Tidying Up

For years I have ignored Dennis' many farming magazines and newsletters. I have separated the pages of the newsprint ones to use the sheets to line the garbage cans and for washing windows. Newsprint is wonderful for cleaning glass, leaving a lint- and streak-free finish. Of course, they leave your hands black, but hands are very washable. Just use lots of soap and a soft-bristle nail brush (and/or soak in bleach or lemon water, depending on which smell you want left behind), then use lots of lotion.

Recently, while separating the pages of the Prairie Star, I found a column entitled "Country Living," written by Marie Hoyer. She offers "recipes and reflections." The following two gardening hints come directly from her, which I've put into my words, that I thought would be worth sharing:

#1: start saving egg shells. Crushed, the sharp edges repel snails, slugs, and cutworms. The smell repels deer. They will attract birds (their smellers must be different) to your garden. Birds eat pests (also your peas and berries!). Calcium and other nutrients in the shells will leach into your ground. That calcium helps prevent root rot when incorporated around your veggies. They help balance the pH of acid soil. Add them to your compost pile.

I've been saving them all winter, mainly for my tomato plants, to make stronger stems. I have put them on top of the soil in my houseplants to repel fruit flies. I'm ahead of the game on that score.

#2: About asparagus: don't harvest any for the first two years when establishing a bed. Once the ferns turn yellow in the fall, cut them at ground level. Female plants will produce red berries. Pick those off to prevent them going to seed, and having babies pop up everywhere. (I'm assuming those berries weaken the female plant?) Harvest the third year when spears are 4-7" tall. Cut below the soil surface (2" deep). You may have to harvest every day for six weeks. Stop harvesting after six weeks to allow the plants to rest and prepare for next year's crop. The bed should last 10 to 20 years.

I didn't know about cutting the greens off in the fall. I've been leaving that chore until spring. I've also allowed mine to go to seed, and transplanted (or sold) the little seedlings as they sprout here, and everywhere. I cut mine at soil level, which dulls the knife quickly enough as it is. Below would be difficult with our clay soils, even with it being amended with compost, grass cuttings, and dead leaves. I do feed my row with fertilizer each spring.

Back to my own tidbits. This morning FedEx delivered my improved Meyer lemon tree and the two cranberry bushes I'd ordered. I plan to put one of those cranberries in a hanging basket and one into the ground. The hanging one will get transplanted near the other this fall - if it survives. They're supposed to be quite hardy up here and don't require a bog. The lemon tree will go into a large pot so it can be outside in the summer and be brought inside for the winter. There's one of my projects for later today.

I've been doing yard work. I believe I'm done picking up downed tree branches, at least until the next bout of strong winds. Several branches are caught up high in the trees, and will slowly rain down every time the wind gets carried away (like last Sunday).

I'm also working on clearing the flowerbeds of the accumulated rotted leaves as well as the dead vegetation from the flowers and perennials that froze last fall, killing their beauty. A word of caution: the ticks are already out and active. I found one crawling up my bathroom wall this morning, causing a few panicked moments checking myself for others. Isn't it funny how seeing or thinking about those crawling menaces cause you to get itchy? So now, working under the trees and bushes to clear flowerbeds doesn't seem so attractive, but it still needs to be done. That's one more thing to worry about as we slowly come out of winter and isolating ourselves. You're welcome.

Update on my seedlings: the sweet melon count remains at one, pepita pumpkins and honey bear squash at zero. The delicata squash count went way up, but only because I planted my saved seeds over the top of the purchased seed. I'll plant my other saved squash seeds over the failed pepitas and honey bear squash. Then I'll be contacting the company I purchased from to test their guarantee.

I have taken several cuttings from my ivies, the hoya vine, and several succulents and put them in soil. I hope they'll take root. I planted the remaining philodendron cuttings I rooted in water. I'd foolishly left my onion sets and dahlia tubers in the backseat of the car for several nights when it was still freezing regularly. To test the onion sets, I refilled a window box (I'd killed the herbs in it through lack of watering) with fresh dirt. Then I planted 14 each of the red, white, and yellow onions. They're all coming along just fine. Whew! I planted the tubers in larger saved bedding containers to see if they will also survive my neglect. The Peruvian daffodil bulbs were mushy, so I don't hold out much hope for them. The dahlias tubers were still firm, so there's hope there. They were only planted a few days ago, so no sign of life yet doesn't cause much concern. They've seemed slow to start when planted in the ground in the past, so I'll definitely give them more time.

Dennis brought home my Styrofoam cooler of dahlia tubers and gladiola bulbs a few days ago. I'd stored them in his shop that stays 40° all winter. They'll get planted much later. He'll bring home the garden tractor sometime today, so I should have my garden tilled before next week's column gets written. There's always so much to do every spring, but I love this time of year.