Think gardening with WSU program
Granted, it’s a little difficult to think about outdoors when the temperature hovers around single digits
Still, it’s time to start thinking about your garden.
Sure, this week’s snowfall makes it a little early for planting or tilling. Instead of a spade and a hoe, the kind of gardening you can begin doing now requires a pad and a pencil.
A little pre-planning is a good thing.
And so is adding to your knowledge base.
Washington State University’s Master Gardener program, through the WSU Extension program in Spokane County, is a great resource for local gardeners, and the university’s Web site (http://spokane-county.wsu .edu/spokane/eastside /index.htm) should be stored on everyone’s list of Internet favorites.
The site keeps a gardening calendar, which breaks down the yearly chores by month.
In February, for example, “You can repot houseplants this month. They can be sensitive to overfeeding at this time of year. Provide houseplants with lots of sunlight, fresh air and frequent bathing. Check for disease and critters. A good cleaning under a soft spray of water from the sink faucet will do wonders. Cut back leggy or straggly plants. Slowly increase water and start thinking about fertilizing in late February or as soon as you see some new growth.”
It also suggests: “If you have fluorescent lights available, you can start parsley, onion seeds, head lettuce, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, most herbs and cool season flowers (like pansies and alyssum) now so they will be good-sized by spring planting. You can start seeds of petunias and seed geraniums, too. Perennials like aubrieta, arabis, basket of gold and dianthus are easy to grow from seeds and are much cheaper than buying them as transplants.
“If you want three-foot tomato transplants in June, now is the time to plant them indoors. They can be started as late as April but they will not be the big, healthy specimens you will have if you start in February.”
In addition, the program offers a series of classes aimed at gardening enthusiasts of all levels. Classes are held at the Spokane County-WSU Cooperative Extension building at the Spokane Fair and Expo Center on Havana.
Registration is currently open for the beginning gardening series, which runs on four Saturdays, beginning March 11. For $30 per individual or family, the series will cover basic gardening practices, vegetables and herbs, annuals and perennials and lawn and garden care.
The Master Gardener growing your own food classes began Feb. 9 with a seminar on vegetables and heirloom varieties. Three more classes, at a cost of $10 per class, remain in the series, including raised-bed gardening (Thursday), fruits and berries (March 9), and culinary herbs and specialty plants (March 23).
Each class is taught by experienced Washington State University Master Gardener volunteers. Each class will offer tips and techniques that have been learned through time-tested experience as well as supported by university research. Classes include hands-on demonstrations and handouts.