close at hand.
Uh Oh.
The wind has really picked up here, blowing enough that our upstairs deck is nearly dry, but we’re supposed to get more rain this afternoon.
OK - Now I really, really have to scoot. BBL!
Looks like it would make great beer can coolers too!
When growing tomatoes outside do you just let them grow or do they need to be pruned?
It’s 30 here as well. We had a brief period of snow pellets, then sleet/rain and now just rain. It’s going to be treacherous out there tonight. We may have to stay home.
Should I be removing it?
Try it both ways and see. I had a customer come in and complain about a fruit tree that died—not one of ours. He’d had this tree planted for about 10 years. When he dug it up, it had died because the roots were still encased in the original burlap. He didn’t remove it when he planted—instructions said not to. Most places it will dissolve.
Our soil here on the coast is so acidic it acts like a peat bog.
Could you add me to this ping list please Gabz?
Your mileage may vary but you could plant half of them with the netting on and half with the netting off and report back later in the year on the results
Check it out at: http://www.jerrybaker.com/
“Lycopersicon Brandywine.” My farm is named “Brandywine Farm” after that tomato. It’s a goody, but butt-ugly and it takes all season (up here) to ripen. :)
I’ll guess on the “perennial vegetable.” I’ll say “Strawberry” because some people consider them to be a vegetable, believe it or not, and I’ll also guess “Jerusalem Artichoke”...which is a gorgeous wild sunflower-looking plant, about 10 feet tall, and you dig the “chokes” from the ground in the fall and use them like a water chestnut; eat fresh or baked or in a stir fry.
What do I win? An all-expenses paid trip out of ‘Snow-n-Iceville?’ I’ll take it! :)
Hey, Gabz! Check our other board. I got a big, fat RAISE today and a newly invented “position” tailored just to fit ME! :)
Thanks! I loves catalogs!!!
Just wish what I grow looked half as good as their pics! LOL
Pruned sections of all types can be used to start new plants. We just stick them in the ground and water.
Is the 2 foot spacing, recomended on seed packs, between tomato plants enough? I planted mine a little closer than 2 foot.
One of my gardening books recommends 2 foot spacing, the other suggests 18 to 36 inches of spacing. Much depends on your unique garden environment. The amount/hours of sunlight per day, the soil composition, and so on will have an impact. My own experience has been to put in fewer plants to avoid disease, but I’m in New England, which has its own challenges to vigorous tomato production.
“Here are instructions or making them Origami style: How to make a newspaper pot for starting seeds”
Wow, I knew I was craft-challenged, but didn’t realize how much. Even with pictures, I could not figure out how to make those origami newspaper pots, lol.
ONly if you have a VERY skinny can!!!!
Of course!!!!
That pot maker Gabz has is pretty cool.
I found this video that shows how to make paper pots using a glass as well:
http://www.ehow.com/how_1745_create-seed-starting.html
She makes it look pretty easy. I don’t know that I’ll have as much success, but it looks pretty cool. I may be able to manage these better than the origami ones, although the origami ones look beautiful.
Thank you!!!! I forgot to post the link. I just copied those recipes out his “Terrific Garden Tonics” which is practically my bible for the garden :)
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