Baby It’s Cold Outside! You Need to Protect your Spring bulbs, Garlic & Pansies
The heck with the holidays — our top story today is this
[bad word] cold weather! Although it’s predicted to reach
a blistering 36 Saturday, the nights have all been well
below freezing, with no global warming in sight. (Thank
you, Mr. Al Gore, for making it ‘climate change’ instead!)
Although we don’t have to do it most years, I advise
everyone with garlic, Spring bulbs or pansies in the
ground to protect them with a nice natural, non-wood
mulch.
Pansies prefer the springy protection of whole evergreen
boughs laid overtop them. Keep the boughs on top during
hard times, and remove them to expose the pansies during
good times. (Remember good times? Sun? Warmth?!)
Spring bulbs and garlic do best under a cover of one to
two inches of shredded fall leaves. If you didn’t prepare
and hoard those leaves like I warned ya to, use evergreen
boughs or straw. Don’t use wood or bark mulch; those
popular but nasty mulches smother plants and breed
disease.
Christmas Trees Need EXTRA Hydration This Year
This should be a big weekend for Christmas tree buyers
who’ve been waiting for The Ice Age to recede. No, it’s
not going to warm up—we’re just out of time.
If you don’t get your tree cut fresh for you at a tree
farm (click here for a page that has
lists of local tree farms), be sure to cut another inch or
two off the bottom of the trunk when you get it home and
then let the freshly cut trunk sit in a big container of
water before you set it up.
Warning — it’s been so cold that any tree could be a
little on the dry side, so that early hydration is going
to be extra important this year. Keep the tree in that
container with you adding water as needed until six or so
hours go by without a noticeable drop in the water level.
I’m predicting that gallons will be sucked up as you
hydrate your way to a truly safe, needle-holding, happy
healthy tree.
Melt Ice, Not Your Plants!
Our recent run of freezing cold weather necessitates that
I drop a plant-safe ice melting tip into this week’s mix.
Yes, rock salt is cheap. It’s also death to lawns, shrubs,
trees and any other plants it gets to salinate. And it
wreaks havoc on cars, bridges, roads and our waterways.
Instead, seek out one of the alternative ice melt
products, like Potassium chloride, Magnesium chloride
and/or Calcium chloride. Reject products whose ingredient
list includes the words sodium chloride or the initials
NaCl—those are just synonyms for plant-killing rock salt.
(Read labels carefully—they often try to disguise rock
salt as something else.)
The alternatives may seem more expensive, but you use so
much less that it pretty much evens out in the end. And
get them now—before the stores run out!
Rosemary Christmas Tree Care
Lori in Hume, VA just got one of those cute little
Rosemary Christmas trees for the holidays. “I’ll plant it
in my garden when the temps are appropriate,” she writes,
“but what kind of potting mix should I use for it whilst
indoors? The tag says sandy, well-drained soil, but I
can’t seem to find that at the garden store.”
No, that’s the outdoor soil they’re talking about Lori;
and with the winter we been having it probably won’t be
safe For you to employ that option until March. Right now,
that tree needs a pot at least twice as big as its current
little bitty one, with the bottom and sides filled in with
a natural, chemical-free potting mix. Also known as
‘professional mix’ and ‘soil-free mix’, these bagged
products are light, loose and perfect for root bound
plants like your rosemary. After that repotting, you’ll
only have to water it once a week—as opposed to once a day
in its current tight quarters.
Christmas Tip–for Men Only, Please
May I ask any ladies stop reading now? This is the final
bit of the week—no more gardening advice—and I have to
have a little talk with just the guys out there; you know,
to make sure they don’t get you a toaster or something
this year. OK? Thank you.
Pssst—guys; are they gone? Here’s the deal: If women
bring ivy into the house for the holidays, they will rule
that roost for the following year. But if YOU bring holly
into the house first, you will really be in charge of the
household (instead of just thinking you are). Just clip a
little branch off the bottom of a holly bush and bring it
inside. If an ivy houseplant has been inside all year, it
doesn’t count—just plants specifically brought inside in
December. Got it?
Oh, and tell her I yelled at you and warned you not to get
her a new vacuum cleaner or appliance if she asks…
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