Groundhog day and the winter blue's

Well according to Phil it's 6 weeks till spring.  Well if he says so.  Here is what I see outside today:

 My Greenhouse is hiding in snow.  Those straight panels by the way are 5' tall.  If I stand next to the greenhouse right now they look 3' tall.

 Just look at all that snow on the roof.  Our brand new roof too.

Take a look at the icicles.  That is all from 2 days worth of snow and sleet and rain.

Freezing temps and ice covered snow means the kids don't have school and yet another day with them stuck inside home with me.  So to beet the winter blues it's craft time.

 Blank paper, crayons, pencils, and cookie cutters make for interesting pictures.  

Aiden's hard at work trying to make a valentines card.  

And finally for the rest of you like me dealing with all this crazy snow and ice.  Here is a nice toasty fire you can pretend to curl up too.  

Monthly Gardening Tips 2nd Edition

Edition #2 of Monthly Gardening Tips

Don't forget what we talked about last month

February:

Activities continued from last month.
1 - Order seeds from Catalogs
          - Didn't get to it last month?  Thats ok you still have time.  Try to get them ordered by the end of this month that way you can start planting them.

2 - Check winter damage from storms, frost and pests.
          - I know this was last months activity as well but guess what.  Up here in NY we have gotten more snow and may still get more.  So this is just one of those activities that will need to be repeated.

3 - Prune dormant trees and vines.
         - Yup another one that is repeated.  Mainly cause if you couldn't (like me) get out there last month try to this month.  If snow still covers your yard like mine wait...just don't wait too long.

4 - Water, Dig, and Feed emerging Perennials, bulbs
         - Granted this step may be skipped for another month or so for some of us but it is a step that if can be performed should be.  If you can dig in the dirt now....as in it is not a frozen brown rock like mine then do whats called turning the garden.  Add in some organic matter or compost and just turn the dirt over.  Basically this loosens the soil up and allows the organic matter to get in deep.  Water and feed (if you use fertillizer) any perennials and bulbs that may be starting to pop up.  Here in NY yet another step to be done in another month....I can't even see grass.  Any plants that you have that are out on your porch or deck you may want to water them though.  Since these guys were out all winter they may not have been growing but they do still need water.  Not much grant you but twice this month would be good.

5 - Cover Rhubarb and Asparagus with manure or compost
          - Again if you can see them make sure these guys have a good layer of compost on top.  This will help them get going better once they get the word from mother nature to wake back up.

6 - Plant bare root items
          - If you couldn't last month and can now....do this.  As soon as you can dig in the ground get this done for the best results.

7 - TIME TO START PLANTING:
          - In flats or other seed starting trays it is finally time to start some of your vegetables.  Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale, and Lettuce.  These are good ones to start now.  Again knowing your zone is where this part comes in handy.  For a Medium season we grow from April-October...or there abouts  So February marks the 8 week mark.  If you look at the back of seed packets and  in the description it says may be started indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost then that is this month.  If it is 4-6 weeks you can still start them now but you need to understand that once those seedlings are 4-6 weeks old they will begin to need more room.  You don't want to transplant them too many times so be careful.
          - Certain flowers can also be started this month in flats or seed starting trays.  Perennials like Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Columbine, Delphinium, Foxglove, Hollyhock, Lupine, Lavender, Penstemon, Poppy, Rudbeckia, Salvia, Statice, and Yarrow are good ones to start.

So get those seed starting items together and lets get to planting.  Until next month.....