What a difference a year makes! We seem to be back into our "non-winter, winter!" I'm sure that most of you are not complaining, but your plants may be looking for a little help soon. Our up and down temperatures can dry out the soil and the evergreens fairly quickly. Throw in some heavy winds and colder, but not frozen soil, and you have plants that may show signs of above ground dehydration. If in the next few weeks we don't have significant rain or snow, a good watering on a 50-degree day would really help!Our 2015 garden seeds have arrived! This year we have added a sampling of the Baker Creek Seeds. If you are not familiar with Baker Creek, they are a Missouri company that specializes in Heirloom and Non-Hybrid seed. They have over 1800 varieties of seed in their catalog and we carry a limited selection of unique and different varieties that you cannot find from other companies.Seed starting season is almost upon us, and we want to give you some tips to make your work successful and rewarding. We all have a tendency to start too early; count back four to six weeks from when you were planning to plant outside as your starting date inside. Your early spring seeds like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage can be started right away so they are ready in early to mid-March. Things like tomatoes, peppers, and other summer crops should wait until mid to late March in order to be ready in late April to early May for planting. If you start your seeds too early, the plants stretch for light and get spindly, and will take much longer to start growing once planted in the ground. Find a warm spot in your house for germination; after germination most plants will like it a little cooler especially at night. You may need to supplement the lighting; turn the lights on at 6 AM and off at 7 PM, but don't leave the lights on 24/7. That can do more harm than good (plants need to rest at night just like you!)You may be wondering about late winter lawn care. The best first step for your lawn on nice day is something most people don't like to do, and that is to get the rake out one more time and cleanup all the debris that has accumulated on and in the grass all winter long! Starting the spring with a good clean surface will allow products applied to the grass an easier path to the soil, which where it's needed to do the best job. A good leaf rake will do a great job of cleaning up without tearing the grass blades. Once you have raked, fire-up the lawn mower, set to the lowest setting and remove all the winter damaged blades. If you have a Zoysia or Bermuda lawn you can do the raking but save the low mowing until the end of April or even the first of May. If you have some bare spots in your lawn or need to reseed the whole thing, mid-February is a great time to start. Snow and cold weather will not hurt the seed as it won't start to germinate until the soil warms in March.February is an excellent time to start to prevent insects and diseases naturally. Trees and shrubs can be sprayed with Horticultural Oil, or Dormant Oil. Spray when the temperature is above freezing and will remain there for at least 24 hours. Horticultural Oil works by coating the insects, their laid eggs, and disease spores left on the plants and soil around the garden. It will stop these problems before they begin and reduce the need for as much treatment during the growing season. Dusting Sulphur can do the same for your peonies, roses, vegetable and flower gardens. Dusting Sulphur applied a couple of times in early spring will help to reduce pest problems in the garden for spring into early summer.Topic: Timely TipsSeason: Spring
