Though we have had some rain recently, we are still in a severe drought. There are many other things you can do in the next couple of weeks to get your garden ready for planting:
· Plan your garden ahead of time. Remember, it takes at least two hours per week to care for a 20 x 50-foot garden, not including harvesting and planting,
· The best time to prune fruit trees is when they are fully dormant. Pruning allows the tree to direct much needed nutrients to branches so they can bear high quality fruit. Remove dead, diseased, or damaged wood as well as any shoots that are growing straight up or straight down, as neither provides good fruit development. Growth crisscrossing within the center of the tree should be removed as well. A more open tree allows greater light penetration and air circulation, improving fruit quality.
· Spring applications of pesticides should be made on peaches, apples and pears. Correct timing for spraying depends on the stage of development of flowers.
· Weed control is one of the most time-consuming, yet most important, practices in any garden or orchard. Young strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes and tree fruits all suffer if weed growth is uncontrolled. Peach trees, of all the fruit trees, suffer the most from weed competition. Mulching will help control weeds and protect soil moisture.
· What you plant is what you get with potatoes. When you plant a seed-potato (pieces of potato tuber), there is no true seed that may have been cross-pollinated. You can plant different varieties side-by-side in your garden and be confident that each will produce the type of potato expected.
· Don’t plant asparagus crowns too deep. You get better yields when crowns are set at a depth of 5 to 6 inches. Contrary to the standard practices of deep planting and not harvesting for up to three seasons, recent studies show that harvesting shallow-planted asparagus after the first-year boosts yields 40 percent over three years. To extend the asparagus harvest, remove the mulch from only half the bed at first. The sunlight will encourage these plants to sprout more quickly. In two to three weeks, when shoots appear in the mulched half, carefully remove the remaining mulch.
· If your garden is on a hillside, plant across the slope (not up and down) to help hold moisture in the soil and reduce erosion.
· Spinach does not grow well during continually wet weather. If your soil is somewhat heavy, plant on low ridges to provide extra drainage.
· Hardy vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, lettuce and Brussels sprouts, can be transplanted two weeks prior to the average date of the last frost, which is April 15 for our area. Warm season crops, such as tomato, eggplant, pepper and watermelon, should not be planted until all danger of frost is past.
· Greenhouse-grown plants, even hardy varieties, should be acclimated before transplanting to the garden in the early spring to minimize the chance of frost injury.
· A plentiful supply of tomatoes can be had from just two or three plants per family member. Additional plants should be added, if you plan to can sauce or whole
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Brenda Jackson at Murray County Extension, 706-695-3031 or email: bljack@uga.edu.
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