Spring is near, ready to plant?

Spring is only 35 days away. The north wind of winter still blows, but it is not quite as harsh. The cold days of the month before spring are numbered. A few frogs are croaking down by the creek-bank as they herald the upcoming season of spring. The lawn still has a brownish tint but also a slight tint of green is beginning to peek through as the tiny spikes of green wild onions. There are a few spikes of jonquil, crocus, hyacinth and leaves of violets showing themselves in the winter soil.

Saint Matthias’ Day is another sign of coming of spring. Saint Matthias’ Day will be celebrated on Monday, Feb. 24. One thing special about his day is it is said that the sap begins to rise in the sleeping oaks, maples, and poplars, to the trunks and limbs of these majestic tress to a journey to a new season of green and growth.

The lawn of 2020 needs to be awakened. As sap begins its journey from roots to trunks and limbs of trees, the sleeping lawn needs to be awakened with an application of lawn food or fertilizer for a new season of growth. Never use 10-10-10 fertilizers on lawns, but use a specially formulated fertilizer designed just for lawns. If you fertilize during the remainder of the month of February, there is a great chance of winter snow that will help dissolve the fertilizer and deliver it down to the roots instead of washing it away. Lime in pellet form can now be applied for a slow release effect. Your local hardware or seed store can help you select the right fertilizer for your lawn.

Thunder in winter can be a calling card for snow. Can it thunder in winter? Yes it can and it also can thunder during a snowstorm depending on if the temperatures aloft are warmer than those on the ground. My grandma in Northampton County always said thunder in winter was a sure sign of snow in days ahead. Her prediction was if it thundered five times it would snow in five days. The number of times it thundered could also indicated how many inches would fall. Another interesting snow fact is when it is very cold aloft, snow will fall and melt before it reaches the ground. For snow to stick temperatures must be cold on the ground.

Keeping your vehicle’s windshield clean and clear of ice and snow. When you fill your vehicle’s windshield washer fluid reservoir during the winter months, use a gallon of fluid that has de-icer and cleaner to help clean and keep ice off the windshield. Keep a scraper to remove the ice and snow. A brush at the other end of the scraper comes in very handy for a dry snow. A can of de-icer is a great item to keep in the back seat.

Before driving in ice or snow, let your car’s defroster help in clearing the windshield. Don’t just clean the front windshield but safely clear side and rear windows before leaving the driveway. Keep windshield washer filled all winter long.

Preparing for a spring and summer of floor o’clocks. Most hardwares, seed shops, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Walmart already have racks of seeds or flowers and vegetables. Many supermarkets have racks of seeds. It doesn’t hurt anything to stock up on seed packets. Just keep all of them in a cool, dry place in a box and label the box so you will know what you have bought and where you placed them.

Introducing your garden plot to a great plant food. When it comes to planting and transplanting as well as growing flowers and vegetables, the right nutrients are very important! We are talking about feeding here and not just applying fertilizer whether chemical or organic.

With this in mind, we would like to present to your garden a product named “Dr. Earth Throw and Grow” all purpose plant food that can be purchased at Home Depot in three-pound bags. A little of this finely pelletized plant food goes a long way. A bag costs about $6 and one bag will cover 120 one gallon plants or two 4×8 foot beds or 90 square feet.

We like it because it comes in recyclable plastic bags and another feature is all you have to do is cut a two- or three-inch split in the top and pour into the furrow and mix into the furrow with a hoe blade, plant seeds and cover with soil. This plant food quickly feeds all types of flowers and vegetables. It can be applied as a side dressing and believe us, a little goes a long way. Learn more about Dr. Earth at www.DrEarth.com. This is a product that produces results, You can tell by the “smell” it is effective.

Keeping food in feeders and water in the birdbaths. Birds are very much active in winter and constantly in need of food. You can help them by keeping feeders filled with food and keeping fresh water in the birdbaths. Every day when temperatures rise above freezing, empty ice from the birdbath and fill with fresh water.

February 2020 has an extra day. The year of 2020 is a leap year and this means February has an extra day which will be Saturday, Feb. 29.

A new seed catalog you can order. A new catalog of seed is presented in 2020 for early spring and it is named, “Seeds N Such.” They have vegetables and flowers of all varieties. If you order more than 20 packets, the packets cost $1.99 each. No packet is more than $2.79. Shipping on orders is only $2.99 per order and zero sales tax. You can request a free catalog from Seed N Such, P.O Box 1, Graniteville, South Carolina 29829-0001. This catalog features plenty of herbs, greens, and tomato varieties.

Hoe Hoe Hoedown: “Bathtub Diagnosis”- During a visit to a mental facility, a visitor asked a director what qualified a patient to be admitted.

“Well,” said the director, “we fill up the bathtub, then offer a tablespoon, a cup, and bucket, and then ask the patient to empty the tub.”

“Oh, I understand,” said the visitor, “A sane person would use the bucket because it is the biggest.”

“No,” said the director, “a sane person would pull the plug. Now, would you like a bed near the window?”

Fun Pun: To understand life, look backward. To live life, look forward.

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