How Does My Garden Grow: Monthly to do lists

Monthly to do lists

March to do List 2012

Starting Seeds Indoors See When do I plant what? post for more specific dates.

Basil, chamomile, sage, and thyme herbs should be planted by the middle of this month.

Broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, and cauliflower crops should be started indoors by the middle of this month for your spring crop.

Start tomato and eggplant seeds indoors by the end of the month.

Starting Seeds Outdoors

Plant lettuce, onion sets, peas, radishes, spinach, shallots, potatoes, and turnips outdoors about the middle of the month. Be prepared to cover your crops and keep them protected.

Amending Soil for the Vegetable Garden

Get your soil amended as soon as possible. I add two inches of compost, two inches of manure, and two inches of peat moss to my soil every year.

A Side Note about Potatoes

I am only going to add peat moss and compost to my potato bed again this year. I learned that too much nitrogen causes the brown spots on my potatoes every year. Last year I didn’t have the brown spots. I always plant my potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day!

Dormant Oil

Spray dormant oil on fruit trees. There is still time since there are no blossoms on the trees yet this year.

Weed Control

The weeds are going to be out in full force after the snow melts and it starts to warm up in a few weeks. My favorite weeding tool is a hula hoe. Use it to scrape just under the surface of the soil and chop the weed root. If the weeds are tiny it pulls them right out of the ground. I sprayed some weeds with white vinegar last year and it worked great. It is a lot cheaper than weed killer too.

Roses

DO NOT prune your roses in March. I don’t how this habit got started. There will be another frost causing more pruning to be done.

Plants to Prune

Butterfly Bush and Russian Sage can be cut back the end of this month. The fruit trees should be pruned too. Cut off any broken or dead branches. Cut off any branches that are rubbing on another branch (keep the branch that will make the tree look more open and full if possible) Trim the branch that is being removed to the collar (the collar has a little different texture). This will allow the bark to grow over the cut and heal itself. NO MATTER WHAT DO NOT PRUNE OFF OVER 20 PERCENT OF YOUR TREE IN ONE YEAR!

Dividing Day Lilies

Another good project for the end of this month.

Bear Root Tree Planting

This is my favorite tree type. It is easy to plant and the cost is a lot less. Plant any time this month. Make sure the roots do not have any kinks or curls that appear to be the way they have been growing. These kinks and curls will stay and grow until the tree cannot take nutrients up them. Place the grafted area to the north to protect that weaker area of the tree from the elements.

February to do List 2012

No Measureable Precipitation again this year.

Fill a five gallon bucket with water and pour that water onto each tree. Each tree needs at least that much water. If in doubt on the other plants then water them.

Bear Root Trees

Get ready to shop for bare root trees. They will be showing up a Lowe's and Home Depot any day. Pick out the one you think you want and then go into the store and look in the Sunset Western Garden Book and find out if the one you picked is good for this climate.

Starting Seeds Indoors

Get ready to start your garden seeds indoors the end of this month. Start Onion seeds and leaf lettuce.

Iris

Fertilize your iris.

Compost

Check you compost. If it hasn't decomposed much this winter then add a big handful of ammonium sulfate (the stuff you use to make your lawn green) to your compost bucket and mix it in. It probably needs some water added to it too.

January To Do List

Watering

Water all trees. See Keeping Trees Alive below. Give a small amount of water to any crops still in the ground if they seem to need it. If you haven’t watered your grass and other plants you should water them. Any plants in pots will need water too.

Compost

Give the compost some water too.

Leaves

Keep the leaves raked up. You can compost them. Brown leaves count as the brown needed in the compost buckets. Piles of leaves are a great place for next year’s pest to hibernate. Squash bugs hibernate. I saw a lot of roly-poly (pillbugs) bugs under leaves in my yard.

Dormant Oil

Once all the leaves have fallen from your trees you can start spraying them with dormant oil. Follow the directions on the product you buy. They are all different. Dormant oil will keep next year’s pest to a minimum. Now let’s just hope for fruit on the trees next year. The basic rule-of-thumb for dormant oil is that you can use it any month that has an “R” in it. DON’T use dormant oil when there is fruit or fruit buds on the trees.

Keeping Trees Alive

Remember to water your trees every month that does not have a measurable amount of precipitation. Take a five gallon bucket full of water and pour the entire bucketful at the base of the tree. Each tree will need five gallons of water.

Planning Your Garden

It is almost time to start your cold weather crops and some herbs indoors. Get your garden layout planned very soon. Remember to rotate your crops.

December To Do List

Watering

Water all trees. See Keeping Trees Alive below. Give a small amount of water to any crops still in the ground if they seem to need it. I dug some carrots on Dec 6^th. The ones that were 2 inches long were starting to shrivel. The longer ones were fine. I gave my garlic water also. Water when the temperature is about the warmest it is going to get for the day.

Compost

Give the compost some water too.

Garden Catalogs

Now is the time to order any garden catalogs you want. Some start showing up in January, so order them now. My Totally Tomatoes catalog showed up after Thanksgiving.

Leaves

Keep the leaves raked up. You can compost them. If they are brown then they count as the brown needed in the compost buckets. Piles of leaves are a great place for next year’s pest to hibernate. Squash bugs hibernate.

Dormant Oil

Keeping Trees Alive

November To Do List

Covering Plants

Potatoes, carrots, and onions can stay in the ground all winter. Keep them protected from extreme cold and snow. A lot of snow or moisture around these crops will make them rot in the ground. They can stay uncovered and be covered as needed, but I find that to be too much work. I have my raised bed frames on the garden beds and the glass doors on top of that. I do need to uncover them and let some water get into the ground otherwise the ground becomes so hard I can’t get the crops out. In the past (before my raised beds) I have used several layers of old sheets and used straw to cover the crops. I like the sheets the best. They let the moisture in, but protect the plants from rotting if you keep the snow from getting to thick on the sheets. This year I have beets, lettuce, and spinach still in the ground. I want to see how much cold they can withstand.

Compost

As you can and dehydrate your garden produce don’t forget to compost the scraps. Pour any water from blanching and soaking in the compost buckets too.

Garden Catalogs

Now is the time to order any garden catalogs you want. Some start showing up in January, so order them now.

Leaves

Dormant Oil

Keeping Trees Alive

Yes I skipped October. Sorry.

September To Do List

Cleanup Time

As you get the last of your crops don’t forget to compost the main plant. Do not compost tomato vines, rhubarb leaves, or potato plants. All are poisonous.

Bringing Potted Plants Indoors For The Winter

Check for bugs daily for the next week or two before bringing your plants indoors. Normally I keep a 2 quart spray bottle ready for all little bugs on plants indoors and outdoors. I put about 1 inch of dish detergent in the bottle and fill the rest with water. Don't use dish soap. Dish soap will not kill the bugs. Spray the plant, soil and pot at least daily. You will be surprised how may bugs you will find in the house if you don’t get rid of them before bringing the pots in. I am finding a lot of spiders under the rim of my pots. I am bringing all of my herbs indoors this year. They will not look very healthy by spring and I won’t get many leaves to use during the winter, but I will have a big jump on next year’s crop. I have only brought the pots in for one winter. I don’t have the space to keep them, so by the second winter I am sick of finding a place for them and start over with seeds the following spring. Maybe I will try to keep a few of the unusual ones more than one winter.

Covering Plants

Be prepared to cover you plants that are still growing. Our average first frost is September 10. Melons, squashes, beans, and basil will not do well on a cold night. I would cover those warm weather crops if the temperature gets into the low 40’s. If in doubt cover. Use sheets, floating row cover or any lightweight covering you have. Nothing heavy is needed until it gets to freezing.

Compost

Don’t forget to compost all of your discarded plants. You are making next spring’s compost. You can never have too much.

Crops To Winter Over

Potatoes, carrots, and onions are crops that can be left if the ground all winter. Just cover with a thick layer of straw. I use my raised bed frames and the glass that fits on top. Then go out and dig up what you need all winter long.

Garlic

The garlic that you planted last month needs no care during the winter. Just ignore it and watch for it to start growing as soon as the ground starts to warm.

August To Do List

Rodents and Birds

All are active and searching for food. A Wall of Water or a tomato cage put around a plant will help protect it. Traps and sparkly moving objects can be used to deter them also.

Weeds

They are a never ending project. Try your best to stay ahead of them. Get them when they are little with a Hula Hoe. Spray when you have to. Pulling is always the best. Remember one year of seed is seven years of weed. Don’t know if that is true, but it is enough to make me keep weeding. I do not want to test this theory and find out. I tried the white vinegar full strength on the weeds and it works as good as the expensive weed killers (It is also keeping the cat away).

Compost

Make sure you are watering your compost every week or two, so it will do what it is supposed to. Remember it should never stink. If it does then you need to add more brown material. I add water to my compost buckets until I see it start to run out the holes in the bottom.

Saving Seeds

Now is the time that some of your crops should be going to seed. Let the flowers develop and start dying. Then put a paper bag over the flowers and roll the top of the bag towards the other side of the bag top until the opening is just big enough to hold the flower stems from coming out of the bag. Secure the folded bag with a binder clip. Gently fold the plant over so the bottom of the bag is on the ground or close to the ground. DO NOT LET THE PLANT STEM BREAK OR FOLD. Leave like this until the plant is completely dead. Then pull the plant out of the ground and shake the plant so the seeds fall into the bottom of the bag. Discard plant. Label bag and store in a cool dry place until next year. You can save flower seeds the same way.

Planting Fall Crops

Plant all your cool weather crops again now. Some cool weather crops are lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and cabbage.

Garlic

Plant garlic now for next year’s harvest. It will take 10 to 11 months before it is ready for harvesting. Garlic and roses grow good planted next to each other.

July To Do List (Not much different than the June list).

Rodents and Birds

All are active and searching for food. A Wall of Water or a tomato cage put around a plant will help protect it. Traps and sparkly moving objects can be used to deter them also.

Insects

Aphids are a problem. See the Pest Tips page for help. Expect squash bugs to be a big problem this year. I heard a manager at a local nursery telling someone that we are in a cycle of squash bug abundance for a few years. I just found about 20 squash bugs and a ton of eggs on 8 plants. My plants are so tiny that I don’t expect to get anything. I used a pair of pliers and picked the bugs off with them. I noticed that watering late evening seemed to make them run from the cold water. Last year I watered early morning and never noticed that happen. The only thing that I know that will kill squash bugs is Seven, a bug spray that you have to wait a specified number of days before harvesting crops after using it. All that information is on the bottle. Seven will kill all bugs. You can kill most with an insecticidal soap. You can also harvest the day you spray, so the bottle says.

Weeds

Roses

Cut expired blooms back to the first set of five leaves and you will get another bloom. You can also let the rose hip form and use it in potpourri. Pick your fragrant rose petals early in the morning and make your own rose water.

Fruit Trees

You may see leaf curl on your trees, but see no bugs. It is probably aphids. If you have fruit on your trees and need to spray for bugs then use a sulfur based spray or an all season fruit tree spray. Since I do not have any fruit this year I am just ignoring the leaf curl. It is minor on my trees.

Compost

June To Do List

Starting Seeds and Vegetables Outdoors

Now is the time to start planting broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage from seeds indoors for you fall crop.

Rodents and Birds

All are active and searching for food. A Wall of Water or a tomato cage put around a plant will help protect it. Traps and sparkly moving objects can be used to deter them also.

Insects

Weeds

They are a never ending project. Try you best to say ahead of them. Get them when they are little with a Hula Hoe. Spray when you have to. Pulling is always the best. Remember one year of seed is seven years of weed. Don’t know if that is true, but it is enough to make me keep weeding. I not want to test this theory and find out.

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage protection

The beginning of this month and sometimes earlier if the weather is warm is when bugs start laying eggs on these crops. Now is a good time to tie a piece of bridal tulle (fine netting) around the tops of these crops.

Roses

May To Do List

Starting Seeds and Vegetables Outdoors

Plant everything by the end of this month. Our average last frost is May 15. Be prepared to cover whatever you plant. Harden your plants off for about 2 weeks before transplanting outdoors.

Pruning Forsythia and Lilac

Mine are still in bloom this month. Normally Forsythia has finished blooming a month or more ago. Prune both of these after the flowers die.

Strawberries

Get your strawberries fertilized as soon as possible if you haven’t already done so. Last month would have been best, but it was too cold to water the fertilizer in and not have the plants freeze. Add about one inch of composted manure. Give them lots of water all summer.

Raspberries

If your raspberry canes have leaves starting to grow, then now is the time to prune. Prune out the dead canes from last year. Trim the new canes to about 3 or 4 feet tall. Get your raspberries fertilized as soon as possible if you haven’t already done so. Add about one inch of composted manure. Give them lots of water all summer.

Lawn Care

Dethatch and aerate your lawn if needed. If you are going to fertilize your lawn use a slow-release lawn fertilizer with iron and potassium to build up heat and cold resistance and to stimulate root growth. Water immediately after fertilizing. Lawn clippings with no chemicals in it make good mulch. Are you planning to compost your grass clippings? Don’t recycle you lawn clipping if you use weed killing or bug killing products on your lawn.

April To Do List

Dormant Oil

Spray dormant oil on fruit trees. This is something that cannot be done in April most years, but there is still time since there are no blossoms on the trees yet this year.

Starting Seeds Outdoors

Plant lettuce, onion sets, peas, radishes, spinach, shallots, potatoes, and turnips outdoors as soon as possible if you haven’t already planted them.

Planting Vegetables Outdoors

Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower plants should be planted as soon as possible if they are not already planted. Cover them with empty milk jugs (lids on) that have the bottoms cut off, or any other container you have, on the nights that a hard frost is expected. A hard frost is when the temperature stays it the high 20s or lower for two or more hours during the night.

Do the March To Do List

Since the weather was so bad last month you probably have all of those things to do still.

Pruning Roses

Normally April 15^th is the first day you should prune. All roses are grafted to a wild rose root stock. You can tell those shoots sometimes by the following; shoots are taller than normal, darker leaves, and have more thorns. Prune off all of those shoots from the root stock or eventually they will take over. Remove any dead wood. Prune to open up the center of the plant. To keep bugs from crawling inside add a drop of white glue to the tops of the pruned shoots. If the shoot is too large for the glue drop to stay on top, then place a flat tack on the pruned shoot and cover the tack with glue.

Aphid Control

If you had a problem with aphids on your roses and iris last year then this year after you prune your roses use Epsom Salt. Add enough Epsom Salt to the ground around each plant to make a thin solid white layer. Water the Epsom Salt into the soil. I have also done this around my grapevines. Buy Epsom Salt in the “people” section of the store not the “plant” section. It is the same thing in both departments, but a lot more expensive in the “plant” department.

Prune Trees

Now is the time to prune your trees. Remove all dead and broken branches. See the “How to Prune Trees” page for more details.

March To Do List

Starting Seeds Indoors See When do I plant what? post for more specific dates.

Basil, chamomile, sage, and thyme herbs should be planted by the middle of this month.

Broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, and cauliflower crops should be started indoors by the middle of this month for your spring crop.

Start tomato and eggplant seeds indoors by the end of the month.

Starting Seeds Outdoors

Plant lettuce, onion sets, peas, radishes, spinach, shallots, potatoes, and turnips, outdoors about the middle of the month. I am going to plant mine as soon as the snow is gone. I can cover my crops and keep them protected.

Amending Soil for the Vegetable Garden

Get your soil amended as soon as possible. I add two inches of compost, two inches of manure, and two inches of peat moss to my soil every year.

A Side Note About Potatoes

I am only going to add peat moss and compost to my potato bed. I recently learned that too much nitrogen is causing the brown spots on my potatoes every year.

I am also going to plant some potatoes in a tote this year. I have one that the dogs chewed up the top on, so it is perfect for planting in. I am going to mix equal amounts of soil, compost, and peat moss to use in the tote. The tote is 32” x 13” x 13”. I will put four inches of my mixture in the bottom of the tote. I’m thinking four potatoes will fit nicely. Then I will cover them with two inches of my mixture and keep filling the tote with my soil mixture as the potatoes grow until it reaches about 11 inches deep. Keeping about two or three inches of plant showing each time I add my mixture until the tote is filled. I always plant my potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day!

Dormant Oil

Spray dormant oil on fruit trees. There is still time since there are no blossoms on the trees yet this year.

Weed Control

The weeds are going to be out in full force after the snow melts and it starts to warm up in a few weeks. My favorite weeding tool is a hula hoe. Use it to scrape just under the surface of the soil and chop the weed root. If the weeds are tiny it pulls them right out of the ground. For the weeds that are in areas that I can’t get too easily and I feel a need to spray I am going to try something new I heard of. I am going to spray them with vinegar. It is a lot cheaper than weed killer and I hear it works just as good.

Roses

DO NOT prune your roses in March. I don’t how this habit got started. There will be another frost causing more pruning to be done.

Plants to Prune

My Butterfly Bush and Russian Sage will get cut back the end of this month. The fruit trees will be pruned too. Cut off any broken or dead branches. Cut off any branches that are rubbing on another branch (keep the branch that will make the tree look more open and full if possible) Trim the branch that is being removed to the collar (the collar has a little different texture). This will allow the bark to grow over the cut and heal itself. NO MATTER WHAT DO NOT PRUNE OFF OVER 20 PERCENT OF YOUR TREE IN ONE YEAR!

Dividing Day Lilies

Another good project for the end of this month.

Bear Root Tree Planting

February To Do List

Snow on Trees

With all the snow that is falling this February you need to knock some of it off trees. Take you broom and swing in an upward motion under the limbs. They have enough weight on them and don't need any more downward pressure.

No Measurable Precipitation

Two weeks ago I would have told you to go fill a 5 gallon bucket with water and dump the entire bucketful onto a tree and then go do the same thing for every tree. That is exactly what I did for my trees and some of my other bushes and plants. Do not let your trees go over 30 days with no measurable precipitation.

Bear Root Trees

Get ready to start your garden seeds indoors the end of this month.

Iris

Fertilize your iris.

Compost

Check you compost. If it hasn't decomposed much this winter then add a big handful of ammonium sulfate (the stuff you use to make your lawn green) to your compost bucket and mix it in.

Monthly to do Lists

Monthly to do lists