February 2005

Edible

Plant garlic cloves in a small pot. Plant cloves two to three inches deep with points up. Sprouts can be snipped to use as a seasoning.

Start seeds of cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli indoors for transplanting in the garden later this spring.

Grow lettuce this spring. Lettuce is easy to grow and comes in a variety of colors and shapes. Lettuce grows best at temperatures of 60° to 70°F. Plant in the spring as soon as the soil can be worked. Do two or three plantings 10 to 15 days apart to provide a continuous supply. Lettuce will become bitter at higher temperatures. There are five kinds of lettuce.

Leaf Lettuce is the lettuce of choice for home gardens. Leaf lettuce will mature in 50 to 60 days, but can be picked at almost any stage of growth. Black Seeded Simpson is an early maturing variety. Plant it among your perennials to add bright green patches of color to your early season landscape.

Heading or Crisphead is the variety you will most often see in the produce section of the grocery store. Crisphead varieties are very difficult to grow in our area because they are very sensitive to heat. They have a nice crunch, but practically no flavor.

Cos or Romaine varieties form an erect, elongated head. Romaine lettuce is great in salads and sandwiches.

Stem Lettuce develops an enlarged seedstalk and is used in creamed, stewed and Chinese dishes.

Recommended Varieties:

• Green Leaf
• Black-seeded Simpson (earliest to harvest)
• Grand Rapids (frilly edges; good for coldframes, greenhouse, garden)
• Oak Leaf (resistant to tip burn; good for hot weather)
• Red Leaf
• Red Fire (ruffles with red edge; slow to bolt)
• Red Sails (slowest bolting red leaf lettuce)
• Ruby (darkest red of all; resistant to tipburn)
• Cos or Romaine
• Cimmaron (unique, dark red leaf, Cos type)
• Green Towers (early; dark green, large leaves)
• Paris Island (long-standing)
• Heading or Crisphead
• Great Lakes (standard, holds well in warm weather)
• Iceburg (medium, size, tender hearts; leaf edges tinged light brown)
• Ithaca (tolerates heat; resists bitterness; slow to bolt)
• Stem or Asparagus
• Celtuce

Ornamental

Prune deciduous trees and shrubs now while the plants are dormant. You may want to delay pruning maples, elms and birches, because they tend to bleed in the spring. Although the dripping sap is unsightly, it will not harm the tree. Prune back to a bud or a branch. When cutting back to a bud, make sure the bud is facing outward. This will cause new growth to grow to the outside of the plant. Leave pruning wounds unpainted. Painting does not prevent decay or bleeding. Save the branches from pruning to use as stakes in the garden.

Start summer bulbs indoors. Lillies, caladiums, elephant ears, dahlias and tuberous begonias can be planted in six-inch pots. Plant the bulbs two to three inches deep. Plant outside after danger from frost is past. Caladiums also make colorful houseplants. Keep plants growing in bright sunlight. Cut the leaves back periodically to promote new growth.

Rejuvenate shrubs by cutting them back to four to six inches high. Spirea, honeysuckle and privet are candidates for rejuvenation.

Force spirea, dogwood, cherry, pussy willow, forsythia, flowering quince into flower. Cut branches which have plump buds. With a sharp knife, split the cut end one to four inches. Place cut branches in containers of warm water and recut one inch from base of stem. It will take one to eight weeks for blossoms to open. The closer to their natural bloom time you cut the branches, the sooner they will bloom.

Repot root-bound houseplants. Plant them into a pot that is two to three inches more in diameter than the original container.