Rohde's
Green Sense

Rohde's February 2012 Organic Gardening Calendar

1. PREFACE
2. VEGETABLES
3. HERBS
4. FLOWERS
5. ORNAMENTAL_GRASSES
6. TREES_SHRUBS_VINES
7. LAWN_TURF_GRASSES_GROUND_COVERS
8. GENERAL_PESTS_DISEASES
9. OTHER_THINGS_TO_DO_THIS_MONTH

 

We are in USDA Cold Hardiness Zone 8a with an annual minimum temperature of 15 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit,
and in Texas AgriLife Extension Service District 4 (East Region) - North (Dallas): http://urbansolutionscenter.tamu.edu/
Our soil is predominantly blackland prairie clay or "Houston Black" officially with areas of sandy Cross Timber soils north, east, and through parts of Ft Worth's Tarrant County. (ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/TX/factsheets/fact_houstonsoil.pdf)

 

PREFACE

It's time for the FIRST MAJOR FERTILIZATION OF THE YEAR. Other times will be in June and September.

The main gardening jobs you must do this month is to finish pruning and to fertilize your lawn and landscape. Better than fertilizing, is to have Rohde's aerate and top dress your lawn with compost.

February is the start of the vegetable and flower planting season for the new year.

Many trees, bushes, and other plants will start to show signs of life with new growth as they come out of winter dormancy.

You need to pick out and start planting your seeds and transplants either indoors or outdoors as is appropriate. Come by Rohde's for your plants and seeds that have been chosen for success in our black clay and zone 8a weather conditions.

Be ready to put out nematodes and Trichogramma wasps, and to spray dormant oil if needed. See "General Pest and Disease" below.

 

VEGETABLES & ANNUAL FRUITS

Nows the time plant the following vegetables:

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), (crowns)

Beets (Beta vulgaris)

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis), plants

Brussels Sprouts (Brassica oleracea)

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), plants

Cabbage, Chinese (Brassica pekinensis)

Carrot (Daucus carota var. sativus)

Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis), plants

Chard, Swiss (Beta vulgaris var. cicla)

Collards (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)

Garlic (Allium sativum)

Tyfon Or Holland Greens (hybrid of Chinese cabbage x stubble turnip)

Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)

Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes)

Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum ), seeds

Lettuce, Butterhead (Lactuca sativa)

Lettuce, Cos or Romaine (Lactuca sativa)

Lettuce, Head (Lactuca sativa)

Lettuce, Leaf (Lactuca sativa)

Mustard (greens) (Brassica juncea)

Onion, Bulbing (Allium cepa) Seeds/Transplants for this year bulbs

Onion, Bunching [Scallions] (Allium cepa) Seed/plants for scallions this year

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

Peas, Edible-Podded (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon)

Peas, English (Pisum sativum)

Potato, Irish (Solanum tuberosum), seed

Radish (Raphanus sativus)

Rutabaga (Brassica napus var. napobrassica)

Salsify (Tragopogon pratensis)

Shallots (Allium cepa var. aggregatum) (like onions)

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)

Turnip (Brassica rapa var. rapifera)

Start seeds indoors or in a greenhouse: Tomato, Pepper and Eggplant.

Cold weather covers: Protect tender and newly planted flowers and vegetables. We carry floating bed covers for sale, or use old sheets, blankets, tarps, or buy or make cold frames or "hoop" houses. With floating row covers (floating means just laying on the plants) you are looking for something that breathes if you have to use it for more than a night or so. This generally means no plastics. Plastics can be used on cold frames and hoop houses f it doesn't touch the plants. A sealed clear plastic cover, while letting sunlight in during the day, can make the inside colder than the night air. On clear, cloudless nights, radiant heat can be sucked into space from under the plastic and bring the temperature down to freezing even if the ambient air is above freezing. So let the plants breath.

Fertilize: Keep your cool season plants well fertilized. Fertilize every 3-4 weeks on established vegetables. Apply water-soluble fertilizer to get new plants off to a fast start. We carry several different types, combinations, sizes, and prices of organic liquid fertilizers. Green Sense Compost Tea, Fish Solubles, Kelp Extract, Fish & Kelp, Blackstrap Molasses, and Foliar Juice, a combination of all of the fore mentioned flavors. Strong plants can deal with freezing weather better. Green Sense Kelp Extract. Kelp contains many micronutrients that can help plants make it through the winter in their best shape.

 

HERBS

You can still plant perennial and cool season herbs, but most small transplants will need protection from freezes.

March and April will be a better month for planting most warm season annual herbs.

 

FLOWERS

All Perennials can be planted anytime. Fall and Winter is the best time for transplanting and dividing.

 

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES

You can still plant potted Ornamental Grasses as with other perennial plants.

Cut back grasses to short clumps in early spring. You can divide clumps every three years or so as some will do better, as the centers die while the grass grows outward. You usually do this while the grass is still dormant like you would prune most plants, but some sources suggest dividing just as the grass breaks dormancy and starts greening or even while they are actively growing. Regardless, do so by spring to give the grass roots time to recover before the extremes of the coming summer and winter.

 

TREES, SHRUBS, & VINES

Planting:

Finish transplanting of trees and shrubs early this month, while they are still dormant. Some may start growing this month.

Ask about our delivery, planting, and warranties. Don't forget the soil amendments; Green Sense Kelp Extracts for root stimulation, Green Sense Mycor granules to inoculate plants with mycorrhizae fungi, both bulk and bagged compost, well composted bagged manures, and a variety of mulches.

We have fruit trees and berry vines in now. Come in soon for best selections. You can plant them now also. Common fruit trees are not native to black clay soils, so they need special treatment. They have specific pruning requirements and pest controls for best growth and productivity. This should be planned for before planting using a planting and pruning guide for your trees. Rohde's has books on growing fruit trees that will help you pick out and maintain your trees properly.

Pruning:

Do any pruning early this month before the plants come out of winter dormancy. Plants will start budding and sprouting new leaves starting this month.

You must finish pruning Oaks trees that are susceptible to Oak Wilt disease now before they bud out. Oak Wilt disease is carried by Sap Beetles contaminated with fungal spores acquired from other infective trees that are attracted to the smell of fresh sap oozing out of the saw wounds. The spores germinate in fresh sap. It is very important to apply Rohde's Green Sense Tree Goop to the wounds immediately and to insure it stays on for 2 days till the wound's sap hardens. Sap Beetles are not attracted to dry sap and the fungal spores probably can't germinate in dry sap. Green Sense Tree Goop is a powder you mix with water to a paste. It contains rock phosphate and dairy manure for nutrients to help the wound heal quicker, and Diatomaceous Earth to help keep insects away from the wound. The cold weather of January and February and very hot weather of August may lessen the presence of the sap beetles, but weather changes quickly around here, so always cover the wounds with Tree Goop.

When pruning, remove dead, damaged, troublesome, or diseased branches. You also can prune to shape trees and shrubs.

Leave lower branches on newly planted trees for a few years to help the tree grow. Most trees will self prune their lower limbs as they are shaded if they don't bother you.

Most sources suggest there is no need to prune crape myrtles to remove the seed heads. There is especially, no need for the severe practice of "topping" crape myrtles, where all of the branches are cut way back in an attempt to control their shape and size. Outside of dead branches or "in-the-way" branches, try not to prune anything any larger than pencil size.

Do not prune the knees from bald cypress trees that stick out of the ground around the trunk. They are part of the root system. Instead change the root zone areas from grass to ground cover or mulch.

Do not prune cold-tender plants such as: oleander, pittosporum, and palms. If the top parts freeze, it can still protect the ground level crown from dying. Wait to prune till after the last freeze.

Reshape shrubs including summer flowering shrubs and vines with light pruning as needed, but do not prune spring-flowering shrubs or vines, like Indian hawthorn, mountain laurel, flowering peach, climbing roses, althea, etc, until after they bloom. Prune evergreen shrubs by cutting out entire limbs to retain natural form instead of shearing to a ball or box shape. Nandinas can be pruned this way by removing taller canes at the ground.

Different fruit trees need specific pruning to encourage strong limbs and control the amount of fruit and where the fruit grows on each limb. Consult one of the books we carry on growing fruit and nut trees.

Remove mistletoe from tree limbs, while it is still young (less than one year old), even if it means removing the entire branch. This may also reduce the spread of mistletoe as it takes 2 or 3 years to fruit. Cut small limbs at least 12 inches below the mistletoe. Cut the mistletoe off flush on large limbs or the trunk to avoid damaging the tree more. Don't use herbicides like Round-Up as they will hurt the tree. Don't kill yourself pruning high limbs. Call professionals or live with it. What may work on the larger limbs and trunks is to tightly cover the pruned mistletoe spot with black plastic to block off sunlight. May have to do this for 1 or 2 years. Mistletoe doesn't seem to affect Cedar and Juniper trees. It rarely affects Pecan, Live Oak and Magnolia trees, but does commonly affect Water oak, Spanish oak, Elm trees and Hackberries. Keeping the trees as health as possible will lessen the effects of this parasite.

Fertilize:

It's time for the FIRST MAJOR FERTILIZATION OF THE YEAR. Other times will be in June and September. Green Sense All Purpose Lawn & Garden Fertilizer is the perfect choice. Applying a different mineral supplement like Lava sand, Humate, or Sul-Po-Mag each time you fertilize is recommended.

Other jobs:

Start spray program for fruit and nut trees. See Howard Garrett's Fruit and Pecan Tree Organic Guide, http://www.dirtdoctor.com/organic/garden/view_question/id/2611/

Roses:

As with the rest of your yard, fertilize roses this month also. Follow directions on the bag. Mix into the soil around the plants, best you can.

This month is when you can do major pruning your roses may need. Shrub rose are normally pruned around Valentine Day.

You can plant potted rose bushes, now or anytime. Rohde's will have a large selection of antique and Earthkind roses coming in this month. Come by for best selection. Roses demand a well prepared bed, lots of sun, and good air circulation. Water in good. Soak with Green Sense Kelp Extract for root stimulating. Mulch well. Make sure the roots stay moist but not wet.

 

LAWN, TURF GRASSES & GROUND COVERS

Plant:

You can still plant groundcovers and borders. If you find you can't grow grass under your trees, plant some of the many ground covers Rohde's sells. Don't plant it right up against trees to keep the root flare exposed.

This last summer's heat has killed part of all of many St. Augustine lawns. Wait another month or two for the ground to warm for seeding. But you can sod your lawn now. Sodding is the best control of weeds also, if your St Augustine has died out. Call Rohde's to help you with this. Consider Zoysia grass for replacement. It's slower spreading, not quite as shade tolerant, but more resistant to fungal disease and the cold. More important, Zoysia can go brown and dormant in the summer while St. Augustine goes brown and dead. Mixing grasses is ok too.

If you are going too re-sod your lawn, be sure to have at least 25% compost incorporated into the top 6 inches of your soil. This is the best thing you can do to make your lawn drought tolerant. (See below in "Fertilizing")

Whatever you do, don't leave the soil bare. At least cover it with compost.

Fertilizing:

This month or March is time for the FIRST MAJOR FERTILIZATION OF THE YEAR. Other times will be in June, September, and December. Green Sense All Purpose Lawn & Garden Fertilizer is the perfect choice. It takes about three months for soil microbes to break down any organic compost or fertilizer into a form plants can use. We recommend fertilizing every three months. This would ensure a constant level of nutrients in the soil.

There's research showing that pecan trees, use stored nitrogen from the prior year for the current years spring growth. This depletion of stored nitrogen also triggers the absorption of replacement nitrogen.
See the article http://www.noble.org/Ag/Soils/PecanFertilization/index.html, "Pecan Fertilization Facts" by Charles Rohla, from the Samual Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore Oklahoma in their monthly "Ag News and Views".
If you extend the possibility that Pecan trees aren't the only plants doing this, that may be most perennial trees, bushes, bulbs, corms, or anything that go dormant over the winter may also do this. This replacement comes from your fall / winter, and spring fertilizing.

You can also apply dry molasses and Green Sense Humate to jump start the life in your soil, and get your lawn going a little faster.

Watering, Mowing:

As with watering the vegetable garden, water the lawn when needed Poke a finger or stick in the ground to see if the ground is dry before watering. It's better to water in the morning. Letting the grass go a little dry is better. Water plants and turf before freezes if they are dry. Hydrated plants are hardier, especially evergreen plants. Moist soil also holds more of the daytime warmth.

If you already have cool-season weeds established, corn gluten meal will not have an effect on them, but mowing before they go to seed will help eliminate many of them, particularly as it warms up. So mowing every couple of weeks may be needed even now.

Trim or mow groundcover beds before spring growth begins. This will even them up and clean them up. Remove dead and damaged parts or plants and replace.

Pests, Disease, & Weeds:

It's may be too cold for Green Sense 8% Vinegar to work it's best on weeds, but used on a warm day with pulling and mowing can control them until the lawn comes in.

Corn gluten meal (CGM): CGM has about 5 different compounds that inhibit the formation of the roots of germinating seeds. They prevent cell division in the root tip. The seeds sprout, but don't grow a root. It's best to apply it before the weed seeds germinate, when the soil is somewhat dry, and when it will not rain for 5-7 days. Apply at 20 pounds per 1000 square feet of lawn or garden. A little more can work better, but twice as much wont work twice as well. Water the CGM in with a quarter inch of water. You know how long to water for a quarter inch because you measured your sprinkler output last summer so you wouldn't waste water. Too much watering, or the soil being too wet to start with, could allow the seeds to overcome the inhibitors and grow roots. A light rain within the week of application could do the watering-in for you. The quarter inch watering will help the seeds to germinate and take in the CGM inhibitors. At this point, you need dry conditions for the seeds to dry out or use up their food supply and die. If it rains good within the week, you may be starting over. CGM should be effective for 5 to 6 weeks if it doesn't rain too hard and you have dry periods in between. See http://www.hort.iastate.edu/gluten/, for the professor who discovered this property of CGM, and for more details.

While looking up soil temperatures on the Internet, I found an article on soil temperatures for weed seeds to germinate. With the high cost of Corn Gluten Meal, timing the application is important. Upon further searching, lawn weeds start to germinate at 55 degrees F. End of February through March is the normal recommended time to apply Corn Gluten Meal in the spring, and it appears this is about the time when the soil normally reaches 55 degrees. Other weeds will germinate at warmer temperatures. Checking the soil temperature yourself will allow you to optimize your application. Here is an interesting non-organic web site for weeds with germination info: http://www.weedalert.com/index.html.

So you need warming to 55 degrees soil, not too wet, with no rain for a week to apply your corn gluten meal. Oh! - If you don't buy it from us, don't get Corn Gluten Feed. It's not the same, but it will work somewhat as will Corn Meal. They just don't have the concentration of inhibitors as CGM, and probably not cost effective. Also, CGM contains about 9 to 10 % nitrogen, as it's the protein part of the corn kernel. This makes it a very good fertilizer, so you can weed and feed at the same time. The nitrogen will release slowly over a 3 to 4 month period after application as with most organic fertilizers.

 

GENERAL PESTS & DISEASES

Now's the time to use plant based Dormant Oil like "Organocide "on plants that you had previous insect problems on or are susceptible to scale, spider mites, and other small, stationary or slow moving pests insects. It also works on insect eggs, and on powdery mildew when combined with Green Sense Potassium Bicarbonate. Best time is right before the buds break dormancy, which may happen toward the end of this month. Use on hollies, euonymus, camellias, photinias, roses, and on bark of shade and fruit trees. Spider mites can attack conifers, junipers, arborvitae, and cypress earlier than other plants. There will be brown, thinned interior needles. Some Junipers, roses, and other trees and bushes may be sensitive to Dormant Oils. Read the label and apply correctly. It can do more harm than good if not used properly.

Toward end of February is the time to release Trichogramma wasps, if you had problems with caterpillars, and/or have fruit and nut trees. They lay their eggs inside other insect eggs. The wasp babies then eat the insides of the insert eggs.

The nematode specie we carry is Steinernema feltiae. It is special in that it is active down to 50°F. Others are not. Take advantage of this and apply them when the soil temperature reaches 50°F about 4 inches down in the spring. Use a soil thermometer. Many insects hatch as the soil temperature reaches the 50's in the spring. They help control grub worms, fleas, fire ants, chiggers and other pests. Grub problems are not as common as once thought. Many grubs just feed on dead organic matter rather than plant roots. Some become predatory beetles. Lawn damage may be more likely caused by fungi than by grubs.

Watch for spider mites, mealy bugs, scale and other insects on your houseplants. Rohde's has plant oil based sprays for tender houseplants.

Rohde's carries "Precor", an insect growth regulator, for treating your house for fleas. One ounce bottle will treat 1500 sq ft. We also carry "food grade" diatomaceous earth for ticks, fleas, bed bugs, cockroaches, and many other indoor insects.

Rohde's carriers the full complement of organic pest and disease controls, for both inside and out. Stop by and see.

If you are spraying anything, protect yourself with goggles and at least a NIOSH N95 approved Respirator Dust Mask. This stuff may be organic but it could be hazardous to inhale or sprayed in your eyes. Don't take the chance.

 

OTHER THINGS TO DO THIS MONTH

Now is also a good time to test your soil. Rohde's recommends "Texas Plant & Soil Lab" at 5115 West Monte Cristo Road, Edinburg, Texas 78541-8852, 956-383-0739. They can give you organic recommendations. Having your soil tested now, will let you know what to apply to your lawn and gardens. Organic amendments are usually slow release, so applying now will let it break down to be available in the spring.

This is the last "best time" to have Rohde's help you design and install your landscape and hardscape before the lawn and landscape blooms.

Prepare your old beds and make new ones now before it's time to fill them later this month.

Clean up the yard of leftover leaves and fallen branch, acorns, etc.

Add mulch and/or compost to bare or thin ground. We normally carry plenty of hardwood mulch, cedar mulch, pine needle bails, pecan shell mulch, and Cotton Burr Compost. We also have a manure and plant based mix of bulk compost.

Check out, repair and perform maintenance on lawn equipment and tools before you need them.

Clean out and repair any birdhouses, baths, and feeders. Clean birdhouses with soap and water, inside and out. Scrap out gunk with a putty knife. Wear a mask to not inhale nesting material that might have pests in it. Soak in 10% bleach solution for 20 minutes. Rinse out three times at least and let dry completely. Any remaining bleach will evaporate. Repaint or stain with acrylic products that are labeled as being safe for babies to chew on. Caulk if needed with aquarium safe silicone. Titebond III is one of the strongest wood glues, is waterproof and does pretty well at gap filling. Check hardware for proper attachment

Rohde's has a very good selection of bird feeders, birdhouses, and birdbaths. You can put out different feeders for different seeds, and suet, for particular birds, so the different species don't have to compete with each other. You will get to watch the birds fly between the feeders checking out their choices. Try squirrel feeders. It will keep them out of the bird feeders somewhat, and they can be very entertaining themselves. Squirrel may also help to keep your trees healthy in their feeding on pest and their eggs.

Bird bathes can be heated to keep them from freezing up, and they supply water for animals other than birds. Cats, squirrels, opossums, raccoons, insects will all use them. Keep them clean. Change the water every couple of days. Use a long handle brush to clean out the algae without getting wet. It's best to put bird bathes in open, shady areas to give birds a better chance to see predators and keep cool. Wet birds don't react as quick either. Rocks in the middle of the bath will allow the birds to drink without getting wet, important during the winter. Amazing as it might seem, we carry a nice selection of bird baths of various sizes and types also.

Consider a second birdbath to fill with play sand for birds to "dust" in. This is as popular an activity as bathing is to birds. Change out the sand once a month or so. It's cheap.

We carry an excellent selection of bird food from single seed to mixes, and from single pound purchases to 50 pound bags.