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The La
Niña is back. Let's hope she does not become as strong
as the one just ended. Whatever her intensity, prepare for at least
five more months of below-normal rainfall.
February
Week 1-
Any Impatiens, Purslane
and Madagascar Periwinkle you see now at big box or corporate clone nurseries
are just for display purposes. You shouldn't buy and plant them until
mid-April.
Sow: Beets, Carrots,
Mustard Greens, Peas, Radish, Spinach, Swiss Chard and Turnip in well-prepared
beds in full sun.
Finish pruning Grape vines.
Learn the different methods for Munson hybrid grapes and vinifera grapes.
When your vinifera grapes start declining, replace them with 'Bailey',
'Brilliant', 'Champanel', 'Lomanto' & 'Valhalla'.
Collect, bag and refrigerate
material for grafting or budding this spring.
Till composted organic matter
and shredded Cereal (Elbon) Rye into vegetable garden soil.
Week 2 -
Palms with stippled, yellowed
leaves have a magnesium deficiency. Apply annually a solution of one to
two cups of epsom salts in 10 to 20 gallons of water in a three foot radius.
Apply pre-emergent
herbicides now to stop germination of warm-season weeds in lawns, beds
and landscaped areas.
Water and fertilize all winter
annual bedding plants.
Prune Roses (except Climbers)
on St. Valentine's Day.
Transplant: Broccoli,
Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale and seed Potatoes.
Remember to re-apply dormant
oil before buds open on fruit and nut trees.
Buy small transplants of
Tomatoes
and Peppers and grow them in larger pots until the end of March.
Protect them from temperatures below 50 º F.
Week 3 -
Finish pruning Red Oaks
and Live Oaks. Follow applicable local codes & regulations enacted
by municipal corporations. While these are not actually laws, be
careful since Big Sibling might be watching!.
It is still time to prune
fruit trees, even if buds have begun to expand. Seal cuts with exterior
latex paint or a tree-wound dressing.
Burn all remaining Red Oak
and Blackjack Oak firewood to reduce chance of spreading Oak Wilt.
Feed strawberries with an
acidifying fertilizer.
Week 4 -
Mow Asian Jasmine beds,
feed with 21-7-14, 18-6-12 or 15-5-10 slow-release lawn food and water
it in.
Make first sowing of Sweet
Corn. Sow more in 10 days.
Side-dress (feed) Onion transplants
with 21-0-0 every two weeks during growing season.
Protect fruit trees while
they are blooming from bacterial diseases. Use Kocide for Apple and
Pear; and Agri-Strep for Peach and Plum.
Remove winter-killed foliage
from Bermudagrass, Zoysia and Buffalograss lawns. Use clippings as
a mulch under shrubs or add to your compost pile.
Start removing winter mulch
around sub-tropical perennials. Failure to remove that deep of a
mulch keeps the soil cold, retarding their recovery, and increases their
risk of rotting.
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