Helpful Garden Tips for February

Is it spring yet? Many days in February can feel spring-like. Early wildflowers might appear, and some trees will start to leaf out. But we still might get frost, fog, rain, snow and even hail. It's a transition month: which means change, which means expect variety, in the weather and in our gardens. Enjoy watching the seasonal shifts beginning this month.

Planting

You can transplant most trees, perennials, spring-blooming bulbs and summer flower annuals this month. Plant so that the center of the plant is an inch above the soil level and use a three-inch layer of mulch. Clippings, including leaves and small twigs from your own garden, or even straw works if you don't have ready access to wood chips. Keep mulch several feet away from tree trunks and from the base of roses and other woody shrubs.

In the vegetable garden, it's time to plant asparagus, chives, cilantro, leek, green onion, parsley, potatoes, English peas, radish, spinach, kale and strawberry. You can also transplant cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and beet seedlings. Set out dahlia, gladiolus, lily and canna.

Maintaining

Check your irrigation and make needed repairs for both sprinkler and drip systems before you need them.

Pruning can still be done on berries, grapes, deciduous fruit trees and roses. Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs or trees until they finish blooming. After pruning fruit trees, apply a dormant spray before the buds swell but when the air temperatures are at least 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Products containing copper are used to control some diseases, like peach leaf curl. Products containing oil kill insects and their eggs that over-winter in the cracks and crevices of the tree. Choose a calm day with no imminent rain in the forecast and follow the directions on the container exactly. If you haven't had any pest issues, you don't need to spray.

Earwigs and mollusks are active this month. Opaque bottles placed sideways in the garden bed, small tins with oil or stale beer, or rolled newspapers or cardboard tubes can all be traps. Check them each morning and drop insects in a bucket of soapy water. The chemical control for slugs and snails is iron phosphate, which is not toxic to pets, beneficial insects or people. As always, follow the package instructions.

Weeds give us an ever-ready garden therapy opportunity. Try to remove weeds before they set seeds.

At the end of the month, fertilize deciduous fruit trees. Do not fertilize citrus or avocados yet.

As temperatures warm, watch for early signs of fire blight. Trees and shrubs in the rose and apple family are especially susceptible. It is a fungal disease most active as daytime temperatures rise to the high 70's Fahrenheit. Very early signs are tan or black sap oozing from dead bark when trees start actively growing. Later, blossom and fruit tips die back and look scorched, thus the name.

The best control is to prune out diseased branches. Cut back the dead or dying branches well beyond reddish or brown streaks or patches that appear under the bark in affected wood.

Fire blight is hard to eliminate but most trees can survive minor infections. Avoid over watering or fertilizing affected trees because rapid vigorous growth often increases the infection.

Although the disease can reduce fruit production, it is not harmful to humans, and harvested fruits are safe to eat. Continue to monitor and prune affected branches as signs appear. You can safely fertilize after blossom drop occurs.

Conserving

Watch your native bee nesting box for action this month. Be wary of spraying pesticides/herbicides when bees and native wasps are active. Social defensive wasps have given all wasps a bad reputation, but most wasps are very small, don't sting humans and can be terrific allies in the garden. They can help with pollination, but they also are carnivorous for part of their lives, so they eat insects that cause harm to our plants.

The website insectidentification.org has useful photos and information. Think of how we can form better partnerships with our wild friends. Even small gardens can be sanctuaries for wildlife and humans. Three design principles: scale, balance, and harmony are not only about creating the garden but apply to caring for it as well.

When we walk into a balanced garden, we understand we are not alone in this endeavor and although it may feel like we are in a battle some of the time, it's a war we won't win without our nature friends.

Happy Gardening!

Questions?

Call the Master Gardeners:

Tulare County: (559) 684-3325, Tues & Thurs, 9:30-11:30.

Kings County: (559) 852-2736, Thursday Only, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

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