Winter Gardening Chores and Tips

Many simple chores that do not take an exorbitant amount of time outside (it’s too cold), should be getting checked off of your to-do list. What a benefit to have these chores finished when the spring finally arrives. 
If you didn't get around to mulching the beds before, it can still be done if the mulch material is not frozen stiff.  Materials like pine needles, straw, leaves, and evergreen branches can be used to protect small plants. 

Pine Needles as Mulch

Pruning is one of those chores that seems to intimidate the gardener.  I've actually had folks ask if pruning would kill their shrub or rose.  Not likely, if one doesn't get all Edward Scissorhands about it! Mainly, pruning is making judicious cuts on branches that may be too long, or that are rubbing an adjacent branch.  Taking no more than 1/3 of a shrub is recommended to prevent the plant from stress. Pruning dormant trees including fruit trees, and summer or fall flowering shrubs at this time is preferred.

Several types of pruners are available. See some of them here



Some of the shrubs and trees that can take a dormant winter pruning are Crape Myrtle, Pee Gee Hydrangea, Spirea, Butterfly bush, Flowering Plum, and Potentilla. Berry bushes will produce more fruit if pruned to encourage new growth.

Flowering  Plum tree

Potentilla 

Pruning early spring flowering plants like forsythia or azaleas will cut off the buds for this next season. Prune these early flowering plants just after the blooms have faded.  The full season of growing will ensure that next years’ buds are allowed to develop.

Rabbits and voles can damage the bark of shrubs and trees.  So, inspect the trunks around the ground for signs of rodent damage. 

The tube barriers of hardware cloth or plastic needs to be as high up the trunk as a typical snowfall, and buried into the ground an inch or two.  This bark damage can effect the life of the shrub since the bark carries nutrition and water up into the plant.

Severe Moisture Loss of Rhododendron

Water, or rather the lack of water in winter is a problem that some simple maintenance on the part of the garden can eliminate.  Antidesiccants like Wilt-Pruf sprayed onto broadleaf evergreens like rhododendrons, azaleas, or holly can reduce moisture evaporation.  Likewise, if there is a thawing of the ground during the winter, a deep drink from the hose will keep the evergreens hydrated. 
This time of year is a great time to add organic fertilizers to the shrubs.  I use the excuse of a mild winter day to get outside.  Mostly, I apply fertilizer for acid-loving plants  like Espoma Holly-Tone  This fertilizer will not dissolve, but will be used by the microorganisms in the soil once the weather and soils get warmer.  I also like to add Sulfur, a natural element that lowers the pH of the soil -  a condition that hydrangeas like to produce blue blossoms. 

Mop Head Hydrangea

I’ve had many inquiries about the low, or no blooming hydrangea that are certainly a disappointment.  Several things affect hydrangea blooms. Low light, too much shade, and since hydrangeas set buds in the fall, a late freeze or ice event can kill off those buds.  I was even ready to throw out the Ever-Blooming Hydrangeas as a waste of time after two seasons of disappointing performances.  But one thing that remedied my infrequent bloomers was adding Triple Phosphate
The N-P-K of fertilizers indicates the Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium, three key elements for plant growth.  Phosphorous aids in the development of strong root systems, and the production of blooms.  The summer after I applied the Triple Phosphate to the soil at the base of the plants in late winter, I had more blooms that ever before.  Now is a good time to apply Triple Phosphate for summer blooming shrubs. 
These few winter chores of pruning, mulching, and fertilizing your plants now will pay big dividends with shapely shrubs that are full of blooming color. Other tips for winter plant care are in a previous blog, seen here.

Middle Atlantic Chapter American Rhododendron Society

Thanks for letting me add to your to-do list.  Enjoy!

Organic Fertilizers–Part 7–Minerals

The Inorganic Element to Organic Gardening

This final article in the series Organic Fertilizers is focusing on the minerals  that soils and plants need.  Mineral are inorganic, and the process for their use is different from other organic fertilizers. 
Microorganisms will devour the minerals and then, their waste and enzymes they produce make the nutrients available at the roots of plants

Plants need 17 elements for a balanced diet.  Most chemical fertilizers have the three main element of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium.  However, the other 14 listed above – are usually not available to the soil from these products.  If even one element is missing, the garden plants may survive, but they do not thrive. 
Think of these 14 elements as part of a construction site.  The N-P-K is the major structure – the trusses, the floor joists, and the wall studs. The remaining macronutrients, and micronutrients are the nails, and screws that hold the structure together. 
  Ok, so one screw gets omitted.  Most likely the structure won’t fall down.  But if 3 – 4 screws are left out, the structure can get wobbly. And lets face it, if even 10% of the screws are not installed, the whole thing can collapse.  Likewise, the balance of the nutrients available to the plants is critical. If even one element is missing the plant suffers.
As I always remind my readers, have a soil analysis done before adding fertilizers and minerals to the soil.  One, your soil  may be adequate for what your are growing and you do not need to apply anything.   Two, you may spend money on a product that you do not need, and omit the elements you do need.  A soil test is always a smart first step. 
Now, having said all that, here are some mineral products that may be useful in the garden and landscape.
Rock Dust, also called rock powder or stone meal, has an interesting story. An 18th century grist miller named Julius Hensel, noticed, one day that rocks accidently made it into his product. He removed the contaminated product to a back portion of the property.  Soon he realized that this forgotten part of the garden was lush and growing better than other parts.  Over the next years, Hensel documented the crops growth and even spread this rock dust around fruit trees that were wormy.  The trees started to product full, fleshy fruit and the community all wanted this Rock Dust for their crops. The Bread from Stones story by Julius Hensel is available here

Rock Dust remineralizes soil.It can supplement worn out, over worked soils with calcium, iron, phosphorus and potassium.  It increases bacterial activity in the soil and promotes root growth. Rock dust also contains 57 different trace elements and can not burn plants as it is slow release by the microbes. .  The soil is loosened by Rock Dust, and as it breaks down into humus, carbon dioxide is better absorbed from the air and provides better water retention.

http://prorev.com/dust.htm

Epsom Salts is a highly soluble substance that occurs naturally. Because it is soluble, plants can benefit from foliar feeding as well as saturating the soil beneath them.  Magnesium, an element necessary in the chlorophyll of plants, is found in Epsom Salts.  Crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, roses, and peppers need magnesium and Epsom Salts can supplement magnesium

.
Gypsum is a sedimentary mineral found in evaporated beds of other minerals.  Ocean brine and salt domes supply these deposits.  Limestone, and shale can also be mined for gypsum. 

www.usagypsum.com

Gypsum will bring Calcium and Sulfur to plants. It can increase the pH levels of acid soils, and it can reduce Aluminum toxicity in acid soils. Gypsum will not correct soil compaction.  Good organic material like compost will break up hard soils better and  do not work the soil when it is wet.  This can cause air and water to be pushed out and become compacted.


Greensand – is mined from old sea beds.  It is rich in potassium, but also contains phosphorous, magnesium, iron, silica, lime and trace elements.  The U.S mines greensand in New Jersey and can help break up compacted soil.


Rock Phosphate – is a fine powder that breaks down from microbes feeding on it.  Phosphorous is a element that encourages root development in plants.   Phosphorous does not move through the soil readily, and most soils have a residual supply.  Again, here is when I’d recommend a soil analysis before applying phosphorous to the soil. Commercial applications of phosphorous have increased to accommodate crops that are grown for biofuels. And this increase in usage will deplete the reserves in the U.S. in thirty years.  China and Morocco also produce Rock Phosphate, but their reserves will only last 75- 100 years. 


This is algal bloom.  Many Ohio waters are being affected by this excessive growth and it is reducing oxygen levels to the point that fish die-off is apparent.  Grand Lake in St. Mary’s Ohio, as well as Lake Erie are victims of this problem.  As homeowners and farmers apply fertilizers, it is the phosphorous that is the cause.  Since phosphorous  does not move through the soil readily, it is the fertilizers themselves that are pouring into the streams and lakes.  The algae is difficult to control, and agencies and communities are pouring funds into projects that may or may not succeed trying to control the algae bloom.

As with anything, mineral supplements can greatly enhance crops and yields.  While indiscriminate usage can cause major problems in the soil and in the watershed.  Some fertilizer manufacturers are creating products that have no phosphorous due to community restrictions. 

www.farmteam.org/

The soil analysis is, here again, worth checking before any amendments are applied. 
Thanks for following this series on organic fertilizers.  If you have any questions, please ask in the comments form. 

Organic Fertilizers–Part 6–Other Sources

Other Good Organic Fertilizers 

We have looked at the sources of organic fertilizers from Plants, Animals, and Sea Sources.  The alfalfa, corn, cotton and soybean plants offer good safe nutrients to the soil.  The food chain is not impacted by these products since the debris of the stems, stalks, and hulls is used for this organic material.

Manures, blood meal, and bone meal create excellent sources of nutrients. Here again, the materials used here are either remnants of the slaughtering process, or the waste from the animals themselves.
 
The ocean offers kelp, and fish to add to this list of organic fertilizers. Kelp is harvested in such a way that it regrows with a few weeks making this a highly sustainable resource of organic fertilizer.  And the fish industry removes the food portion of the fish, and the scraps are ground and processed into the fish fertilizer we use. 

A few other sources I’d like to bring attention to are great in nutrient values and I'd like to mention them here. 

Comfrey blossoms

Comfrey – Is a  fast growing plant with large leaves and deep roots.  These roots are able to collect nutrients from the soil and make this plant a good source of nutrients.  Livestock feed on comfrey, and the leaves can be used to make liquid fertilizer.  By soaking these leaves for 4-5 weeks, a nutritious and smelly ‘tea’  is created.  This liquid fertilizer can be used around the garden once it is diluted 15:1.
The comfrey leaves can also be used as a compost activator. They quickly breaking down to a thick black liquid. The comfrey roots are high in potassium, and the leaves are high in nitrogen.

Bonfire Ash

Bonfire Ash – is the remains of wood.  It is alkaline (pH higher than 7) and has lots of minerals like potassium and calcium.  Fireplace ash can be spread around the garden, and tilled into the soil. 

Nettles

 Nettles – are Prickly. Using gloves to harvest these leaves is essential.  Once the fresh, young stems are gathered, crush them and soak in a covered container for 3-4 weeks.  Nettle ‘tea’ should be diluted one part tea to 10 parts water.  Use a a foliar spray or douse soil around the garden.  The nettles are a good source of nitrogen.  Since this is a weed, it can be cut twice a season for an endless source of nutrient.  Studies have show that even manure of cattle who have a diet of nettles is more nutritious.

Buckwheat as cover crop - OSU

Cover crops, or Green Manures – This practice of covering the garden with a crop works if you have a nice sized vegetable garden.  The sowing of rye grass or clover in the fall is going to add nutrients to the soil when, in spring, this material is tilled into the garden to decompose.Some plants in the legume family increase nitrogen in the soil as well.  Cover crops can reduce weeds by shading the weed seed from germinating. The nutrients this ‘crop’ returns to the soil when tilled in is benefitting the micro-organisms as organic matter that is decomposing.


This return of nutrients to the soil from these sources is often overlooked, but hopefully, we can try some of these in our own space.


Have you used nettles or comfrey?  Wood ashes?  Do you plant a cover crop?  What plant have you found to be beneficial?  Let us know.  Thanks.