What do you do when you are supposed to be in the dormant period of your gardening but the weather is acting like it's late fall? That question came to me today as we reached the low 70's today. Yes, it was 70 degrees on Christmas day here in Baltimore. I walked out to take a quick survey of the garden between downpours and I must say that the winter rye crop has grown quite a bit since we started this unusual run of warmer weather. I am not complaining mind you. The extra rye will help in the spring. But who would have thought we'd be in the 70's at this time of the year. Crazy eh?
I began mentally listing what I could do with the time I have off from work. Usually, I have stopped most of my work and am looking over my seed stock to see what - if any - seeds I need to get to be ready for early March. But, given the extra bonus period of nice weather, seeds are the last thing I will be spending my time looking at this weekend.
The first thing I am going to do is walk my garden to see if I need to do any maintenance and general pick up around it. It was a crazy fall so I think I may have left a few things to Spring. Guess I'll get to that now. Cleanup would be a top priority. I have some leaves from last year that I should probably throw in the couple of composters I have since they are still actively working. That would also clear up the area behind my garage and set it up for next year.
The second thing I am going to do is remove any leaves remaining in the beds so that I can just cut the rye in the early spring. That will give me a leg up on the whole process. Not a bad bonus considering it's winter. At least I guess it's winter.
And the third thing I am going to do is get my weeder out to trim the grass around the bed borders. The grass has been growing the last couple of weeks. That has resulted in a blush of growth around the borders which looks unsightly and is a possible source of bacterial growth in the spring. If I leave the grass and probably embedded weeds to the Spring, the first cut I do of them will broadcast weed seed and any bacteria in them into the garden beds. If I cut them now, the cold of winter will kill off the bacteria and probably most of the weed seeds too. So, my choice is to address the issue now when I can let nature do the dirty work for me. Always a plus.
Given that the forecast is for intermittent rain tomorrow, I will have to pick and choose times to get these completed. But, get them done I must. If you have a garden that is currently laying dormant, you too may want to consider doing a few maintenance items to save yourself time in the spring. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will respond as soon as possible. Here's hoping you had a wonderful Christmas. Until next time, Happy Gardening!
