Okay, a rain day (Monday) so I don’t feel guilty not working outside. This weekend I did manage to get all five of my gardens tilled and planted a lot of the cool season crops: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, kale, romaine lettuce and radishes. I hope to get all of the rest of the cool season crops in later in the week and that will mean beets, Chinese cabbage, carrots, peas, potatoes, onions, leeks, shallots, and scallions. The farmers market starts the first Thursday in June so I have to have produce ready and I’m trying.
If you have rose bushes, a product I highly recommend is labeled Systemic Rose Care. It has the best fertilizer I’ve ever found to get amazing growth and the product also has an insecticide that “nails” any chewing or sucking insects before they do major damage. That insecticide is absorbed by the roots and gets into the sap of the plant so any insect that ingests the foliage is eliminated … that is the “systemic” part of the labeling.
I’ve observed some winter damage in lawns and if you want to do a little over-seeding to fill in those damaged areas, this is a good time to put down some grass seed. Use a blended grass seed mix, not a straight bluegrass seed. The blended mix will have a form of bluegrass, in addition to fescue and perennial rye. Bluegrass is wonderful if we have a cool and wet growing season but if it gets hot and dry, often the bluegrass will go dormant and that is where the other two varieties help maintain the lawn. And if you are doing a weed control spray, hit those dandelions before they start blooming or you will have ongoing “job security.”
If you have fruit trees to prune, get that done soon because I see the buds popping out really fast … a couple more warm days and the flowering will begin … yea for spring!