I am very lazy about my gardening this week. I have gathered a few tips, but, mostly, I want everyone to revel in the warmth of your homes, look closely at your plants, and embrace the growing light!
Regarding outdoor trees and shrubs: Watch the weather now that everything has lost leaves and is fully dormant. Early winter is a good time for your first copper sulphate spray or fungicide to protect plants from overwintering fungus on woody plants, like peach leaf curl. If you had issues with this fungus last spring and summer. Spray once or twice (read the instructions) over the winter when temperatures are above 40 degrees on a dry, windless day. Again, read the solution’s instructions on the bottle. That’s right. Read the instructions.
Notice outdoors that fruiting shrubs and trees may already be void of fruit. My winterberry (Ilex verticillata “Winter Red”) had fruit in the fall, but birds have snatched them up already. That is the point, afterall. I just need to acquire more winterberry. Crabapple trees also attract birds throughout the winter.
Not to rush you through the holiday, but are you wondering what to do with your cut Christmas tree once the party is over? There are options. You can reuse or recycle your cut tree. These are ideas for doing reuse at home:
- Soil erosion barriers: Christmas trees make effective sand and soil erosion barriers, especially for lake and river shoreline stabilization.
- Fish feeders: Sunk into private fishponds, trees make an excellent refuge and feeding area for fish.
- Bird feeders: Place the Christmas tree in the garden or backyard and use it as a bird feeder and sanctuary. Fresh orange slices or strung popcorn will attract the birds, and they can sit in the branches for shelter. (Be sure to remove all decorations, hooks, garland, and tinsel strands.) Eventually (within a year) the branches will be brittle, and you can break the tree apart by hand or chip it in a chipper.
- Mulch: A Christmas tree is biodegradable! You can remove branches, chip them, and use them as mulch in the garden. Branches can also be laid on the soil around roses or over dormant perennial plants when the soil is frozen to provide some winter protection against freeze and thaw cycles.
Also, there are a couple organizations who will take the tree for composting or reuse and improve the community in the process.
Support the local Great Barrington Scouts BSA Troop 23. The scouts collect and recycle Christmas trees as a service to the community and a fundraiser for Scouts BSA on two Saturdays in January. Either schedule pickup ($10) or bring your tree ($5) behind Tractor Supply Co. in Great Barrington at the time and Saturdays listed. Click here to learn more or schedule pickup.
Participate in The Giving Tree Drop-off Event in Lee. Drop off your real tree or wreath to be sustainably recycled and bring a donation for the Lee Food Pantry. The event is Saturday, January 10, at the time listed. Click here for more details (food and music provided!) and explore pickup options.
Here is another common holiday question: How do I keep a poinsettia growing for next year?
You can keep a poinsettia growing indoors (and outdoors in summer) with some special treatment. This process can be a challenge, but if you are ready to test yourself, ENJOY!
You will be able to enjoy the plant through March with these basic cultural tips.
- Keep poinsettias away from warm or cold drafts from radiators, air registers, or open doors and windows.
- Ideally, poinsettias require daytime temperatures of 60 to 70 degrees and nighttime temperatures around 55 degrees. High temperatures will shorten the plant’s life. Move the plant to a cooler room at night, if possible.
- Check the soil daily. Be sure to punch holes in foil so water can drain into a saucer. Water when soil is dry. Allow water to drain into the saucer and discard excess water.
- Fertilize the poinsettia if you keep it past the holiday season. Apply a houseplant fertilizer once a month.
- Pinch back the stems once flowers fade to encourage growth. Trim or pinch back no more than a third of the stem to a leaf node.
- Want to try to keep it long enough to rebloom? Visit Ward’s Nursery and this post for more information.
The end-of-year holidays are also a time to regroup and review the greatest hits and the lame losers. Make lists and start to plan your seed purchases or garden layouts for next year. I had my best cucumber harvest ever. I think it was from planting early organic starts and watering regularly. I also spread empty reflective bags under the plants to reflect light under the leaves as a way to discourage beetles. What worked exactly? Not sure, but I will do all three things again next year. I was pleased to discover a new seed: fava beans. Wow! They were delicious and easy to grow. I have not quite settled on the ideal cooking strategy but that will come with practice.
My beets and Brussels sprouts suffered from competition. I let the companion plants grow too well and suck the moisture from the soil, plus deer or rabbits browsed the plants enough to set the plants back. My plan? Install a fence! Those are my wins and losses. Make a note of yours. What was successful, and can you figure out why?
With your wins and losses in mind, I suggest you look for new seed varieties now in catalogs or garden stores. You might find the perfect match for your taste and gardening style.
A few more tips for the slower days ahead:
- Read through that new gardening book and start to dream.
- Wash your dirty garden gloves. Even the ones with holes can be useful as a backup pair.
- Remove leggy stems and dead leaves on houseplants.
- Test old seed for viability. You are not in a spring rush. Take 10 seeds and place in a clear bag with a moist paper towel. Leave the bag in a sunny window. After a week to 10 days, count how many seeds have sprouted compared to not. Two seeds means a 20 percent germination rate, and nine seeds means a 90 percent germination rate. Plan your seed purchases and future planting accordingly.
And finally, a warning. I traipse across my back lawn all year with no regard to the grass. I do make trails with my habits. Frozen grass will break and soil will compact after repeated pressure from walking. We create a path of intention. If you want to avoid these well-demarked trails, either put in gravel paths or choose a different path. One requires some work, and the other is this lazy gardener’s way out.
I call myself the Lazy Berkshire Gardener because I don’t want to work too hard in my gardens. I want to enjoy them. I find it easier to observe my landscape and let the compost happen, the water pool up, or daisies to self-sow. I look for ways to do the minimum task for the biggest impact. For example, mulching is better than spraying and much better than weeding all season. I look for beautiful, low-maintenance plants that thrive in or at least tolerate my garden conditions. Plus, I am willing to live with the consequences if I miss something.
