Spring and Cold Weather

Wiese Acres Tulips

Well, I was beginning to get excited about spring after a day with temperatures in the low 50's on Sunday, but yesterday burst my bubble.  By the time I got home from teaching a garden class last night, my entire yard was under a 3 inch blanket of wet, slippery, white stuff again.  Now, in North Dakota, I've learned to never complain about moisture, regardless of the form in which it arrives, but I would like to let Mother Nature know that when it comes to April, I really do prefer rain!  And it is far past the time for below zero wind chills!!

On those first nice days of spring, it's hard to resist getting out into the yard and starting on the spring beautification process .  But, if the soil in the garden is wet, try to resist that urge.  Walking on the water-soaked soil causes compaction of the soil particles, compressing the air and moisture essential to plant life and making the soil hard and unworkable.

I am always anxious to get out and remove all the dead foliage that I've become very tired of looking at over the long winter.  Since I am in an area that often has surprise drops in temperature (like last night's 18 degrees), leaving that old foliage just a little bit longer helps protect the vulnerable crown and new growth of the plants.

Very soon, the garden centers will begin to receive shipments of plants from places like Tennessee and Texas.  These are warm blooded plants and garden center staff hate it when they arrive this early.  It makes a lot of extra work for them trying to save the plants from these cold snaps.  As gardeners, we should pay attention to their concerns. 

Chances are pretty good that if you put vegetable or other annual plants outdoors before the middle to the end of May in North Dakota, or around whatever date is average last frost date for you particular area, you'll end up making another contribution to the garden center a short while down the road.  If you simply can't resist bringing those cute little plants home, keep them in a warm, secure location for awhile or plant them in a location where you can easily cover them with blankets. 

Covering will protect your plants from light frost, but if the temperatures gets to the mid-20's it is hard to cover them well enough to keep them from having at least some frost damage.  A horticulturalist I work with quite often, when asked what should be used to cover plants, says "Think about if you were out in the garden, naked, when the temperatures get down below freezing.  What would you like to be covered with?"  The answer is nice, soft, warm cloth - not plastic.  Plastic can actually draw cold to your plants and damage the tender plant cells.

If there is someone in your household who loves to mow grass, this is a good time to restrain them, too.  Lawn mowing can wait until there is a little bit of new growth.  And it should be done at about the 2 1/2 to 3 inch long level, especially the first couple mowings.  With all the brown, dead stuff that hangs around in the spring, it's tempting to really lower that lawn mower blade and "scalp" the grass.  Doing so opens the crown to weather damage.  It also allows weed seeds that are lurking in the depths of your lawn to see the light of day.  And when weed seeds see the light of day, they want to party.  You'll be so busy trying to get rid of them that you won't have any time for partying yourself.

Aerating and coring should not be done until after the lawn has been mowed a couple times, usually towards the end of May.  I know a lot of lawn care companies tell you it's better to do it earlier rather than later.  That is true to a certain extent, but most grass specialists will tell you it shouldn't be done until the new growth grass is pretty well established and has "toughened" some - usually after the first couple mowings.

Fertilizing grass, in colder climates, also shouldn't be done too early.  The rule of thumb in North Dakota, where average last frost in the spring is mid-May, is to do your spring lawn fertilizing around Memorial Day.  That rule of thumb can equate to about two to three weeks after last frost in other areas.  Fertilizing too early causes a flush of new, tender growth that is often damaged by cold weather, stunting the growth and again, paving the way for grass damage and weed growth.

So, as tempting as it is to get out there and really start digging in the dirt in earnest with the first signs of warm weather, brewing a good cup of coffee and reading a good book instead will pay you great returns in the future.