Well, it’s cold again, but, this is a great time to start seeds. We have discussed the benefits of starting your own plants from seed, so I won't repeat them here. Believe it or not, now is the time to start tomatoes, peppers and eggplant from seed. If you don't have a greenhouse and, like me, don't have a lot of good window light, you might want to try a cold frame. A cold frame is like a mini-greenhouse, specifically intended for seed starting. You can build one easily. A simple frame, with an angle to the top allowing the cover to slope top to bottom, and an old window as the top works fine. The sides can be wood, cement blocks, or even hay bales as shown in the photos below. You can place the cold frame anywhere as long as you can access it easily - because you have to open it during those warm days that we have here from time to time. Leaving the cold frame closed on these days can cook your tiny seedlings, and we don't want to do that.
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Place the cold frame in a handy place so that you can open it in the morning when necessary. It can be placed in a garden bed, on the lawn or even on a drive or other hard surface. The frame should be oriented so that the shortest depth faces south. This allows the most sun to the plants inside.
Now that you have a place to plant those seeds, which seeds do you plant this month? As I mentioned earlier, it’s time to plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. You can also plant kohlrabi, but plant these inside, or in the cold frame, not out in the open yet. There are seeds you can plant outside in the open garden now though. All month you can plant beets, Swiss chard, Irish potatoes and radishes in the open garden. Through the middle of the month you can plant broccoli, Chinese cabbage, carrots and cauliflower, then starting mid-February you can plant beans and sweet corn. I know the list is not as long as usual, but this is the middle of the winter, after all.
There are few insects around this month, but the weeds are already starting. Try to keep those under control while they are tiny and while the ground is soft from the rains. It’s so much easier that way, and yes, I know just how easy it is to not pull them, because they are so small and innocuous. But they grow so quickly! If you don’t pull them NOW, they will be out of control and setting seed before you know it.
After you clear away a section of weeds you can sprinkle that area with corn gluten meal, an organic pre-emergence herbicide. Corn gluten meal stops seeds from germinating for about six weeks, then breaks down into a nitrogen fertilizer to feed the transplants that you will put in later. It’s available in a couple of name brand products, like Preen, but that’s the expensive way. If you go in online you can find it as the generic ‘corn gluten meal’ for a lot less. I found it at the big box stores in liquid, ready to spray formulations and the more normal granular formula. Use five pounds for 250 square feet or follow label directions.
I know this isn’t as much to do as most months, but it is the middle of winter after all. In other places we would still be a month or two away from planting anything. This is the time of year most gardeners are browsing through catalogs and dreaming – because that is all they can do. So consider yourselves lucky, and
Until next month,
Good Gardening
Mary Ann Armbruster
There are few insects around this month, but the weeds are already starting. Try to keep those under control while they are tiny and while the ground is soft from the rains. It’s so much easier that way, and yes, I know just how easy it is to not pull them, because they are so small and innocuous. But they grow so quickly! If you don’t pull them NOW, they will be out of control and setting seed before you know it.
After you clear away a section of weeds you can sprinkle that area with corn gluten meal, an organic pre-emergence herbicide. Corn gluten meal stops seeds from germinating for about six weeks, then breaks down into a nitrogen fertilizer to feed the transplants that you will put in later. It’s available in a couple of name brand products, like Preen, but that’s the expensive way. If you go in online you can find it as the generic ‘corn gluten meal’ for a lot less. I found it at the big box stores in liquid, ready to spray formulations and the more normal granular formula. Use five pounds for 250 square feet or follow label directions.
I know this isn’t as much to do as most months, but it is the middle of winter after all. In other places we would still be a month or two away from planting anything. This is the time of year most gardeners are browsing through catalogs and dreaming – because that is all they can do. So consider yourselves lucky, and
Until next month,
Good Gardening
Mary Ann Armbruster
 | Now you have some choices to make. You can plant the seeds in the garden soil if the frame is set over a garden bed, but if you set the frame over lawn or hard surface, you can either fill the frame with good soil, or you can plant in pots or 6-packs and place those into the frame. Keep the seeds evenly moist and watch for temperature extremes. If low temperatures are predicted, cover the entire frame until it warms up again. If high temperatures are predicted (over 50) open the lid and prop it open, a little or a lot depending on how high it is supposed to get. |
MaryAnn Armbruster, Ph.D.
MaryAnn Armbruster, Ph.D. is a certified Advanced Master Gardener and member of the Lafayette Parish Master Gardeners.
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