The color and fragrant flowers of hyacinths
One of the first spring flowers to bloom is the hyacinth. Only Carolina jasmine blooms earlier. We like the pastel colors of hyacinths in shades of pink, blue, lavender, light red, yellow and white. Its fragrance is a sweet perfume and a welcome smell as we move into the last month of winter.
Hen and Bermuda grass are opposites
Bermuda grass and henbane are perennial weeds and both grow in the conservatory plot, but they are opposites in their growth patterns. The club has shallow roots and grows and thrives in shallow soil. It is easy to lift by the roots and get rid of it. Bermuda grass has a root system that goes deep into the soil and reaches more than a foot in length. Winter is the best time to pull it up by the roots and throw it away or better yet, put the roots in the trash. The best way to get rid of weeds is to pull them up by the roots and throw them out of the garden. Do not use chemicals or herbicides in your vegetable or flower garden.
Making a fresh apple sauce pound cake
Apples are great ingredients for pies in all seasons of the year and especially in winter. The fresh grated apples in this pie make it moist and flavorful. For this recipe, you will need two sticks of light margarine, one and a half cups of brown sugar, one half cup of white sugar, two large beaten eggs, two cups of grated raw apples (such as McIntosh, Granny Smith or Winesap), pecans. , a cup of chopped golden raisins, a teaspoon of vanilla and two teaspoons of lemon juice. Beat the light margarine, brown sugar and white sugar. Add the beaten eggs. Peel and core the apples. Cut them and pass them through the blender in grill mode. Add two teaspoons of lemon juice to the grated apples. Add to cake mix. Combine plain flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, apple pie spice, and vanilla and mix well. Add to cake mix. Mix in the chopped pecans that have been dusted with flour. Grease and flour a tube pan and cut a sheet of waxed paper to fit the bottom of the tube pan. Grease and flour the waxed paper. Make sure the sides and tube of the pan are well greased and floured. Pour the cake mixture into the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides and springs back when touched. Cool for half an hour before removing from the pan. This cake is very fresh and even better as it ages for a day or two. Store the cake in a cake cover.
The sweet fragrance of Carolina Jasmine
The sweet fragrance of Carolina Jasmine wafts its perfume from the edge of the garden. It is also attracting the first bees of the year in late winter as they exercise their wings and enjoy the yellow flowers and nectar. The flowers stand out against the dark green foliage. Jasmine blooms several times a year and can be trimmed and shaped into a hedge as it grows through the seasons. They can be bought at nurseries and garden centers.
There is ice in the bird bath and mud holes
Ice in mud holes and birdbaths makes it difficult for birds to find a water supply in late winter. As temperatures rise during the day, empty the ice from the birdbaths and refill with fresh water.
Some honey bees are active in late February
With Carolina jasmine, early hyacinths and crocuses, bees spread their wings and leave the hives and hollows in search of nectar sources in late winter. As temperatures rise, we may see more. If you see a lot of them boiling in late February, wet and windy conditions may occur the next day. This means they’ll be in their huddled hives, staying warm and thriving on the nectar they’ve stored up before.
Winter hardy pansies are colorful
The dark green foliage and bright colors are a special display on the front porch and deck during the winter. The familiar faces of these flowers add another special touch on a cold morning. They will grow until the warmer temperatures of late April or early May. They can then be replaced by summer annuals.
Do not overwater perennials, winter flowers
Perennials and winter flowers need some moisture in the winter, but don’t overwater because too much water will cause the potting medium to freeze. Moisten the medium but do not allow the water to run out of the holes in the bottom of the containers. Water sparingly twice a week. Use Flower-Tone Organic Flower Food on winter perennials and flowers.
By the stream, the frogs celebrate spring
The ravens by the creek celebrate each twilight and are aware that spring is only 30 days away. It seems that the ground doesn’t freeze as many days in the winter and the streams don’t freeze as much, which may be why frogs are more active in streamside forests. Perhaps they are like robins, who have adapted to the winter season.
Fill the feeders and empty the birdbaths
Winter birds are still looking for fresh drinks of water, especially when there are no mud holes or rain for several days. We can be their water supply by emptying the ice out of the birdbaths and filling the bath with fresh water when the temperature rises above freezing. Add food to the feeders every day and make it easier for them to find food.
Will we have snow by the end of February?
With spring just weeks away and only a few days into February, will we have any snow in the forecast? We’d like to see more white stuff to cover the winter landscape. A snow would be good news for the garden plot, great news for children and adults and bad news for insects, their eggs and larvae and other garden pests. There’s something exciting about waiting for snow even as we move toward spring.
Sweet and sour chicken
For this dish you will need a dozen chicken strips or tenders, Crisco oil, half a cup of water, three tablespoons of cornstarch, half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, half a cup of light brown sugar, half a cup of apple cider vinegar, a cup of pineapple. juice, two tablespoons of soy sauce, a two-ounce jar of bell peppers (diced), half a cup of diced onion, a can of pineapple chunks, and two tablespoons of catsup. Toss chicken in flour, salt and pepper and fry in Crisco oil. Drain the oil from the chicken. Add half a cup of water and simmer for 15 minutes. Combine cornstarch, salt, pepper, catsup, brown sugar, pineapple juice and soy sauce. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Add bell peppers, diced onion and pineapple chunks. Cook over medium heat for ten minutes, stirring often. Boil a packet of Minute rice or Success rice and serve the sweet and sour chicken over a bed of cooked rice. You can use a boneless pork tenderloin to make sweet and sour pork.
Good, bad and ugly
Not everything that grows in the garden shines like gold. The garden is a bowl of success and failure. A great attribute of every garden is that when one variety does not meet our expectations, we can try another selection of the same type of vegetable. Some varieties work better than others in different gardens. Find the vegetables that work well in your garden and stick with them. A new vegetable means nothing if it is not productive in your garden. We still use some plant varieties that my father used in his garden which are heirlooms that have proven themselves for generations. Trying new varieties in the garden is a slow learning process and some varieties just do better than others. Sometimes you don’t know what you have until you try something new. To repeat it was said before, new is not necessarily better. The old rows are sometimes well plowed, but they have proved better still!
Tender onions can now be started in the garden
Most hardware stores now have spring onion sets on their shelves. They can now be planted in the cold garden soil of late February and early March. Winter soil doesn’t freeze as often and onion sets will thrive in late winter soil. You can choose from red, yellow or white onion sets. A special organic ingredient that will give your onion sets a big boost is to apply a layer of peat moss to the bottom of the furrow before putting the onion sets in. After applying the peat moss, place the bulbs root down about three to four inches apart and cover the sets with another layer of peat moss and then an application of Garden-Organic Plant Food Tone. Raise the soil on each side of the furrow and cover down with the hoe blade for solid oil contact. Peat moss will retain moisture and improve soil texture for root growth.
An additional hour of daylight will arrive next month
By mid-March we’ll gain an extra hour of daylight as daylight savings time returns. This extra hour of daylight combined with the extra minute we get each evening until June 21st will really help with planting cool weather vegetables as we approach the spring season. It’s not hard to get used to this extra hour of daylight!
Stock up on Holly-Tone organic plant foods
As we approach the spring season, increase your supply of the Holly-Tone family of organic plant, vegetable and flower foods. Their zippered pouches make them easy to apply and place directly into furrows and rows without odor or mess. You can choose from Holly-Tone Perennial Food, Rose-Tone Organic Rose Food, Organic Tomato Tomato Food, Flower-Tone Organic Flower Food, Garden-Tone Organic Herb & Plant Food, and Garden-Tone Organic Plant Food . These are all fine-textured organic foods that are easily absorbed into the soil to give plants and flowers a quick boost. A little application goes a long way toward a productive harvest. It can easily be placed in the soil to feed vegetables.
Go, go, go
“Goofy Golf”. Billie: “I would move heaven and earth to improve my score of 110.” Willie: “Try to move the sky. You moved a lot of earth today.”
“Weight loss!” There are only three things to give up if you want to lose weight; breakfast, dinner and supper.
“To the Radishes.” Me: “Today I had an intuition. I got up at seven. He had $7 in his pocket. There were seven people at the lunch counter. There were seven horses in the race. I picked the seventh horse to win.” Flo: “So he came out the winner?” Me: “No, he finished seventh!”
“The Crazy Funny Bone.” Dan: “Ouch, I hit my crazy bone.” Jan: “Oh well, comb your hair and it won’t show!”
