Spring Garden Chores
The soft wet snow a weekend or so ago had its own kind of beauty. Every branch was outlined in white. The red berries and shiny leaves of the holly bushes glowed in the snow. The green leaves of tulips and daffodils were again covered, and the snowdrops, true to their name, barely showed their nodding flowers above the snow. Cardinals were brilliant at the snowy feeders and juncos are smart enough to hang around and not head north just yet.
Yet the first day of spring has come and the gardeners among us are itching to go outside and do something, anything, that might hurry spring along. One thing we might do is gather forsythia and pussy willows to force. There are always fallen branches to pick up.
Some trees could be pruned. now. We try to prune the red-twigged dogwood back severely because the new growth shows the reddest twigs. In late winter, prune shrubs that flower in summer, broad-leaved evergreens and roses except climbers. With warm weather just around the corner, the plants will soon begin to heal and grow. Prune spring-flowering shrubs in late spring right after they’ve bloomed.
Now is the time for planning new purchases and, even more difficult, deciding where they would fit into our landscape plan. Will this tree grow too tall here? Would these bushes crowd other bushes? We hope that our readers will consider some of the bushes and trees with berries that feed the birds. American cranberry bush (Viburnum trilobum), Washington Hawthorn (Crategus) and other hawthorns, mountain ash, (Sorbus spp.) and Pyracanthus spp. are good choices. In addition, the thorny bushes like the hawthorns and Pyracanthus provide shelter from hawks and other predators. Evergreen trees and shrubs provide protection in inclement weather.
If a visitor should stop by to look at our border, he or she would find lots of oak leaves covering them. We leave them to keep winter weeds down and offer winter protection. Leaves are nature’s way of fertilizing the soil. We do have to rake leaves off the grass and those we bundle into the compost pile.
We prefer to use natural fertilizers when we can. A side dressing of precious compost supplies nitrogen and other nutrients. Mulch and little slow acting bone meal can be spread around the leaves of daffodils. We also spread bone meal and wood ashes over the peony beds. We have plenty of wood ashes, but they must be used with care. Soils in this area are naturally limestone or alkaline based, and wood ashes only make them more alkaline. If moss is growing under your trees, possibly some wood ashes might be needed. Wood ashes should never be used near azaleas or rhododendrons and other acid loving plants. Their soil can be kept acid with a little sulfur, compost and coffee grounds.
Tulips are hungry plants and the Ohio State Extension Service recommends a complete fertilizer such as 5-10-10 or 6-12-12 at a rate of two pounds per 100 square feet for them when they sprout and again when they bloom. Those numbers are always in this order: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Nitrogen promotes leaf growth; phosphorus helps root systems develop; and potassium feeds flowers and fruits.
Mr. Turney of Whirlwind Gardens in Chatfield starts his fertilization in March. He applies a high nitrogen fertilizer, urea, to his day lily and hosta beds. He tops that with well-rotted sawdust and sprinkles some Epsom salts for magnesium.
Early spring is a good time to have the USDA Cooperative Extension Service test your soil. You can obtain bags for this and special instructions from their office at the old Health Department Office. (447-9722)
When the weather warms and clean up begins in earnest, a pleasant task awaits gardeners who have lavender. Its fuzzy, silvery branches have added interest all winter. Some lavender growers recommend that you run your fingers up the stems letting the dead leaves fall away. You will have a cluster of sticks for a short time, then the flush of new growth will show. Lavender can be pruned when the nodes along the branches start to swell or in the summer after the plants have bloomed. Hundreds of tiny fragrant flowers that come in June-July should be cut just as the buds are swelling to use in potpourri or in dried or fresh bouquets.
Gardeners who are impatient to start digging in the soil can start seeds. Percy has started lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers in the greenhouse. Be sure to buy sterile potting soil to keep the fungus that causes damping off from attacking your seedlings. If you don’t have a greenhouse, grow light can be used in a basement or other unused room. We bring the pots upstairs until the seeds germinate and then they are put to grow in the greenhouse which averages only 60 degrees.
The soil in the garden is still wet, but very soon we will plant peas. People who have only eaten frozen peas have missed the culinary delight of eating fresh peas picked from their own patch. The first peas are an event to be celebrated. Everyone has favorite varieties of peas. We will try Sugar Ann this year available from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Snow peas are great, too, for stir-fries and salads.
Spinach and radish seeds can be sown soon. Percy prefers to plant lettuce seedlings. Check the rhubarb. There may be tender stalks for the first rhubarb pie of the season.
The maple buds are swelling and the sun is rising early enough to wake us up in the morning. Let’s all celebrate the beginning of a new spring season.
– Mary