February 22 , 2008
From the Producer 2/9
First of all , I must secern you that when I visited Scooter ’s auto grease monkey , I attend a truly vintage Milk River can , rusted artistically , on the side of the garage . Daniel say me that they put old metallic element there for anyone who wanted it . I pointed out that he could make literal money on this one , but he let me have it anyway . This is scavenged portion at its best ! When I find the perfect garden spot for it , I ’ll take him a picture .
Next , if you finger a trivial overwhelmed and raring aright now , that ’s fine , because I sure am . This is a most exciting season for gardener , but it ’s sort of like cooking Thanksgiving dinner party for a crowd . You ’ve got your plan , but you ’ve got to clock it to the net moment of carrying out . For gardeners , the next eight weeks are like the last 30 minutes of a vacation dinner party . Then we sit down back and digest our attempt !
Pruning is at the top of our brain . As this week ’s guest point out , we do n’t want to jump the shooter too early and traverse our wintertime acquaintance their buffet or hideaway . Then there ’s always the caution about weather , because the balmy ( okay , downright raging ) days are a fool ’s promised land quick to knock us off our feet .
Still , in the next two to six weeks , we can have at it , count on the plant , its age , and where you live . This is where we determine our plants and I ’d say , “ the weather , ” but as you get it on , that can change in an second . I ’d unquestionably accommodate off on any that are cold tender . The plants will let you know when they ’re ready . I ’ve been out every 24-hour interval looking at bud geological fault , clock the countdown . I will say that cut the primrose jasmine to the ground prematurely was an experiment that solve . Every day , they shoot out more new leaves , and should cover the fencing by tomorrow , if not by former March .
I gave the rosemary industrial plant their haircut , since now is a good meter for them . In two workweek , I ’ll do the decorative grasses , the last of the lantana , and the roses . The pavonias and bay laurel after that ; the Barbados cherry in mid - March .
And I say this every twelvemonth , but I ’ll say it again , “ If something has n’t come up yet , do n’t be impatient and dig it out . ” I ca n’t tell you how many time I opine something was go for good , only to see it pop up overnight when the sentence was right . plant life have selection skills they did n’t get by checking out the weather online . At the same time , young I can be raring and impetuous , so they need extra forethought until they figure it out , or at least until their roots — rather than their headspring — achieve maturity .
The single that are really raring are the weeds , “ growing like weeds , ” to hurry up their goal : spreading their progeny all over your garden . Dig now or forever harvest the rewards , especially if you have pets . I ’m convince that nature gave us pets to bear seed when all else fails .
Chemicals , never recommended by CTG , wo n’t help you now , and will do more damage than honest . Tom and I have a philosophy : Tackle one small sphere at a clip . Give yourself a naturalistic destination and you ’ll make definite headway . If the gage are in the grass , get out the lawn mower .
In the next few weeks , we can also put down a deadening - release fertiliser ( but not on the grass , you know ! ) . I care to mulch after that , while flora are still trim back back , and the sweat broker is humbled . At the same time , I wo n’t be mulching the area where I have future dig to do : move the plumbagos , the cycad , and American aloe , or unexampled installation of plant that may not be dusty dauntless in their first few weeks . Patience , patience , even as I itch to move them . But from a viewer ’s question this workweek , if you take to move a rose or a woody bush , as I did last weekend , do it now , or wait until November .
We ’ve got a lot of body of work to do between now and tax solar day , but every moment is memorable as — dare I say it — we “ saltation into military action . ”
Until next week , Linda
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