February

How does your yard look? Does it have winter interest? Have you selected plants that not only look beautiful in the summer, but have winter interest too?  Have you selected plants that provide seed and long lasting berries for wildlife? Providing a natural food source is the preferred way by naturalists, and wildlife experts to feed winter birds and animals.  This also reduces the attraction of bears, deer, raccoons and other wildlife to your feeders.

Little surpasses the joy of eating fruit from your own garden; however, growing these fruits is often a horticultural challenge. This year's Mass Aggie Seminars ("Growing Fruit in the Home Garden" -- February 10 - April 28, 2007) will help overcome the challenges with growing fruit at home. They present programs on basic and advance apples and stone fruit (peaches, plums, and cherries), on blueberries and raspberries, on grapes, on identifying and controlling fruit pests, and even on grafting apples. Many of these Saturday sessions (such as pruning, grafting, and identifying pests) are hands on and should be both educational and fun.  All sessions will be on Saturdays, and locations include Brooksby Farm in Peabody, Tougas Family Farm in Northborough, and UMass Cold Spring Orchard in Belchertown.  For a copy of the schedule, click here or call the UMass Extension Fruit Program at (413) 545-2254.

If you burn wood for the winter, save the ash and spread on your lawns and gardens as an excellent source of potash, and nutrients, even the “charcoal” will help hold moisture.  Make sure you never burn any type of painted or pressure treated wood, if in doubt, don’t!

If you don’t have a good landscape plan drawing of your yard, now may be a good time to start that sketch.  Having this sketch when you go to the nursery yard will help their staff review your needs and offer the best plants for your yard.

If you are REALLY into gardening them you should check out: “New England Grows!” the largest North East conference and trade show of the “green” industry, held in Boston on February 6 -8, 2007.