Don’t forget chores on pleasant days

The weather has not been the greatest for working in the yard and garden this winter. But on good days, there are plenty of garden chores you can do that will help improve your spring planting:

Clean up the vegetable patches and flower beds.

Remove any remaining trellis materials, such as stakes and wires.

Apply manure or compost to the vegetable garden. Be sure to till the manure or compost into the soil as soon as possible. This gives it a chance to rot before spring planting. The soil should be dry before tilling.

Look through the catalogs to see what new vegetable or plants are recommended this year. Order vegetable or annual seeds. Remove any standing water in your perennial beds. If the water freezes, it can damage the plants. Digging a small trench can help remove standing water. In the spring or early summer, you may want to raise your perennial beds to prevent any standing water.

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Check evergreen plants for insects and diseases. When there is a sudden change in the weather, insects may start to emerge in evergreen plants. Check on the underside of a few leaves for insects. If insects are present, spray the plant with dormant oil to control insects such as mites and scales. Read and follow the label instructions before applying chemicals.

Blackberries and blueberries can benefit from organic mulch. Several good organic mulches are wood chips, sawdust, pine needles and leaves. Fresh sawdust and wood chips remove nitrogen from the soil, so make sure to use well-rotted wood chips and sawdust. The benefit is not so much winter protection, but more to hold moisture and keep the soil cool during the summer.

E-mail your questions to bleigh1@ utk.edu. Include your name and where you live. For more gardening information, call the Tipton County Extension office at (901) 476- 0231 or the Shelby County Extension office at (901) 752-1207. Booker T. Leigh is the extension director for Tipton County.