Happy Cross-Quarter Day to all my garden friends! Our now lengthening days were celebrated by ancient Celts. Festive celebrations to honor the start of the new harvest season, Imbolc and/or Saint Brigid’s Day marks the very slow, welcomed, emergence of spring, a cherished time when lambs were beginning to be born. Prelusive signs of spring are emerging all around us, the slight greenish-yellow tint to willow tips, expanding buds on our fruit trees, daffodil stems cracking through the cold ground. You might notice new buds and maybe a few new leaves already appearing on your roses. Resist the urge to prune them up until about April 15. Being halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox finds us, “warming up, stretching out” if you will, in preparation for our own season of growing which gardeners like us in a seasonal climate can enjoy. Whatever tasks you find yourself doing these days, enjoy the anticipation, the planning and the chores that happen now in order to get us one step closer to a bountiful garden. Here are a few things we’re up to around the farm.
Water. We have not had any significant moisture in a while, we need some. I highly recommend watering newly planted trees and shrubs in the afternoon when the ground isn’t as frozen. A good deep soak now should carry us through until hopefully, the spring rains arrive. Your lawn would appreciate a good soak as well. Speaking of your lawn, that dead thatch material that built up all year can be raked out now with a wire landscaping rake. I prefer hand raking because I think it is less damaging than heavy thatch machines. Also, leaving some thatch helps hold moisture, insulates from extreme temps, and keeps weeds down as it acts as a mulch layer of sorts. The other reason I hand rake is because I like cookies, gotta get rid of some extra calories.
Annual weeds are appearing here and there around our yard and in various clumps in our main vegetable gardens. You really should hit them now with a hoe. If you sever those roots when they first appear (I’m not sure mine ever disappeared this year) you will save yourself a ton of work later on in the hot summer sun. Just doing a few minutes a day makes a major difference, it is one of the ways we completely avoid herbicides around here.
Check your garlic and other plants for heaving. Plants tend to work themselves up and out of the soil with frost and thaw cycles. Roots can become exposed. Gently push them back down if you can or you might have to re-dig their hole and replant. You also can add a bit more soil and compost to the crown or top layer.
Order seeds or visit our local nurseries to buy your seeds if you haven’t yet. We have about 800 (yes, you read that right) peppers started inside so far. Tomatoes and eggplants I will start in a few weeks. Potatoes go in the ground here around March 15. So, you might look for those now if you plan on planting them. If you get in a pinch, you can always buy organic ones from the supermarket. They haven’t or shouldn’t have been sprayed with any chemicals that would help prevent sprouting. I wouldn’t use any that are too shriveled or mushy.
Have a great garden everyone. Cookies and chores are highly recommended.
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