Here are a few
suggestions for February gardening:
Last chance to
get those deciduous trees pruned before they get
covered in
leaves. Shape, repair, and encourage fruit growth
when you prune.
Look for mistletoe in the palo
verde, mesquite and acacias. If it's near the ends of branches
now's a good time to get rid of it by trimming the branch. Too much
mistletoe is unsightly and can eventually lead to the tree's or shrub's
demise. Don't have lots of fruiting clumps making it easier for birds to
spread the berries to nearby vegetation. You can't get it all, but remove
what you can, when you find it.
Won't be long
before citrus puts out new growth.
Now's the time for the first of
usually three yearly applications of fertilizer for citrus.
Water deeply before and after the fertilizer application.
If you didn't
start your spring tomatoes and summer peppers for transplanting
when the
weather finally warms, you've still got time to get them going.
Beat the spring
rush and start preparing any new beds you want to add to your garden. Now
is the time to get those bags of steer manure, peat moss,
fertilizer and potting soil
from the big box store so you don't find empty shelves in March when the
delivery didn't arrive. By a bag here, by a bag there so it's manageable to
handle during transport. Then you'll have a stockpile and it'll be
readily available for spring gardening.
Keep the
compost going. If you've been a passive composter over the winter you
might want to do a bid of turning of the compost pile in February. Make
sure there's plenty of moisture in the pile as well.
You'll want that
black gold when you start planting in March.
Do it now, or
do it later. As the weather warms you'll have to start irrigating
more. The drip system has been sitting through the winter. Emitters get
clogged, chewed by rodents and fittings can crack and break. You're going
to have to run a system check and make sure everything is in working
order. Maybe some of the larger trees will need additional emitters
or if they're drought tolerant and well established maybe they can do
without the added drip irrigation.
Warm-up to
future gardening. If the weekends are warm and you would rather work in
the garden than bike, hike or walk then check your local nursery to
see what hardy plants are
available and can be added to your landscape.
Keep those fall planted bedding
plants looking healthy by removing damaged foliage, dead heading
spent flowers, and supplying adequate moisture.
Don't be
surprised by any February cold weather and
be ready to move or cover frost
sensitive plants if the need arises.
Don't rush into spring planting,
mid March will arrive soon enough. Maybe you should get your taxes done in
February so you can concentrate on the important thing - gardening - in
March and April.
