KJFM NEWS – Garden Talk is produced monthly at the Adair County University of Missouri Extension Center in Kirksville, Mo.
One of the first things to do in the lawn and garden is a winter cleanup. Rake the lawn to get rid of dead growth, leaves, twigs and winter debris and let light and air to the soil level, encouraging the grass to grow. Remove dead plants from the garden if they were not removed in the fall. If trees were wrapped for protection from Southwest Injury, now is the time to remove the wrap. Leaving it on can damage the trunk by allowing insects and rain to get inside of it. As weeds start to grow in the garden remove them while their roots are still shallow and it is easy to pull them. Chickweed and henbit are two of the earliest weeds to emerge in the garden and flower bed.
If you haven’t pruned your fruit trees and small fruits such as grapevines and bramble fruits, there’s still time. Pruning should be completed in northeast Missouri by late March, earlier in the southern part of the state. Save the grapevine clippings to start new plants. Apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees, magnolias, crabapples and shrubs such as euonymus to control scale insects and other overwintering pests. Apply dormant oil when the buds are swelling but the leaves haven’t opened yet. Apply when temperatures are between 40 and 70degrees F (4-21 degrees C).
Do not be in a hurry to remove winter mulch from strawberry beds, or cut back perennials such as roses, until temperatures are reliably warm. If freeze and thaw cycles over the winter heaved plants out of the ground, replant them when the ground thaws and the temperatures stay above freezing.
If mower blades need sharpened, or the mower or tiller still need a tune-up, get this done right away. If you plan to take the mower or tiller to a garden center to be worked on, plan on several weeks before getting it back possibly, as most people wait until right up until they need it to have it worked on. Start preparing other tools for planting. Tighten loose screws, remove rust, and apply oil to the wood handles for protection from the elements. Taking proper care of tools will make them last a long time.
Cool-season vegetables can be planted by late March in Northeast Missouri. Plant cool-season crops like spinach, lettuce, kale, cilantro and other leafy greens for harvest in late April and throughout May. Radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, snow peas and other cool-season crops can also be planted at this time if the soil is workable. Most of these crops can be planted in containers, raised beds or directly into the ground. Containers are not the best for peas. Plant them along a livestock panel or trellis in a raised bed or directly in the garden. The most important thing to know about cool-season crops is that they like cool weather. They must be planted while the soil and air temperature is still cool. If you wait until May to plant them, you probably will not have a productive crop.
