In and Around the Garden

Please note:  What I write in this space are lessons learned through trial and error, research, and from other gardeners and professionals. I garden in zone 9, but share garden experiences that I believe are relevant to most zones within a reasonable time frame and planting conditions.

Maintenance:  Keep faucets, pipes, and sprinkler valves protected from frost by wrapping them with old bath towels or rags. Double check tree stakes and support wire. Slip flexible pipes over the end of downspouts to redirect rainwater away from the house.

In the vegetable garden:  Most winter vegetables can handle frost and snow, however, a harsh wind can cripple or destroy them. Watch the weather report and be ready to protect your winter crops from wind.

In the soil, sow seeds of lettuce, carrots, fava beans, mustard, peas, radishes, bunching onions, onions, bok choy, broccoli, kale, collards, and spinach. 

Plant from cell packs of broccoli and cauliflower.

Plant barefoot berries, grapes, fruit trees, asparagus, artichokes, strawberries, rhubarb.

In the landscape:  Keep covering frost-sensitive plants with frost cloth. Watch the soil in potted plants and don’t let it dry out.

In the ground or in pots, plant the following annuals:  Iceland poppies, pansies, violas, calendulas, flowering kale, flowering cabbage, sweet William, snapdragons, cyclamen, primroses.

At the nursery, select camellias while they are budding. This will allow you to see the flower colors first-hand.

If the ground isn’t frozen, you can still plant daffodil bulbs.

Prune rose bushes.

Copyright © 2010 Dianne Marie Andre