Timely Gardening Tips for where you live
Regional and seasonal gardeing tips for where you live.
New England/Maritime Canada
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The days grow longer and the sun is slowly warming the
ground, sending the first sweet scents of spring into the
air. Seed orders are arriving. It's time to sort the onions
and make French onion soup with the soft and sprouted ones.
Check your garlic, too: Soft cloves can be minced, mixed
with olive oil and frozen for future use. In northern
areas, start onions, leeks, celery and any slow-growing
herbs or flowers, such as petunias and pansies. As the days
warm, check for aphids in the greenhouse, especially on
overwintered greens, such as kale and spinach. Control with
sprays of insecticidal soap, neem or hot pepper wax before
introducing tender young seedlings like peppers. Sowings of
spinach, cilantro, lettuce and some oriental greens will
germinate and begin to grow. Got cabin fever? Plan a
community seed-and-seedling swap to share your extras.
Mid-Atlantic
Now is the time to be sure seeds are at hand and potting
soil is ready to use. Indoors, start some lettuce, early
brassicas (cabbage, broccoli and relatives), and bulb
onions from seed. Follow in mid-February with the main-crop
brassicas: peppers, eggplants, lettuce, celery, leeks and a
few early tomatoes. In the garden under row covers, make
successive plantings of spinach and radishes. Come March
add peas, beets and carrots to the successions. Plant
potatoes as soon as possible after St. Patrick's Day. As
soon as they're in, it's time to start the main crop of
tomatoes indoors. 'Eva Purple Ball' tomato is highly
recommended for disease-resistant, blemish-free fruits with
an incredible, old-fashioned flavor. Unfurl your hoses and
plan your irrigation; be certain it's all in running order
because a dry spring may be right around the corner.
Southern Interior
The first days of spring are arriving across the South, but
don't be fooled. More freezing temperatures can follow
those tempting warm days. It's important to wait until
after the last hard frost of the season (usually around the
end of March) before moving tender seedlings out to the
garden. If you must plant them earlier, be sure to use some
type of protection, such as Wall O' Water insulating tipis.
The careful planning you made in the winter months will pay
huge dividends now. It can be tempting to get carried away
and plant far more than originally planned. Choose items
that grow best in your zone and the space you have
available to maximize your enjoyment of your garden.
Early-maturing new variety choices to speed up your harvest
include `Blue Wonder' snap bean (ready in 55 days) and
'Magda' hybrid squash (45 days).
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