Xeric Garden Calender - Winter
Hopes...It can be difficult to be positive about winter - after all, the daylight wanes at mid-afternoon across Canada, and snow and ice covers the land. Getting out into the garden seems a wasted effort, you can't see the soil and the only indication that plants are under there are the humps where you know there are beds. Keeping optimism flowing can be an uphill battle.
By the time the winter solstice arrives on December 21 or so every year, you can take heart that now the days will start to get longer, creeping back towards spring. Winter has a slower pace and can also be very beautiful as nature bestows special gifts if we look carefully - ice dripping off the rain chain in a moment frozen in time, or the frost fairies in the cold of the early morning on a window pane. Dreams...Research is one thing that you'll have plenty of time to do during those cold snowy winter days. Reading the seed catalogues that arrive any time after November will take up a good portion of time.Decisions about the varieties of vegetables you will grow in your organic garden is nerve wracking. Lists will grow, and be crossed off. Eventually, you'll have decided on what to order. But wait; leave it for a couple more days, as guaranteed, you'll remember something else you badly want.
Make sure you get out into the fresh air to check out animal tracks in your xeric garden. Seeing the life that goes on even in frigid temperatures and falling snow can give you a feeling of hope. Snow has been called 'the poor mans fertilizer' as it collects nitrogen from the air as it falls and adds it to your soil as it melts. The succulent plants are tucked into their winter home in the back room where they are under fluorescent lights on a twelve hour schedule. Propagation continues as the plants become leggy or overgrown. I monitor moisture levels, not watering unless the soil is almost completely dry. Cuttings of all the succulents will root without even having any soil. That's one of the really interesting things about growing these fascinating plants. Are you interested in Succulent Plant Propagation techniques? My Succulent Plant Propagation E-Book will tell you all you need to know about making more of these fascinating and beautiful plants.
If you've started a worm farm and have it in your basement or root cellar, make sure you feed your 'herd' of worms. They continue to eat as long as the bedding in their container isn't frozen. I give mine chopped up kitchen scraps - you can even put it through a blender - and coffee grounds and tea leaves are already small enough. Starting seeds in January or February is a sure-fire way to cheer a person up. It's a guarantee that spring will come, one day. If you’ve found this website relevant, interesting and fun why not contribute to help me make it even better – your donation in the amount you choose will be gratefully accepted. Simply click on the button below to donate with your credit card or pay-pal account.
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