What are dormant oils and how are they used?

What are dormant oils and how are they used?

Dormant oils also known as horticulture oils.  They are oils that are sprayed onto trees while they are dormant.  When sprayed on the trees they cover soft bodied insects and their eggs and suffocate them.

Every company makes a different one and directions must be followed exactly! Wear your protective gear also!

In general terms dormant oil can usually be sprayed on the fruit trees in our area in any month that contains the letter “R”.  This is not always true in September, March and April.  Do not use once the buds on the trees have started opening.  Do not use in May, June, July, and August.  There are other sprays to use on those pesky bugs those months.

Spray the dormant oil in the morning when it is cooler.  Do not use on windy days. Do not use is rain is expected.  Protect other plants if needed.  Check the label for more details regarding these conditions.

I usually spray once the leaves have fallen off the trees.  I do this once or twice.  Depending on my free time and the weather.   I spray again usually starting in February, but this year I didn’t get started until March.  I will continue to use it as the directions say until the buds start opening.  I only spray my fruit trees, but dormant oil can be used on other deciduous (those that lose their leaves during the winter) trees and plants.  It can be used on roses, but I use a different method that will be part of April’s to do list.

Try to use dormant oil at least once or twice in the late winter if nothing else.

Here are two articles on dormant oil that I think you may enjoy.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2181250_spray-fruit-trees-dormant-oil.html

http://www.ehow.com/info_7985938_dormant-spray-schedule-fruit-trees.html

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 roots.  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 know 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

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.