Garden Planning & Tasks: Webinars, Videos, Podcasts, and Articles
As the snow continues to fall on our zone 5, Vermont garden, planning mode is in full swing. We’re making lists of seeds to start, plants to eventually purchase and projects to pursue. It’s easy to dream this time of year so we try to temper our enthusiasm with the reality of having to grow and care for whatever we plant.
So, this newsletter is all about planning, and some gardening tasks you can do soon or now, depending on where you live. I offer three different webinars for purchase that talk about Ecological Gardening and Companion Planting, Plants for Problem Places and How to Prune Shrubs and Trees. I also offer some podcasts, videos and articles that might help make this quiet time of year outdoors more fun. There’s a podcast of Propagating Houseplants, a video on Pruning a Lilac and an article and podcast on Soil.
The days are getting longer, the sun is getting stronger, and soon we’ll be planting and praying for rain. Hopefully not. But the gardening season energy is building across the country so make your lists, check them twice and start diving into some gardening tasks.
And if you’re in the Seattle area this coming week, check out my talks at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. This is one of the best indoor flower shows in the country and has THE best seminar series. Almost 100 talks are offered over a 5 day period. Come say “hi” at my Continuous Vegetable Garden talk or my Pruning DIY demo on Saturday, February 21st. My book will be for sale there as well.
Until next time I’ll be seeing you, in the garden.
Charlie
Three Webinars for February
Ecological Garden and Companion Planting
Most gardeners want to garden more in tune with Nature and still have productive edible and flower gardens. In this webinar I tackle both issues. I talk about building the soil via No-Dig Gardening, offer ways to use cover crops in a no dig system, and show scientific information on companion planting. I talk about ways to lure in and establish beneficial insects in your garden, use examples of companion planting techniques for pest control, and use companion planting techniques for disease and weed controls.
Plants for Problem Places Webinar
In this Webinar I talked about the different types of problem places you might have in your yard and some solutions. For example, in shade I discuss how to match your plants to the types of shade and wet/dry conditions you have. I offer solutions for gardening on a slope, how to deal with poor soil and plant examples, including trees, shrubs and perennials, for all the “problem places”.
Learn more and purchase my Plants for Problem Places Webinar here
How to Prune Shrubs and Trees Webinar
In this Webinar I talk about the art and science of pruning. Now is the time to prune some trees and shrubs and not the time to prune others. I talk about when to prune both. I talk about how to prune young fruit trees, established shrubs and trees and how to prune a variety of shrubs and trees including hedges and overgrown plants.
Learn more and purchase my How to Prune Shrubs and Trees Webinar here
More on Garden Planning and Garden Tasks…
Propagating Houseplants
As the days get longer, many houseplants are waking up and starting to put on new growth. Now is the time to prune and propagate these houseplants. I talk about taking stem cuttings, divisions and air layering large houseplants to produce more houseplants for your home and to share. Check out the podcast and article here.
Learn more about Propagating Houseplants here
Pruning a Lilac
This time of year it’s tempting to prune back many shrubs in your yard. But if they’re spring flowering shrubs, such as lilacs, you have to be careful. Pruning now will remove the flower buds for spring, so pruning is normally only recommended for after flowering. But you can do a rejuvenation pruning anytime this late winter/spring to reduce the height of your bush. You will still remove many flowers, but making a shorter bush is more important. I talk about how to prune lilacs in this video and article.
Learn more about Pruning a Lilac here
Soil
It may be too early to start working your soil in many places, but you can start thinking about a plan. Soon you can do soil testing, adding fertilizer based on soil tests and adding organic materials and compost to your beds. No Dig Gardening is one way to build healthy soil without harming the important microbes in the soil. Learn more about your soil here. Check out my podcast and article.
Learn more about Soil here
