Keep harvesting and planting, but watch for falling temps
It has been an excellent winter gardening season. We are still harvesting tomatoes, eggplant, okra and peppers — remnants from the warm weather plantings — and we are harvesting broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Swiss chard, radishes, rutabagas and turnips. Coming up soon for harvest will be English peas, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, beets and carrots.
The amazing thing is that it is not too late to plant a new crop of many of those vegetables and even some new ones. Plant broccoli, Swiss chard, kale, cauliflower and cabbage as transplants. Plant radish, beet, carrot, English peas and lettuce by seed.
Don’t forget that lettuce seed must be planted on the soil surface to germinate; it does not work to bury the seed.
Onions
Expand the garden with onion transplants. Most area nurseries have six to eight selections of onions to pick from, but go for short-day varieties such as Bermuda, Granex, Red Creole, 1015Y or Legend. My two favorite varieties are Red Creole and Legend. Legend is an improved selection of the famous 1015Y, and Red Creole offers a bit stronger flavor than other generally sweet, mild selections.
Large bulbs should be ready for harvest about June 1, when the mature leaves will flop over to let you know they are ready. Between now and mid-april, harvest 2 of every 3 onions in the row for green onions. The keys to successful onion production are generous fertilization and plenty of space between the plants.
To prepare new ground for onions and vegetable plantings, incorporate 2 inches of compost and 10 cups of slow-release lawn fertilizer into every 100 square feet of bed, and plant them 6 inches apart.
The flower garden
Zinnias in the flower bed had a long and attractive bloom period, but now between the cool weather and mildew, they are ready to be replaced by snapdragons, pansies, alyssum and stocks in the sunny portion of the flower garden.
You also can still plant sweet peas by seed. They perform best when planted against a trellis. Nurseries sell portable trellises that are secured by pressing them into the soil, but spare tomato cages work just as well. To enhance the germination rate, don’t forget to soak the sweet pea seeds overnight before planting.
In the shade, semperfloren begonias have performed very well this fall, especially the Whopper selection. Many beds still look great, and you may want to leave them in place to tough out the rest of the winter.
If not, of course, you can plant cyclamen and/or primula. Expect newly planted cyclamen or primula to last until May if temperatures stay mild.
If it gets hot, the spectacular cool-weather plants will decline
faster than expected. They also can be hurt by temperatures below 30 degrees, so have some insulating fabric measured and ready to apply as a protective cover.
Freeze protection
If temperatures drop below 40 degrees, as they did recently, move plants such as oriental hibiscus and bougainvillea into shelter.
Also have freeze protection materials available for citrus. Two layers of a fabric such as Insulate along with Planket works well to protect lemons and limes below 28 degrees with a heat source, such as a mechanic’s light or poultry lamp.
Make sure the bulbs are the old-fashioned, heat-producmg kind rather than LEDS.