* Save the cardboard cores from rolls of toilet paper and paper towels. These can be used for starting seedlings. Simply cut the toilet paper rolls in half and the paper towel roles into 2 – 2 ½ inch lengths. Place these on a tray or in a crate such as those in which clementines are sold. Fill each roll with moistened seed starting mix and sow your seeds. The paper roll will decompose when seedlings are transplanted to the garden.
*Build a cold frame. This is essential for those of us who like to start our own vegetable and flower transplants from seed. Transplants need to be gradually hardened before planting out in gardens. The easiest and safest way to gradually harden plants is by placing them in a cold frame about 10 days before planting. Check the local library for books with plans for cold frames or do a Google search on the internet.
* Don’t panic over the sight of volcano-shaped mounds of soil in the lawn. These were created by a mole when excavating tunnels in the lawn in search of food, mainly earthworms, grubs, millipedes and spiders. Moles do not feed on grass roots or any other vegetation and their typical habitat is woodlands or woodland edges. As for the mole hills, tamp them down a bit and then rake the soil to level the mound. Though it may appear that the lawn may be overrun with a herd of moles, it is most likely that no more than one or two moles created the hills. Apparently moles prefer to be sole moles.
* Place in a file folder all sales receipts, packing slips, and copies of order forms for all plant purchases. This idea has saved me numerous times after I neglected to label new plantings and then forgot what it was that I planted. By reviewing packing slips or original order forms, I’ve been able to retrieve the forgotten plant names.
* Pay attention to their hardiness zone rating when selecting new plants for the garden, especially if ordering from plant catalogs. Most of Berkshire County is in zones 5a and 5b, though a few colder spots at the highest elevations may be in Zone 4b. Hardiness zones are mapped by the USDA and refer to the average annual minimum winter temperature.
* Take inventory of your garden tools. If replacements are needed, look for durable but light weight tools. A good quality tool should last a lifetime if given proper care; an example of proper care is treating wooden handles with linseed oil or Tung Oil. If using linseed oil, get a product called Boiled Linseed Oil, which, interestingly, is not boiled at all. Brush the oil on the wooden handles, give it a few minutes to be absorbed, and then wipe off the excess. This will prevent the cracking or splitting of the wooden handles that often happens after the original wood finish wears off and the wood dries.
  *   *   *
Though March has arrived, we are still in the midst of “soup” weather. Soup is a mainstay on our dining table as long as snow continues to fly. Among my favorite soups is white bean with kale and sausage. The kale I use now comes either from our freezer or fresh from the grocer. However, for much of the year, the kale comes directly from our garden. Kale is a terrific crop for the fall garden since it can withstand some pretty good freezes and can be harvested right into December, or January, as was the case this winter. Sow seeds of kale this month as soon as soil is workable for a spring and summer crop, and then direct sow seeds in the garden in early July for fall harvest.
