I WORRY about my plants!

We've had a couple of shocker "arctic blast" winter storms here in the Pacific NorthWest this winter. I just heard last night that this is already the 15th snowiest winter since they began recording 130+ years ago, and there is a high chance of more snow before the winter is out!

So what to do to protect my plants? I get lots of questions about this too, so I know lots of you are worried about your plants too!

First, don't worry about bulbs that are emerging already. They will be fine. In fact, its quite encouraging to know that there is activity under there! Most bulbs need the freeze to perform well.  Its probably too late to plant any Spring bulbs though (they need planted before the ground freezes in the fall) but there are plenty of summer bulbs that you can plant as soon as the ground thaws and warms up a little - my favorites are Gladiolus - I have a gorgeous lime green Glad that is just amazing. Cant remember the name right now but will post it later. 

Second, what to do about winter damage? Yes if something is broken from ice or snow damage, you need to prune it off, but restrain yourself from carrying on. Now is not the time for Spring pruning, which pushes many plants out of dormancy, particularly roses. Dormancy protects your plants from winter damage, so its important not to mess with it. 

If you have particular plants that are borderline hardy in your area, you can mound leaves or compost over them to protect them during the winter. In the spring, once the ground thaws, clear it back. 

That brings me to my next "confession" - I leave a lot of my fall cleanup until the Spring! This protects plants and provides shelter and food for beneficial insects and birds, so it can be a good thing. I do take care to pick up any leaves or debris from plants that tend towards fungal problems - like roses for example, as the spores overwinter in the leaves and are released in the Spring when the warm rains come, so the more you pick up the better. Also on that note, adding a thick layer of compost early in the Spring will help to smother the fungal spores before they launch into the air so I usually spread compost (or bark chips) in late winter/early Spring and I dont (knock on wood) have a problem with black spot on my organically raised roses. 

These simple tips can help you relax and stop worrying about your plants this winter! Enjoy!

I have little patience!~

Oh how I am dreaming of Spring! We had another load of snow this morning - yuck!

As some of you know, I am an Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener - and I just LOVE to garden! So I am very impatient in winter, stomping around the yard in my jcket and hat, plotting new garden beds, new paths, moving plants (which drives dear hubby crazy by the way!) and just generally getting very impatient for decent weather!

To fuel my impatience are the stacks of lovely glossy seed and plant catalogs that have been filling my mailbox these past few weeks. I lovingly pore over each page, marking nearly all and figuring out where to add more garden to fit them in! Of course, I'll end up ordering a select few only, but its nice to dream!

I am so excited about my latest purchase, from CraigsList (of course!) - a small 6x8 greenhouse! Yay! Its a wood and perspex one, just the right height, although I can already tell it may need an extension! Despite booking a trailer from uhaul that should have fitted it, I ended up having to take it to peices and reassemble it, and a few peices were broken in transit, but yesterday it was put back together and looks amazing. I will post pics soon!

I want to start seeds this year with a soil blocker - used in Europe, they are really just coming on the market here in the US and we are sourcing them for the Australasian College's store, the Apothecary Shoppe (http://www.apothecary-shoppe.com) so as soon as we get them in, I'll make a demo video for you all. 

I had a great Master Gardener class this past week on Organic Gardening - right up my alley and reinforced that I am using the right approach to my garden. 

The class reminded me though that my approach to organic is a little different to the USDA. I take a low input sustainable approach to gardening - I try to make or recycle as much as possible. Hence the second hand greenhouse, home made compost, and seed swaps. So look for lots of new tips this year as I get this blog humming!