It's that special time of year in the South when the outdoors beckon and nature "teases" with alternating days of gentle warmth and the last vestiges of cold. The daffodils have put on their early show, as well as the forsythia and Bradford pear trees, while the dogwood and azalea are preparing for their stage entrance. We have bleeding heart in our garden which is like the "trumpeter" of Spring .... emerging from the ground and offering it's pink blossoms in what seems like a matter of days... Following closely behind, the hosta starts to emerge from the ground And the Dogwoods prepare to join the azaleas in their floral display Besides the urge to go outside and "play...
There's a window of time here in Georgia in the Spring, a few glorious days when the temperature is perfect, mornings are bright and cool, and the afternoon temperatures linger in the low 70s. We relish this time..... when the pollen assault has subsided, decks and porch furniture have been cleaned and ridded of the pesky allergy inducing substance, and we aren't engulfed in humidity the moment we step outdoors. It's a sweet interlude before late Spring and Summer arrive to remind us that Southern Summers don't play around:) Being a gardener, I love watching established plantings emerge each Spring..... bleeding heart, lantana, hosta etc.........as well as planting new additions. Some I begin in my small greenhouse, while others...
If you followed our blog post at the end of January and planted your seeds then you should be ready for replanting. If you didn’t plant seeds yet and still have a desire, it’s not too late. I planted tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers; various types of each, and all but one yielded multiple seedlings. Once theses seedlings reach 3 - 4 inches it’s time to replant them. I transfer them into a slightly larger pot with the intentions of doing another replant in a month or so. If you desire, you can plant your seedlings directly into your large containers that will hold your plants throughout the growing season. My reasoning for going into smaller containers is two-fold: The smaller pots...
Okay you might think I’m crazy but YES it’s time to think about gardening; even if we’re in the middle of winter. For the serious gardener who wants to get a jump on the crowd and who doesn’t want to pay a high price for well developed plants come April, the time is now. Consider planting some seeds now and you will reap the rewards come spring. A couple things to consider: You need seeds and a starter mix (the little peat starter pods work great). You need space, warmth and light. I happen to be blessed with a greenhouse but I learned early on that producing produce year round was futile. Greenhouse (or hothouse) vegetables just don’t taste the same...
This may seem like an unusual time to blog about gardening since late September is when most of our gardens have seen better days; however don’t be hasty to just yank out all your plants as there are still plenty of valuable goodies to be had. Right now my tomato & pepper plants are producing; although the tomato production has slowed considerably. As the summer rolls into fall my garden gets less direct sunlight here in northwest Georgia, so my tomatoes end up with very “leggy” vines and less fruit. My peppers, however, will keep producing right up until the first frost. We try not to waste anything but more importantly we have found that the fruit our garden produces...
