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February 26, 2003 |
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It's Like A Heat Wave...
The temperature is 35º outside
today and it feels amazingly warm compared to yesterday's high of
a very cold 19º. A
balmy 35º is easy to accept when single
digits or the teens are staring you in the face.
Brrr!
At least the sun is out today.
After a few gray
days it does the soul some good to see the sun shining.
I would like to say that this
arctic weather we have been suffering through
is on it's way out but that is not the case. It
looks as if we will finish the month of February and welcome the
month of March still in the throws of winter maybe even getting
more snow. So for now thoughts of
spring remain, just not as vivid as
they were when the temperatures were in the 50's.
Since you
won't be able to be in the garden this weekend, bring yourself
and all of your savvy gardening friends out to the
Johnson County Home & Garden Show at the new Overland Park
Convention Center. Stop by out
booth 627 and introduce yourself! We
love talking with subscribers, old and new. Kevin
and I will be busily signing up new subscribers and telling them
about the valuable information to be found in our newsletter as
well as our website. A great way
to kick off a brand new gardening season! Want
to go for free? We've got four tickets to give away!
Simply follow the "Update your profile" link at the bottom of
this newsletter, complete the survey and you will be entered into
a drawing for one of the four tickets. We'll notify you by
e-mail if you win.
Don't
forget about the Organics seminar on March 12th.
Click here for more details. See
you at the show!
~
Shelly
This
One's A Cut Above...
When we started Savvygardener.com one of the things we wanted
to provide was information that was truly useful to area
gardeners based on our weather, our climate, our everything.
A great example of this is one of our most
popular and informative articles -
The Shrub Pruning Calendar.
A Savvygardener.com exclusive, this is the Kansas City area
gardener's definitive guide to when, and when not, to
prune a wide variety of shrubs. Check it out! We'll bet it
answers some questions and clears up a lot of mystery.
Seed
Starting With Structure...
Starting more than three or four different varieties of seed
indoors can get confusing if you're not organized. To keep from
missing the start date for any of your seeds you might try our
simple procedure:
- Organize
your seed packets in piles based on the number of weeks before
"last frost" to start them indoors. This should be indicated on
the seed packet and can be found in our feature
When To Start Seeds Indoors.
- Pick the
date which you feel safe calling "last frost". We use the first
full weekend in May (May 5th this year).
- In our
example we are now 8½ weeks from the weekend we will transplant
our seedlings. That means that by this weekend we will have
already started any seeds that indicate starting dates nine
weeks and higher.
- For the
remainder of your seeds secure them together in their
respective groups with a rubber band.
- For each
group attach a sticky note with the date of the weekend they
need to be started.
- Place
the packets front-to-back, in order by starting date, in a
small box.
- Each
weekend remove the packets at the front of the box for
starting. Next weekend's seeds are now at the front and
awaiting your return in seven days.
Paper Or
Plastic?
Bagworms are evident when you see those funny little brown
bags hanging from Junipers and many other trees and shrubs. It's
actually the bagworm eggs that are over-wintering in those
sacks. In late May and early June, these eggs will hatch and the
very tiny caterpillars start feeding. Start your control
measures now by removing the brown bags and disposing of them.
This is a very effective, chemical-free way to reduce the damage
they might otherwise cause later this year.
Begonias, By Golly...
Savvygardeners who want to have tuberous begonias for
summer-long flowering in pots, beds, or hanging baskets outside
should start the tubers indoors during late February or early
March. Sprout the tubers by placing them, hollow side up, fairly
close together in shallow, well-drained pans. Use a mix of equal
parts perlite, sphagnum, peat moss, and vermiculite; or chopped
sphagnum moss and perlite. This should be kept damp (not soggy)
in a shady window with a temperature in the lower 60s.
Transplant the tubers to pots or baskets when growth starts,
normally within 3 weeks. Place them outside only after all
threat of frost has passed.
Source
Winter Wisdom...
This sudden
return to cold temperatures and snow on the ground have probably
reminded most of you that it is still winter.
Only last week however there were signs all around us that
spring was closing in fast.
Once the thermometer begins to flirt
with the 60’s, most gardeners’ blood begins to thin, and course
more quickly through their veins! In
case you want to jump the gun you might want to read about the
Kansas City area's frost dates in this
week's
Winter Wisdom...
Zoning
Out in KC...
One thing you can count on with this newsletter - we're not
going to make too many assumptions about our readers' gardening
expertise. This is a resource for all gardeners.
That being said you should know a couple of basics about zones
when buying seeds or plants. The most commonly known zone is the
USDA Hardiness Zone that defines a plant's ability to survive
the winters presented by a particular area. We are Zone 5.
Less well
known is American
Horticultural Society's Heat Zone. The AHS has
developed a
Heat Zone Map that categorizes geographic areas by the
average number of days at or above 86º.
We are in Heat Zone 7 (with between 61 and 90 hot days per
year). All catalogs reference the USDA Hardiness Zones and many
have adopted the AHS Heat Zone data as well. Knowing these
numbers is the first best step in growing the right plants.
Finally... "Every
gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle... a
seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud
straining to unfurl. And the
anticipation nurtures our dream." ~
Barbara Winkler, Writer |