Garden Check List for March

The weather has been absolutely beautiful and it has been such a pleasure to be able to get out and clean up the mess leftover by winter. My brother has put up the little green house and the garden will be tilled this Saturday.  The chickens are happily laying again and basking in the warmth of the sun.

Here is my check list for the things to accomplish this month:

• First and foremost, take a moment every day to take in all of the beautiful forms of new life around you.  The buds on the lilac and the babies in the nests. All of these beautiful things of spring are reminders of the precious gift our Savior has provided.  Spring is my favorite!

• Till garden and prepare for cool season planting as soon as the soil is dry enough to work.
• Plant new asparagus and rhubarb beds.
• Fertilize asparagus and rhubarb beds with a layer of mature compost.
• Sprout potatoes in a warm window, and then plant on St. Patrick's Day.  
• Plant peas and onions in the garden.
• At the end of the month broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower can be moved to a cold frame.
• Sweet peas, poppies and wild flowers can be sown at the end of the month.
• Finish pruning apples and grapes.  
• Plant new fruit trees and bushes.
• Scatter seeds from last years annuals. They will germinate as soon as the temperatures are right.
  
  
  
  
• Take note of your early bulbs and perennials coming up.  Uncover them before they get too large, and by the end of the month at the latest.  These early season plants can tolerate a little cold weather as long as they aren't blooming.
  
  
  
  
• Get the green house up an going.  I am starting cabbage, head lettuce, tomatoes and peppers, among other things.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

February Garden Checklist

I have to admit, February is a hard month for me.  It has been entirely too long since I have last dug my hands into my garden dirt.  In February everything is hard and frozen.  Nearly everything green is deep in a sleep and it is hard to see any life at all.   But, every now and then a beautiful day comes along just to tease me and make me antsy for spring.   The garden centers tease me by stocking their beautiful displays of seeds, bulbs and roots.  By the time February gets here I still have to wait another 6 or 8 weeks before I can plant anything in my garden.  Oh, the torture of waiting through February!

Oh wait! There is something I can plant in February...
Here is my checklist of things to do for the garden in February (zone 5):

• Plant poppies and larkspurs outside, between snows.  Some seeds need the cold temperatures before they will germinate.
• Plant a garden inside! I keep oregano, basil, chives, sage and rosemary growing in a window. Loose leaf lettuce varieties can be planted inside now as well.
• Start the following indoors to be planted in the garden later: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, pansies and daisies.
• Check your perennials for heaving.  This means that the roots are moving up out of the soil.  If they are you should cover them again with a good layer of dirt.
• Prune your fruit trees.  I have an apple, pear and peach that all need pruned!
• Draw out a plan for your gardens.  Decide where you want everything planted.
• Order your seeds and start picking them up at the garden centers. Remember to grab extra for a fall planting.  Sometimes stores won't restock late in the summer.
• Continue adding scraps to your compost pile.  Your garbage will be turning into black gold before you know it!

July Gardening Checklist

• Weed and Mulch! As the temperature rises and the summer dries out a little, the growth of the weeds will slow down some.
• Finish up harvest of your cool season plants like peas, radishes and lettuce.

• Prepare your garden for a fall planting of your cool season crops.
• If you planted potatoes in March, you will be harvesting this month.  As plants yellow and die back, it is time to dig those potatoes. Otherwise, mulch the potato plants again and wait for the harvest.
  
• Begin harvesting your summer crops such as green beans, tomatoes and summer squash.
• There is still more time to plant another round of green beans, cucumbers, carrots and summer squash. This would be a good way to fill in the garden where the lettuce and peas grew.
  
• Harvest and dry or freeze your herbs.
  
• Keep your annual flowers dead headed and pruned to continue blooming.  Pull out and compost pansies and other cool season annuals that are dying back. 
• You garden thrives with about 1 inch of rain per week.  As it gets hot and dry, you will need to supplement that with extra deep waterings. 
  
• Inspect any new fruit coming on and look for any sign of disease or insect infestation.
• Hand pick any pests and drop them into a bucket of soapy water.
  
• Keep a basket with a loose weave in the garden and ready for harvest collection.  The holes in the weave will help to let dirt and debris fall through, while still holding all of your garden goods. 
• After harvesting, be sure to eat or properly store your produce right away. Leaving them in a collection basket for any amount of time will promote mold and mildew growth, spoiling the goods you worked so hard for. 
  
• Wash your harvested produce in a cool water bath with a splash of white vinegar.  It will safely kill any germs and help to remove the dirt and bugs. 
  
  
  

Tip of the Day ~ Clover is Important

 Does you yard seem to be plagued with large patches of clover?  Well, don't run out and get a herbicide to take care of it. Instead, embrace it. Here is why.

These little guys love clover.  The use it to make clover honey, which is one of the yummiest delicacies in all of the earth.  Right now, honey bees are really struggling.  Their populations have been hit by many hardships and beekeepers are having a hard time keeping them alive these days.  They need all  the help they can get from us.  We can help by keeping the blossoms that they love in our yard and gardens.  Bees are attracted to blue, white and yellow flowers especially.  And, it helps to not spray you plants with pesticide. Instead attract beneficial insects or physically remove pests from your plants.    Many honey bees are killed when an apple tree is sprayed.

If you help the bees out, they will help you out.  They are excellent pollinators in your yard and gardens.  In fact, some plants will not fruit without the help of a pollinator.

Tip of the Day - Let your kids garden

Give your kids an area where they can do their own gardening.  This year, my kids are growing sunflower houses.  Christina has been keeping hers completely weed-free.  Jack has just been trimming his weeds down with the garden tools.  Both are loving the project and learning a lot.

Tip of the Day - Nasturtiums

Plant nasturtiums in your veggie garden to help lure the insect pests away from your crops.  You can also harvest the leaves and flowers for a nice peppery addition to a garden salad.

Tip of the Day - Cucumbers

Cucumbers can be grown down on the ground, or staked up on a trellis.  I like to stake mine up for easier harvesting.

June Gardening Checklist

June has nearly gotten away from me and I have not gotten the chance to go over my checklist. Yep, that means I have probably gotten very little done on the checklist, and you can tell by looking at my garden.  It will be fine though, a little bit of catching up and no one will ever know I was behind, not even the tomatoes.

• Plant the rest of your tomatoes, peppers and basil if you haven't finished that yet.  There is still a bit more time. 
• Plant another round of beans, corn and lettuce to keep the harvest going after the first round is harvested.  Put lettuce under the cover of a larger plant to keep it from burning up in the heat and sun.
• Plant winter squash and start some seeds (in pots) for fall harvests of cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage.
• Plant more cilantro for another harvest.
• Mulch your berries.
• Fill in any bare spots with marigolds, zinnias or dahlias.
• Cover your potatoes with straw, soil or mulch.
• Keep those tomatoes staked up.
• Plant pumpkin seeds for a Halloween harvest.
• Thin your peach and apple trees so that the fruit is about 6 inches apart.
• Keep harvesting your lettuce, radishes and peas!
• Weed anything that is growing too close to your plants, especially anything that has overtaken your veggies in size, or looks unsightly to you. 
• Keep an eye out for pests.  Hand picking pests or dusting with wood ash or diatomaceous earth are great organic pest control options.  
• Keep your flowers dead-headed and watered to encourage constant blooms.  
• Pinch back the suckers on your tomato vines.
• Turn your compost pile! During long stretches of heat and dry weather, water it down.  You don't want it to dry out.
• Enjoy the beginnings of the summer harvest and start prepping your kitchen for the abundance that you want to put up for the rest of the year!

Tip of the Day - Fooled You Peppers

If you love jalapenos but can't handle the heat, there is a wonderful little pepper that is a jalapeno with no heat.  The name of it is Fooled You.  I get mine a the greenhouse in Jamesport, MO.  I love to make jalapeno poppers to gobble up with the kids.

Tip of the Day~Never Work Wet Soil!

When your soil is wet like this, don't work it.  Don't weed. Don't dig. Don't plant. Don't till.
Don't walk around on it.  Working wet soil, especially if it has a high clay content, makes for hard soil. Hard soil.  Think blacktop, concrete, rocks.  Hard soil.
Just take a moment and thank the Father for the rain and go back inside and bake something, or read a book or look over Mom's comp. list.  Maybe you can work in your soil tomorrow if it dries out a bit.

This is Poison Ivy- Gardeners Beware!

 This beautiful plant with the clusters of 3 leaves, is poison ivy.  Most people are allergic.  The oils from this plant, which are rubbed onto you with even the slightest contact, cause a raised blistery rash that itches so bad it will make you crazy!  Please be aware of what this plant looks like.  When you are harvesting in the garden, or out in nature, be aware of this stuff growing around you.

This is also poison ivy.

Poison ivy vines and is often found in the timber or trees climbing right up the trunks.

This is a rose.

This is poison ivy.

It can also be found in the grass.

Notice the three leaves.

These are sunflowers.

They are babies...aren't they cute!

These are poison ivy. Not so cute!

Nasturtiums.

Poison.

Gooseberries.  Lots of poison around the berry bushes!

Snapdragons.  Lots of poison under these snapdragons.

Poison Ivy.

Geraniums.

Poison Ivy.

Got it? 

Leaves of 3 ~ Leave them Be!

Think you are one of those folks who are not allergic. Still be careful because a sensitivity can rare it's ugly head at any moment.  When it does, you will itch.  Like Crazy.  For about a Month.

Happy Itch Free Gardening!