GARDENING

March 2002 Table of Contents

GARDENING
Jack Hardy

Spring comes during March and the weather gets warmer, bringing a gradual end to our regular vegetable season. Any vegetables we sow at this time of the year should be those that will survive warm weather. There are tropical varieties of several popular vegetables, but the best move is to grow vegetables that were designed for summer. More on that next month.

It's time to check the flowering shrubs and fruit trees after a long dry spell. Snow scale is a particularly virulent infestation that harms and even kills shrubs and small trees. The sign to look for is something that looks like a dusting of talcum powder on the branches. It looks innocuous, but it's a killer. Treat any shrubs you find showing indications with Ethion and Oil, which is a particularly vicious chemical. Read the instructions and obey them to the letter. Wear a mask and long pants and sleeves. If you see the beginning of snow scale, you can treat the shrub with a vegetable oil spray or WD-40 - the oil without the active chemical. It may be all you need if you catch the problem early.

It's time to turn from winter flowering plants such as Kalanchoe and Impatiens to those reliable summer performers such as Vinca, Cosmos, Zinnias and Caladiums (which like some shade).

The wonderful warm weather we have experienced on Abaco since before Christmas has upset some plant cycles and set some fruit trees to flower early. This will be fine so long as we get no really inclement nor'easters.

If you haven't set out any bulbs and tubers as I suggested last month, there's still time to get them into the ground. We gardeners must always be looking to the future.

March 2002 Table of Contents