Weekly Gardening Thread --- February Fantasie

Garden Girl's Monthly Column | Feb 2006 | GardenGirl

[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.

[Kviteseid]

Here is something to consider:

I call my technique: Tomato Loco
It’s growing Tomatoes upside down...

A convenient and space saving way to grow your own Tomatoes, upside down!
Using recycled bottled water containers.  The size used in coolers,  are perfect for the planting application.
We cut them down to approx. 3 gallons in size. Cut the bottom off for use as the top, and fashion 3 cables as the suspension supports.
Planting Tips:
When the Tomato plant reaches approx. 10 inches in height or more...
Place Potting Soil in the bottom of the suspended container, to the level of the short pipe.
Holding the Tomato plant by the roots, Carefully feed the leaves and stem of the Tomato plant through the pipe and using plastic wrap or equivalent, carefully place the plastic wrap around the stem of the tomato plant.  Not attempting to keep the water in, but to retain the soil from washing out. Place the root ball against the potting soil.

Fill the remainder of the container with soil and water generously... until water drips from the mouth of the container.
Place the included weed block cloth (shiny side up) over the top of the potting soil. This will act as a way of dispersing the water evenly.

Place in a full sun environment (if possible) or as much sun as possible.
The leaves will turn over in approx. two days... searching for the sun.
Water frequently, approx. every other day or so.  Fertilize too.

I welcome your comments or suggestions

Tomato Loco

[Gabz]

Don’t feel bad, I wasn’t able to figure it out either, that’s why I bought the wooden pot maker I posted up thread :)

[Gabz]

Thanks for the link! That idea, of using the glass, will help out when my daughter and her friend want to help make them and I only have the one wooden doohickey!

[A knight without armor]

I just love asparagus. Especially creamed over toast. When I was in the 3rd - 5th grades we lived where there was a huge and old patch of it. That is the only time I’ve had so much I always had my fill. When it went to seed there would be a big area of tall soft fluffy stems. It is a very user friendly plant. I do not remember any pests or problems with it. We did nothing at all except harvest it. Before we moved there my mother and I would pick it wild growing along fence lines. This was extreme north west Illinois.

[fanfan]

Thanks FRiend!

[Gabz]

Lucky you. Asparagus has always been high up on the list of my favorite veggies.

[chickpundit]

I’m going to guess rhubarb is another perennial vegetable. I’ve never grown it, but my dad started growing it last year, and told me they would need to wait until this year to eat it. I didn’t get to see my grandma very often while growing up, as she lived far away. However, I do remember she made a really yummy rhubarb pie :)

[Gabz]

Yup!!! Rhubarb.

[A knight without armor]

Stop it you people! Rhubarb is another blast from the past favorite of mine! It too grows wild along side barns, corncribs, and old houses. Oh gosh when I wasn’t eating rhubarb custard pie I’d be bumping around the farm trying to ride a bike while chewing on a rhubarb stem with that giant leaf flopping around. My mother made the best rhubarb custard pies. I don’t think there was a top crust. I like to make a rhubard sauce by buying frozen rhubarb and cooking it down with sugar. My grandparents and other seasoned citizens considered that a spring tonic. I do not care for the idea of mixing rhubarb with strawberries in recipes. That dumbs it down for me. I like my rhubarb straight. Now quit it, you are starving me to death here. My favorite country living comfort food trilogy is asparagus, rhubard and morels. Don’t get me started on morels. They grow wild and we’d have plastic buckets and dishpanfuls to saute in butter. Now I see Kroger sells them dried and priced like jewelry. I like those foods so much. Whatever those three things do for you, I'm made out of it. In the garden my favorite was round red radishes and long white icicle radishes. Dipped in salt or sliced in a bread and butter sandwich.

[gardengirl]

Morels! No fair! Now you’re making me cry! I can remember hunting them with my grandma.

Rhubarb pie doesn’t have a real top crust—just lattice. Haven’t had any in ages. It won’t grow here, or at least not well. Too hot.

[Red_Devil 232]

I should have planted fewer tomato plants ... I was overly optimistic and very greedily planted a few to many.

[Red_Devil 232]

I have a question about raised beds. Do you plant tomatoes every year? A neighbor told me that I should not plant tomatoes in the same area next year. Is that valid?

[trisham]

I should have planted fewer tomato plants ... I was overly optimistic and very greedily planted a few to many.

****************

No criticism here. I do the same thing every year. I love tomatoes.

[Red_Devil 232]

Do you have an opinion on the question I asked in #92?

[trisham]

A neighbor told me that I should not plant tomatoes in the same area next year. Is that valid?

*********************

I believe your neighbor is correct. We didn't plant tomatoes last year because we had a problem with disease the year before. This year I'm going to plant in containers, probably whiskey barrels. This will allow me to avoid the possibly disease ridden soil in our garden, to control moisture and fertilizer, to keep the tomatoes from crowding, and to weed and prune without breaking my back. The area I've chosen is out in the middle of our yard, so it will receive maximum sunlight. I'm looking forward to seeing whether this will make a substantial difference in our crop.

[Red_Devil 232]

I had some strange white/yellow meandering streaks or spider web looking veins in my tomato leaves and also in my zucchini. Any ideas?

[yorkie]

In Colorado I had a successful garden of beets, carrots, onions, lettuce, peppers, broccoli, green beans, peas and tomatoes. I loved it. (I even made a special ‘compost’ out of water, yeast, Miracle Grow and left over peelings and vegetable left overs.)

In AZ? I can’t even have tulips - let alone vegetables.

[mware]

Longing for the summer when my nephew can wander through his grandmom's garden.

[trisham]

I'm guessing it may be a type of wilt, possibly more than one. It can take multiple seasons of crop rotation to get rid of the problem.

To avoid wilt in the future, do not over-water, weed well, and keep adequate space between plants. A fungicide may also be used.

[gardengirl]

RD—as far as pruning tomatoes, not usually, unless they’re in your way or diseased. A lot of people sucker them, which means to break off the lower limbs so more strength goes to the top—producing part—of the plant. Some do, some don’t. it’s a personal thing. OTOH, if you sucker them, the suckers can be stuck in the ground. Most of them will root and make more plants. :)

You really shouldn’t plant the same thing over and over in the same area. It just gives insects and diseases a better toehold.