JANUARY Garden Chores

• Enroll in classes! Read and study up on ideas you would like to achieve for this year
• Continue to plant spring flowering bulbs.
• Think water garden and have it ready for spring. There are numerous sources of information and construction materials for these type projects. Garden centers and mass merchandising garden stores are handling pool liners, pumps, and aquatic plants.
• Continue planting container grown ornamentals. Be sure to loosen the roots and the media before backfilling. For slightly pot bound roots: Cut on 3‑4 sides shake the roots and media to a loose condition and then plant.
• Plant Fruit Trees in the Landscape. The 2009 seed and nursery catalogs have already arrived and this will trigger "spring fever" for many gardeners. We have a handout on “Fruits for the Southeast” that would provide the best alternatives to those beautiful apples and pears on the cover of the gardening magazines. Yes, you can grow apples here but I would not encourage anyone to go into wholesale commercial apple production just yet.
• Add lime according to soil test recommendations. For best results in home landscapes, till the lime into the root zone area for whatever plant you intend to grow. Surface applied lime reacts very slowly, and not as completely as lime mixed into the soil. The sooner the lime is applied in the winter, the more ready you'll be for spring planting.
• Ornamental Grass tops should be cut back now. On old established clumps, prune back to 2' or so and with the younger plantings, simply tip them back to remove the brown foliage.
• If you have rose bushes, rake the fallen leaves and discard them as many disease organisms persist through the winter. Covering them up with new mulch will not solve your disease problems.
• Pansies are by far the most popular winter landscape annual. Deadhead periodically to ensure more blooms. During active growth in the spring fertilize them about once a month. A dilute liquid feed of 5:10:10 or 5:10:30 will keep them going and growing.
• Be prepared just on the chance there may actually be some more winter weather ahead of us. Don't let unseasonably mild temperatures dictate what you do in the landscape.
• Poinsettia's keeping quality depends on several factors. Many home gardeners have no problem keeping a poinsettia attractive through the winter, but bringing it into "flower" in subsequent years is a challenge for the best of gardeners. They are still considered actively growing and will need water, sunlight, and fertilizing through February.

Garden Tips for the New Year!

I hope that each and every one of you had your Holiday Wishes come true. If Santa didn't quite bring you exactly what you asked for, then you may be able to pick up some bargains priced just right for you to take home. Don't forget to check on some of the gardening equipment needs for the coming spring season. You may find this to be just the right time of the year to pick up the items that will make your spring gardening chores easier to handle this year.
Spring is just around the corner and many "Coastal Gardeners" in our area will be putting out early spring gardens now and will be preparing other garden spots which require a later planting date. So button up for cold weather and look for those days that you can get outside comfortably to work on some of the plans you have for the coming spring. Even if the weather doesn't cooperate, there are still chores that can be performed inside.
Don't forget your indoor plants that have been brought in to rest. Keep them watered (moist to touch) and provide them with enough light to continue their growth. Avoid cold or hot air drafts. I like to group my plants together so that each plants respiration and transpiration will provide additional humidity for the other surrounding plants.

Joe’s Kitchen

My favorite appetizer from my Italy trip was Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil. This is simple and sooo good!

1 Loaf of a good Italian or French bread, a dense country style, sliced about ¾” thick
Several cloves of garlic
4or 5 nice Roma Tomatoes
4 Tbs of fresh chopped basil
Fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Ground Pepper and Salt

Brush olive oil onto both sides of your bread slices and broil them on a cookie sheet on both side till light brown.Rub both sides of the bread slices with a cut garlic clove. Chop tomatoes and basil and combine in a small bowl. Spread mixture over toasted bread and season with salt and pepper. Now open a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino or Rosso di Montepulciano, add a few olives and some pecorino cheese and imagine your having a picnic in the Tuscan countryside.

From the Presidents Desk…

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday, I can tell spring is just around the corner as I have begin to receive seed catalogs. Now is a great time to plan changes in you landscape and garden.

We have a great line up of speaker planned for this year so mark you calendar for our meeting dates. The year begins in January with Dr. Bruce Williams.

I have been told there will be a new class of Master Gardeners starting shortly. With everything that we as Master Gardeners do we can also use more help.

During the year make sure you sign up for the hot line, plant sales, botanical garden and volunteer for seminars.

This year we will become our own web master for our web site. Thanks to Master Gardeners who have volunteered to serve as web master for the web site.

Look forward to seeing you at our meetings. Don't forget to pay your association dues, the period covered is from January 1 -December 31. If dues are not paid by March you will be dropped from he association roster.

Shirley

Charlie says:

Welcome to the new year. Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season and are now ready to "Seize the opportunities" of the coming year.!!! Need some help on the Hot Line. Hardly anyone has signed for Jan. HELP! Lastly, don't forget to pay your dues. It's only 5.00 dollars a year.
Again, thanks for making 2008 a really great year.