All Mushrooms Are Edible… But Some Mushrooms Are Only Edible Once!
Yes, Spring is here and I’m so excited I wet my plants. Sorry I know you’ve heard this line before but it always makes me laugh and it is in fond memory of a dear friend and I just can’t help myself. This last week has been a flurry of events and forgive my pun, the flurry was a surprise to say the least but that is March for you. In like a Lion out like a Lamb, I guess that remains to be seen it’s been a fairly mild start other than the rather chilly nights this last Monday and Tuesday the rest of the week all looks good right till the end of the month. Thursday is the actual first day of spring, the spring equinox, day and night times being an equal 12 hours.
St. Patrick’s Day was Monday and we had a full eclipse of the moon and a blood moon as well last weekend. It may have cleared enough to be seen here however it was way past my bedtime. More signs of Spring are rapidly developing I have Tulips and Daffodil growing rapidly in several places in my yard no buds on any trees or bushes yet but that won’t take much longer.
The sun shining on the greenhouse causes the temperature to rise well into the 80s and I love it! Many seeds are now started and if you are are growing your own it is time to start plants like Peppers, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Tomatoes and most flowers. It is still too early to do any of the Squash family or Cucumber. Use a sterile potting soil containing Mycorrhiza this a natural and organic protective fungi that will strengthen and protect all your seedlings and plants once transplanted from harmful fungi, it will enhance the soil structure, provide water and nutrients that it gathers from the soil. It also improves the PH balance in your soil and minimizes the amount of fertilizers needed to grow a healthy plant. It colonizes to the root of a live plant’s roots and will survive over winter. It remains with the plant when you transplant it from a seed tray to your garden so it is prudent to use as your potting soil choice. You can also add this medium when you’r planting or dividing up the perennials that are already growing in your yard and will work its magic there as well.
It is soon time to do spring planting in the yard and dividing the perennials that have grown too big for the space they inhabit. If the soil is workable then you can start. If you intend on adding some perennial flowering plants or shrubs start looking now if you have something specific you want. The best always seem to go first and fast especially the Lily even if it should have been planted in the fall. Be sure to select plump healthy looking bulbs and they should be planted 3 times deeper than the depth of the bulb. Irises can be planted too at this time but make sure the Rhizomes are above the ground level or they will not bloom. Many types of root plants like Astilbe, Blue Bells, Acanthus, Dahlia and Clematis to mention a few will benefit by being planted now.
Now let’s look at that lawn. It is a nice thing to have but there are draw backs. It is labor intensive and uses more water than it deserves. If you are thinking about more garden space or a decorative display of shrubs, perennials and flowers you may want to cut back on the lawn space. The worse thing you can do at this time is get out there and start raking it. Yeah! Now is the time to give it some fertilizer especially Nitrogen. Do use a good spring balance that should be available in most garden depots and hardware stores. There are many organic options available and any fertilizer should be spread with a proper spreader to prevent an uneven application that can burn your lawn. Raking and burning what looks like dead lawn is actually not good as this is vital humus your lawn needs. It also is not the time to aerate the lawn that should be done in June. You might want to think of adding Diatomaceous Earth to the fertilizer mix as it will organically rid your lawn of hard shelled pests, ants and spiders. If your lawn has been showing poor growth in some areas do a soil PH balance and adjust as needed. Most hedges and conifer trees are acidic and the lawn may need an application of lime to be PH balanced. A well tended healthy lawn will be a greater aide to controlling weeds like Dandelions and Clovers than any noxious chemical you can apply. I myself squint my eyes with my lawn and when its cut and a solid green Im happy.
Happy Gardening!
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567
sam1nason@gmail.com
