HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY has come and gone. May your shadow be warm and dry for six more weeks, regardless.
With the advent of February, which also signals we are halfway through winter, there are lots of chores to be done, so let’s plow into that job list.
1. Take it to the cleaners. Mid- to late fall and winter so far have conspired to grow slime, moss, algae and grime all over your driveways, patios, stairways, landings, sidewalks and many other concrete or flat rock/brick types of infrastructure, so it’s time to wash them down. Get out the pressure washer (or rent one) and go to town. Clean away the grit and grime of the past nine months.
2. Up on the rooftops. With the weather so mild, it’s a great moss-growing time and you need to look no further than on your roof. This can ruin your shingles, cause leaks and damage your home. So either hire the work out or treat your roof yourself using a powder moss remover. Then check your gutters — fall and winter have probably left a mess in them.
3. Be edgy. February is a wonderful time to make clean edges along your berms, gardens, concrete borders, flower beds, in and around your lawn and sidewalks. Doing this task can really detail and spruce up your yard.
4. Embrace dormancy. Many a fine gardener or quick-study beginner knows the virtues of dormant oil spray. If you own fruit trees, ornamental trees, nut trees and fine woody ornamentals that harbor over-wintering bugs, they should be sprayed with dormant oil spray now. A backpack sprayer is the best implement to use. You want a day of 45 degree or warmer weather, with no moisture. Only use oil that is 96 percent pure or better, and repeat spray again 10 to 14 days later. Never spray when leaves are out or flower buds are “breaking,” so now’s the best time.
5. The old heave-ho. Either get out your welding gloves or buy a pair because with these babies, you can grab thorny plants (i.e. blackberry, species roses). You want to grab the cane with your legs bent and while grasping the vine, stand up. With the ground so wet, out will come the plant. Also, go and visit the nice folks down at the WSU extension office (located in the old section of the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles) and check out a weed-wrench for pulling scotch broom (the noxious weed coordinator leaves them conveniently in the first floor extension office). Now’s the time for pulling that nasty, invasive, obnoxious scotch broom.
6. Oh, sweet pea, won’t you please plant me! The end of February is the ideal time to soak sweet peas and edible peas overnight in a jar of warm water, along with some compost or soil. By soaking them in a slurry of microbes, the seeds expand and start the germination process much quicker, emerging from the ground in just two to three weeks. If planted too early (as with a very late and hard freeze), simply repeat again at the end of March for a full season of peas (they’ll flower until November).
7. Bare-bones. Bare-root season is upon us and product is in every nursery, greenhouse, plant center and large retail outlet. So plant bare-root trees now. These are very affordable, take off and grow rapidly, and they are easy to handle, so why not?
8. Rock and roll. Go take a look at any of your areas that have gravel in them or areas that are framed by rock, and see if you need to rake up, clean up or add new gravel and/or rocks. The weather is perfect for this type of work. If you have a gravel driveway or easement, you’re sure to have some soft spots or small lakes to fill in. Get out the maddox, bust away the hard sides and fill in those nasty holes. Your car-washing days will be better spent in the yard.
9. Go a-la-naturale. Organic fertilizers are the name of the game because they are so much better for your soil and plants. Add lime everywhere, bone meal for all new plantings and fruit trees, fertilize the lawn, both beds and perennial areas because organic feeds take six to eight weeks to become readily available, but they are the best for your soil and plants (and, hey, the soil is where it’s at)!
10. They’re back. Slugs, mice and bugs are coming around now because of our unseasonably warm weather, and the little buggers have a voracious appetite for your young and tender-tipped plants. Start your eradication methods today (but only use the pet-safe methods). If you don’t begin to get the slug and snail bait down this week, your bulbs and perennials will suffer greatly.
11. Bulb mania. Speaking of bulbs, care for them now by cultivating the soil. Fertilize and deadhead them as they finish blooming. They are so gorgeous during February and beyond.
12. Show time. Feb. 11-15 is the second largest flower show in the nation, right across the pond (Seattle), and it is the largest “Horticultural retail sales mall” as well, so plan to attend the spectacular Northwest Flower and Garden Show.
February is an active month of chores, so keep your pillow fluffed, the ibuprofen handy and hit the yard these next few weeks. Until next time, keep your pruners dry and your gloves handy … and don’t forget to stay well all.
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Andrew May is a freelance writer and ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
