Faye Mahaffey, OSUE Brown County Master Gardener Volunteer
It’s time to review our checklist of gardening tasks for February which include:
Whole Garden:
- There’s still time to look through catalogs and place orders.
- Thoroughly clean any flats or pots for seedlings.
- Set aside a potting area for seed starting and gather the necessary equipment.
- Sow those seeds that will need 10 to 12 weeks indoors before they can be transplanted outside.
- Make sure your bluebird boxes are clean.
- Continue looking for plant damage in your landscape.
- Test seeds left over from last year for viability.
Trees and Shrubs:
- Prune off broken twigs and branches on shrubs.
- Brush off excess snow to avoid breakage. Don’t shake the branches as this may cause them to break. If the snow is frozen on the branch and will not brush off easily, it is best to let it melt naturally, to avoid damage to the tree or shrub.
- Force branches of spring-blooming shrubs and trees once buds have begun to swell (pussy willow, forsythia, apple, cherry).
Fruits and Vegetables:
- Plan your vegetable seed-sowing strategy.
- Begin sowing leek seeds indoors.
- Prune fall-bearing raspberries in late February
Nuisance insects: It is very common to find insects meandering around the house in winter. All kinds of critters come into the house looking for a place to rest for the winter. As you encounter nuisance insects, just vacuum them up. Avoid smashing them as some leave stains or odors when smashed. Miss Kitty is on the hunt for Boxelder bugs in the house. With the recent cold snap, they are moving pretty slow these days!
Don’t be a procrastinator about ordering those special seeds that you were admiring in the seed catalog. You should have completed your order by the end of January or you might be disappointed because the supplies were limited.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our garden seminar on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at the Mt. Orab Campus of Southern State Community College. Christine Tailer will be talking about Starting Seeds with Float Beds. All seminars are free and open to the public and start at 7:00 p.m. in Room 208. Remember, if the Mt. Orab campus is closed due to bad weather, the seminar is cancelled. You can sign up for alerts at www.sscc.edu/alerts or call 937-444-7722.
We took a hike today in the mud and snow. I’m not sure the snowshoes are ever coming out of the bag this year!
