The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Compost

As soon as it warms and dries a little we can finish cleaning the flower beds and put leaves and stems in the compost pile. Any thatch and grass clippings can also be used as compost or as mulch. Any weeds or trimmings can be added. Mix everything together and add a few shovels full of good garden soil as you are mixing it to get started working. In a few months you will have pure garden gold.

Lawn care

We are beginning to hear lawn mowers and garden tillers. The soil is still wet but by the middle of this week, it may be good and ready. If you weed and feed your lawn, now is the time to do it. Watering is in order after weeding. To mow, it is better to mow often to remove less at the time then to let the grass grow long and then cut off nearly all of the growth. The grass recovers more readily when less is removed at a time.

Tree care

Pruning of fruit trees should be done soon. Cut out all dead wood, any branches that cross now or will cross if left to grow. Remove any sucker growth from the lower trunk or rootstock. Open the inside by removing a few of the young branches to let more light in. Keep most of the lower branches growing low so you can reach the fruit. The general shape of a fruit tree should be like a Christmas tree, wide on the bottom and narrow at the top.

If the weather stays warm and the forecast is for above freezing, it is the time to spray trees and shrubs with dormant oil spray. Commercial oils are available at garden centers or you can mix your own. Mix a quart of light grade non-detergent motor oil with 1 cup of liquid dish soap and warm water to make 5 gallons. Pour back and forth from one container to another to mix well. Pour into a sprayer and wet trees and shrubs thoroughly. Cover all branches and the trunk to the ground. Spray early in the day so the branches can dry before nightfall. Do not spray with the oil after buds break and leaves are more than ¼ inch long. The oil will burn the leaves. Evergreen trees should be fertilized with a nitrogen fertilizer and in our part of the country we also need a liquid iron for them.

Weeding

It is time to weed flower beds- it is hard on the knees and back, HINT: sit on a foot stool when you are weeding the garden and flower beds. Use a sturdy old dinner fork for weeding. The tines get under the weeds better than most tools.

Keep your finger nails clean by scraping them over a bar of soap before starting. When finished, just wash thoroughly and brush out the soap.

When planting wild flowers, remember to use plants native to our growing climate. They will thrive in our area.