March

• Curling up with a good seed catalog on a snowy day is one of the pleasures of living in central New York. There are a lot of seed catalogs. My favorite is Fedco because it has tons of information with creatively impish drawings. They also are a cooperative that believes that people and environment are more important than profits. You can search for seed catalogs online and order a few to come to your home or just look online.
•  It's fun to think about the beautiful garden of your dreams but there is also the reality that you will be limited by some things such as time, location and weather. For more about what to consider read this article in Devine Chatter
•  Valentine's Day is coming so love your houseplants and make up a batch of Tina's Tea. Your plants can sense the days are getting longer and are starting to grow. It's been a long winter for your them too and they could use a pick me up. Near the bottom of my website page is the directions to make tea
•  Have you ever wondered what the USDA Hardiness Zone Map was all about? How about growing days? Learn about them at Devine Chatter. Please read, very important - don't freeze your plants!
•  You've been looking over your seed catalogs and now is a good time to decide what you want to grow. Plant what you love to eat. Some vegetables are more hardy than others and there are more cold tolerant varieties within a vegetable group. An example is hot peppers seem to be hardier than sweet peppers. Our friends at Cornell University have compiled a list of vegetable varieties that grow well in New York State. Our friends at Cornell University have compiled a list of vegetable varieties that grow well in New York State. Fedco, located in Vermont, has a handy vegetable planting guide also.
•  It's easy to get excited about putting the first seeds in the ground but if you plant too early you'll risk seeds rotting in cold soil, plants freezing and wasting your time and money. Soil temperatures are extremely important for seed germination. For example spinach seeds at 40 degrees take 23 days to germinate and only 12 days at 50 degrees. Green beans at 59 degrees take 16 days to germinate and only 8 days at 77 degrees. I have had green bean seeds rot in the ground because I tried to plant them when the soil was too cool. Tomato seeds take 43 days at 50 degrees and 8 days at 68 degrees.
•  You've been thinking about your future garden. Go outside and observe your land. The view of a winter landscape is simpler. You may notice things that you hadn't in the lush green of summer. Are there areas that could use a shrub or tree? Maybe it's time to make changes, take out some old plants and bring in something totally new that you've always liked. Take the time to appreciate the beauty of winter. If you don't have a yard, take a walk or drive to a park and be with nature. How about visit a nearby community garden?
•  You’ve thought about what you want to grow and where to put your garden. Now let’s think about designing your garden. Size and shape will depend on how much you’ve decided to grow. Some plants take up a lot of room like corn and pumpkins while others have a small footprint like greens. What to put where? Space it out. Cornell Cooperative Extension made a handy chart showing how much room is needed in between plants, in between rows and estimated yields. So, get out your pencil and paper, have some fun and see what you come up with.  
• Companion Planting Guide - Companion Planting reminds me of trying to figure out where to seat people for a formal dinner. We sure don't want Uncle Turnip arguing with Aunt Lettuce! Here is a handy concise guide. There is tons of information on the internet but sometimes you just gotta say "Can't we all just get along?"