Thursday, January 22, 2009

Spring Fever

Welcome Back
I am so happy to have the day light hours getting longer.
Since we all work a long day when we get home we like to enjoy seeing the yard taking shape from the cold quiet sleep of winter.

When the first bloom of the crocus tells us all that spring is really just around the corner we all
get very excited. Even thou I have found those little gentle giants of the winter threshold to sometimes come out to soon and they stand in a cold mound of snow.

I have a bird feeder out the back door and I do enjoy seeing the little birds flock to the feeder for the extra help they need for the cold weather. I tried nailing orange half's to the tree's and hoped to bring the woodpeckers close to the door for us to enjoy. Only one has been spotted to this day.

We are looking forward to the spring that will bring our lilies out of the ground and blooming for us.
Something I have found is the wonderful combination of the day lilies and oriental lilies planted together giving us an never ending bloom and green foliage for the whole summer long.
If you plant your lily garden with much fore thought you will be able to have bright beautiful colors from the early months of May to the beginning of fall.

Mean while back @ the farm

Monday, January 5, 2009

Winter Fruit Tree Treatments

Greetings! The snow is melting here and it's time to start thinking about pruning and spraying your fruit trees, if you haven't done so already. I know, a lot of you are considering a long, extended vacation to someplace warm, with white sandy beaches, and someone to serve you a nice cocktail 24-7, breakfast in bed, or... When do we leave?

Dormant sprays consist of a dormant oil and lime sulfur (phew! it really smells) or copper. The latter is my choice since there is no smell, other plants treated with this mix will not get burned, and you can accomplish the same results. There are a multitude of plants and trees that should also have this spray applied to them...not just fruit trees.

Your trimming should be finished by the end of February. If you trim after the buds have emerged with new leaves, you can damage the trees and very little fruit will be produced. All deciduous trees should be trimmed during the winter months.

Planted any new bulbs yet, or are they still in the package, hmmmm?