This winter has been rather mild so don’t get fooled like the frog in the tepid water on the low heat burner. He was so comfortable that he ended up boiled as the heat increased slowly. That can happen to us in our gardens when we are lulled into complacency during the winter months. We need to take advantage of Mother Nature’s clock that may give us an early spring. Here is a handy dandy check list in a reasonably good sequence to follow so you are ready:
- Seed those bare spots in your lawn now, it’s the second best time of the year to do so.
- Service your lawn mower or take it the mower shop for service- sharpen the blade, change the spark plug, change oil, lube.
- Prune any fruit trees and berry plants. (See diagrams below for proper pruning.)
- Get your dormant oil spray ready to go for applications in March.
- Apply your pre-emergence herbicide to your flower beds by March 15.
- Feed your lawn by mid-March so the good grasses crowd out the weeds.
- Prune any evergreen shrubs that need a touch up now so the new growth covers up the shear marks with early new growth.
- Prune any shrubs that are not spring flowering such as burning bush and rose-of- sharon for more attractive plants.
- Clean off dead annual and perennial debris and any winter weeds from flower beds about mid-March..
- Freshen the mulch on flower beds. Caution- do not add more than an inch of good quality mulch to existing mulch.
Speaking of mulch..... You will notice that the gas stations are getting in their supply of mulch for the spring season. There is a huge difference in the quality of the various types of mulch available. The Mulch and Soil Council has established certification standards but they are voluntary. If you desire mulch that will improve the harsh soil conditions we have in many locations in the Miami Valley avoid mulches that are not composted. Mulches should be relatively free of wood particles and be bark based. Some of the cheaper mulches are nothing more than ground up pallets with little or no bark. This is a very poor mulch or soil conditioner.
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Meadow View Growers
Growing since 1984
www.meadowview.com