Now is the time to think about our year’s activity of gardening. This is the time that we plan what to plant and in what location are we placing this year’s vegetables. Have you received your seed catalogs yet? I bet you have already ordered a few seed packets. Remember to pay attention to what companies are offering Heirloom and Organic seeds.

One of the major guidelines that I consider is when is Easter? Well, this year it is late, April 24

A good thing is with Easter being as late as it is we will have the Highland Lakes Lawn and Garden Show before Easter. The Lawn and Garden Show will be March 26

Duties for January

Now is the time to prune those Live Oak trees. We have been waiting since August to do this and the time is upon us and the weather is certainly cooperating with us. The freezing temperatures that we are experiencing make for the best time to prune our trees.

Be thinking about purchasing your corn gluten for the control of weeds in the yard. This should be applied late next month. Here in the Hill Country our weather does not read the calendar and it is always different from what we think it should be. So we have to be prepared for the unexpected.

Remember Our Feathered Friends

Our feathered friends need to be provided with water and food during these harsh winter months. There are several places to purchase feed for the birds, one very obvious is your local feed store and purchase several different kinds of grain and mix them to provide a balanced mix to appeal to all the birds we have that winter in our local, unless you are feeding Eagles like the lady in Alaska, you can find the feed you need. As we discussed they need water so make sure you provide a source of water for them in a convenient but protected area.

Weather

The weather has Blessed us with more rain this week and all moisture helps toward our Wildflowers in the Spring. We had some a week or so back and now this really nice rain we just received this weekend. It may not be as much as we would want, but us at Oatmeal it was two (2) inches more than we had. Praise God!

Have You Noticed?

Of course, how could you not notice the colorful and plentiful Possumhaw trees with their bright red berries and their naked dormant appearing limbs in contrast. Possumhaws are my favorite trees in the wintertime and they have become so plentiful on the roads and highways, they just make me smile when I see their shining bright red berries. I hope that you are enjoying them as well.

A Gardeners New Year’s Resolutions

Here are a few of mine:

1) To weed more and at the right time (not after the harvest only)

2) Water regularly .. not just when the plants are wilted

3) Create a compost pile

4) Clean my tools after each use ….not just at the end of the Season

5) Plant where they grow their best …not just where convenient for me to plant

6) Experiment more and Record the results

7) My wife Patty has another for me…Finish one project before beginning a new one

January’s Garden Duties

This is the preferred time to plant trees as is February and March. Hope you have selected what you want to plant and where. Always keep in mind the size of the tree at its maturity. Plant Native whenever you can so they are less susceptible to diseases and more likely to stay healthy and grow vigorously. Check with your local garden centers and nurseries for the exact species you need to plant for your chosen location.

Other things to do this month are:

1) It is time to spray our fruit trees with dormant oil. I like Orange oil for this.

2) Mulch vegetation for freeze protection and water retention in the soil

3) Start selecting onion sets

4) Keep watering regularly

5) Provide cover for those extra sensitive to cold plants

6) Plant Strawberries, and vegetable seeds later this month

7) Start tomatoes in your greenhouses (if you have one)

8) Still can plant fruit trees, berries, grapes, and pecan trees

9) If you still have your Christmas tree then plant it if it is alive or recycle it if not

10) For more things go to my book "Gardening in the Texas Hill Country" pages 100-105

As my grandchildren tell me, "May all of your weeds be Texas Wildflowers"!

Till Next Month!

Keep your souls and your soles in your garden!

Remember the True Master Gardener: Jesus said, "I am the vine; my Father is the Gardener." John 15:1

Have questions or comments? Contact Bill Luedecke at The Luedecke Group Realtors, P.O. Box 1632, Bertram, TX. 78605 (no Post Office in Oatmeal) or email bill@texasland.net. For additional gardening web sites, go to his web site; www.TexasLand.Net and click on links.

th is the date. As you may or may not know the last freeze of the season is usually around or on Easter. However, the average latest freeze in the Texas Hill Country is April 15th, this is going to make for an interesting gardening year. th at the Community Center in Burnet as it has been for the last several years.