Breaking Old Man Winter

Dealing with the weeds of winter

The weed crop, unlike vegetables in the garden, thrive in all seasons of the year. They thrive and survive and the best way to solve the weed situation is to pull the weeds up by their roots, throw them out of the garden and mow them up. Weeds are tough and bitter in cold temperatures and it don’t seem to phase many of them and some are immune to even frozen soil. February always has some days above the freezing mark. These days can be used to pull up these weeds by their roots and toss them from the garden and run the mower over them. Some of winter’s weed crop includes Bermuda grass, nut grass, chickweed and crabgrass. Honeysuckles growing on the garden edge can also be pulled up before it creeps into the garden. Don’t treat them with herbicides which are hazardous or chemical weed killers which are also not healthy for any lawn or gardens or gardener.

Old man winter suffers a broken back

Last week Old Man Winter suffered a broken back when winter reached the halfway point. Cold winter mornings may make our backs feel like they may break. Good news is on the way for all of us simply because winter is half over. This certainly does not mean that winter is by any means on the way out, that we are only over the lump.

Looking for a little “Poor Man’s Fertilizer”

February snowfall is also known as the “Poor Man’s Fertilizer.” Snow on a cold February day adds nitrogen to the soil as it falls and soaks into the waiting sod, meadows, fields and lawns. The wet and heavy weight of the snow covers the landscape in not only a layer of snow but a dose of nutrients including nitrogen and trace elements that benefit the soil. Maybe this is why the corn in the Midwest corn belt grows seven to eight foot tall.

Setting out onions

In the cold soil of mid-February when the soil is workable, onion sets can be planted. Onion sets should be arriving at hardwares, garden centers, and seed stores. They are a cold weather vegetable and will thrive in cold weather gardens. You can purchase them by the pound in colors of white, yellow, and red. Set the onion in a furrow four or five inches deep. Place a layer of peat moss in the bottom of the furrow and place the onion sets three or four inches apart with root ends down. Apply another layer of peat moss on top of the sets. Apply a layer of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food on the peat moss and hill up soil on each side of the furrow and tamp the soil on top of the row with the hoe blade for good solid soil contact. They should sprout by the middle of March. After they sprout, keep soil hilled up on both sides of the row. Side dress the row with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food on both sides of row before hilling them up. Side dress the onions once a month.

A colorful frozen Jello fruit dessert

This is a beautiful dessert you can prepare and refrigerate overnight for dinner the next day. You will need one three-ounce box of Jello orange gelatin, a dash of salt, one cup of boiling water, one can pineapple tidbits (8 3/4 ounces) one fourth cup lemon juice (fresh or bottled), one cup mayonnaise, half cup white seedless grapes (quartered) half cup maraschino cherries (quartered), two bananas (diced), three kiwi fruits (diced), and dairy whipping cream. Dissolve orange Jello in one cup boiling water mixed with dash of salt. Drain the pineapple tidbits. Use the juice and add enough water to make one cup of liquid. Stir into the Jello and the lemon juice. Blend in the one third cup of mayonnaise. Chill until very thick. Whip the dairy whipping cream and sweeten. Fold the whipped cream into the thickened Jello and stir in the prepared fruits. Pour into a loaf pan or a 9x5x3 inch pan and refrigerate until firm (five hours) or more preferably overnight. To serve, cut into squares or slices. Makes about eight servings. Serve on lettuce leaves. Refrigerate leftovers.

Keeping birdbaths filled with fresh water

Ice fills the mud holes and the birdbaths these February mornings. As the temperatures rise above freezing, empty the ice and refill with fresh water. Check the feeders and keep them refilled each morning. Spread a handful around the base of the feeder to take care of smaller juncos and sparrows.

Starting early spring greens

It’s not too early to start a row or bed of early spring greens such as curly mustard, Sibenan Kale, turnip greens, Florida broad-leaf, spinach or a mixture of all of them. The hardware or garden center will prepare a mixture of these greens in any ratio you would like. All of them cost about the same thing. The seed are tiny and an ounce goes a long way. Sow the tiny seed in a furrow about two to three inches deep. Apply a layer of peat moss in the bottom of the furrow as a bed for the seed and protective layer to prevent freezes because peat moss absorbs moisture. Sprinkle the seed on the layer of peat moss and top the seed with another layer of peat moss. Apply a layer of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food on the peat moss and hill up soil on each side of the furrow to form a row. Tamp down the row with the hoe blade to make solid contact with the soil.

Starting garden year off with a water wand

A durable water wand is a good garden investment that will save money because it makes the water you use in the garden go farther. It places water directly where it is needed. A wand has many settings that range from spray, stream, mist, shower, and hose. A durable wand costs about $12. The wand places water only where it is needed and directly on the plants and not the middles of rows. When sowing seed you can set the wand on stream and place a stream of water directly into the furrow on the seed before hilling soil on both sides of the furrows which gets seed off to a great start. They also work well in shower mode on hanging baskets. You can use the wand in stream mode to wash the vehicles.

Controlling wild onions

Some unwanted green is appearing on the mid-winter lawns in the form of the wild onion. They will be around until warm weather arrives. There are not many ways to completely get rid of them. The best method of controlling wild onions is to use the weed trimmer preferably during the barren moon-sign of Leo, the Lion, and trim the onions down to ground level. It may not kill them but it will slow them down and control their growth. Their only attribute is the fact that they are green.

Spring on the way at hardwares, garden centers

New riding mowers, tillers, and push mowers are lined up in front of Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement, and Ace Hardware and other hardware’s along with leaf blowers and trimmers. Inside are racks of vegetable, flowers, and bedding plants and a complete line of top soil flower potting medium, plant food, and fertilizers. You can also buy all kinds of garden tools and equipment as well as hay and pine straw.

Planting a row or bed of mint green lettuce

Lettuce is a tough cold weather vegetable crop with a maturity date of around 50 days. It will produce a harvest before it is time for warm weather vegetables to get planted. It can be sown in a short row or bed and a few packets will produce all the leafy lettuce you need. Packets of seed cost around $2. There are many varieties to choose from including Grand Rapids, Red Sails, Iceburg, Green Ice, Black Seeded Simpson, Buttercrunch, Bibb, Romaine, Oak Leaf, and Salad Bowl. Lettuce seed are tiny and a little goes a long way. Sow lettuce in a furrow or broadcast it in a bed. Use a layer of peat moss to cover the seed in the bed and then apply a layer of Garden-Tone organic vegetable food on top of seed and peat moss before covering with a layer of soil and tamping down with the hoe blade for solid soil contact. To sow lettuce in a furrow, prepare a furrow about three or four inches deep and spread a layer of peat moss in bottom of furrow. Sow the seeds and cover with another layer of peat moss and then apply a layer of Garden-Tone organic vegetable food and tamp down with the hoe blade for solid soil contact. Water each week if no rain falls.

Hoe hoe hoedown

“Good for something!” Doctor: “I don’t like the way your wife looks.” Farmer: “I’m not too crazy about her looks either, but she’s good at milking, cooking, tending the garden and cleaning the house, plus she’s really good to me and the kids.”

“Real Cool Cat!” Cats don’t pose for posters or calendars — real cats couldn’t care less what day, week, month or year it is. Real cats do not sing in a shower. The thing a real cat hates more than an opera is being immersed in a tub of water.

“Going to the dogs.” Sherry: “You know, I’m really worried about the guy I’ve been dating lately. He has invited me over to dinner and he asked me to pick up two cans of dog food on my way over to his house. Kerry: “What seems to be so strange about that?” Sherry: “He doesn’t have a dog!”

“A Noteworthy Doggie!” Last Sunday morning, the pastor delivered his sermon in ten minutes. The pastor explained. “I regret to inform you that my dog who is very fond of eating paper, ate the other part of my sermon which I delivered this morning.” After the service, a visitor from another church shook the pastor’s hand and said, “Pastor, if that dog of yours has any puppies, I want to buy one to give to my pastor!”

Living up to its snow-white name!

The full moon this Saturday night is named Full Snow Moon. Will it live up to its name and dump an eight-inch snow on us. Surely the time and season is right. We would like to see the Full Snow Moon on the crest of some new-fallen snow. Most kids are also ready for a snow break.