Gardening in the snow?

5 things to do now for your garden

  
  All the Valentine flowers make us yearn for spring - but our yards are still bleak.

If the gardener in you just needs to get outside do something, here are five things you can do now to get your garden ready for spring.

1. Compost. If you didn't work compost into the soil last fall, throw fresh compost over the garden - even if it's snow covered. It will settle over the soil and you can work it in right before planting.

2. Get going on seed. You can plant cool season crops as soon as the ground can be tilled (March, April). So have your seed ready. Find a local garden center from the link at the right or order seed online or from catalogs.

3. Select your crops. Carrots, spinach, lettuce, beets, green onions, radishes, pak choi and peas are veggies to plant soon.

4. Plan what grows where. Rotating veggie placement each year is a good practice in order to avoid insects and diseases that can overwinter in the soil and attack specific veggies. They are more threatening if debris was not cleaned out of the garden last the fall. Tomatoes and corn are crops to move to a new place each year.

5. Before planting, rototill or hand till the ground to work in the compost bepore planting.

Want to really jump start the garden? After working the soil, place black plastic over it. This will warm up the soil and give 2-3 weeks head start on growing. Pinch holes in the plastic to plant seeds. The plastic can be left as mulch during the growing season.

And if your sweat heart is a gardener, tuck some seed packets into your Valentine card!



Tip of the Week reprinted courtesy of Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) of which Foothills Landscape Maintenance, LLC is a member. ALCC is the only only professional organization for Colorado's landscape contracting industry statewide. Tip of the Week is copyrighted by Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado and may be forwarded or copied by its members provided proper credit is given to ALCC

What's screaming in your yard?



Even in the winter, plants need TLC

In the winter landscape, we don't see a lot going on in our yards that reminds us to think about the plants.

In the summertime, long grass screams out to us when we need to mow it and in the fall, the leaves obviously need to be raked. In the winter, there's just not much that says "take care of me!" Yet, even in the dormant months, there are a few things we need to check in order to keep our plants healthy.



What's out of place?



Ornamental grasses



Grass with snow damage.



Most people prefer to leave dried ornamental grasses standing in the garden for winter interest. Their shape and swaying plumes add seasonal interest. With the heavy snows this year, however, many of these grasses in unprotected locations have been smashed into unattractive mounds from the snow load.

These broken and bent grasses won't bounce back to their upright shape, so they should be cut back. For a neater look, avoid cutting grasses straight across with every stalk at the same height. Instead, cut grasses below where they are bent and broken at different heights to create a more rounded shape among the stalks.

If grasses are still standing tall, leave them until spring. Make a note to self that last year's growth will need to be removed prior to this year's fresh growth emerging.
 
Shrub care
Many herbaceous shrubs have weak wood and long, pliable branches that make them susceptible to wind and snow damage. Examples include Russian sage, golden elder, sumac, pussy willow, blue mist spirea and dark night spirea.

Any branch that has been broken by the weather - and this includes trees - should be pruned back. Those rips and breaks are an open invitation to pests and disease of all kinds. Protect these plants with timely pruning as a little maintenance now can save more work and treatment costs later.

Upright evergreens
Upright evergreens and shrub forms of arbor vitae often splay open from the snow. While it's best to bundle these shrubs before the snow flies, they can still be pulled back together after the fact.

Garden centers have netting and other materials to wrap around evergreens to keep hold them in their natural, upright position. Remember to remove the material in the summer once the plant starts to grow and re-establish its natural form. Binding materials, if not removed, can girdle the plant and eventually kill it.


Tip of the Week reprinted courtesy of Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) of which Foothills Landscape Maintenance, LLC is a member. ALCC is the only only professional organization for Colorado's landscape contracting industry statewide. Tip of the Week is copyrighted by Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado and may be forwarded or copied by its members provided proper credit is given to ALCC