Chambers County in February becomes a beehive of gardening activity. Most (not all) danger of frost is past, and this winter has been quite mild, so thoughts turn to working in the yard on the sunny days. Summer, and its heat, come early in Texas, so you need to get the last of the cool season crops into the vegetable bed, giving them time to ripen and fruit. But you also need to remember that it’s too early for the plants that like the heat. They need warm soil to germinate or grow, and will just sit and sulk for weeks if you plant too early.
If you have a permanent bed ready, it’s not too late to plant asparagus crowns and artichokes, as well as strawberries. It’s about as late as you want to plant bushes and trees as well, while they are still in their dormant stages. Blueberries are already starting to flower a little, and the citrus by February in our area is in full bloom. So early is ideal for these more permanent garden gems. You can plant them later, but the point is to get the roots growing to provide more stability and food for the leaves and fruits. And if you do buy peaches, apples, and the like, force yourself to pick off those little fruits the first year. They do the plant no good, taking away the energy from development to stuff into a peach that won’t have great flavor while so young anyway.
Read more: http://ow.ly/8P0a5
0 comments:
Post a Comment