Gardening Calendar For February - Colorado State University Extension Tri River Area Mesa Delta Montrose Ouray Counties

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Week 1
Check the Dial-a-Garden weekly to stay in touch with weekly gardening activities. Call (970) 244-1706 or check the Web for this report.	The early emergence of tulips and other spring flowering bulbs can sometimes be delayed by watering to cool the soil and then applying a layer of chopped leaves, straw or other organic mulch to help hold in the cold.	Compost piles that are not `working' properly, may need to be protected from the cold. Covering the pile with several inches of leaves or straw or covering the pile with a tarp will help hold in heat.	Bacterial activity is what creates the heat of a compost pile. This requires moisture (wet as a damp sponge), nitrogen and oxygen.	Lawn areas that did not receive adequate snow in December and January may need to be watered. This is especially true with turf having a south and west exposure.	If your lawn was damaged by mite activity last spring, a watering now will help reduce the mite population and reduce the amount of damage the lawn may experience this spring.	Do not add wood ash to the compost pile, lawn or garden areas. Wood ash is high in salts (approximately 16 mmhos/cm³). Wood ash should be allowed to cool and sent to the landfill along with other debris.
Week 2
	The starting of tomato, pepper and eggplant as transplants in the home, greenhouse or hotbed should be delayed until March. Transplants should be started based on the average last killing spring freeze and the recommended age of the transplant when planted into the garden.		When purchasing grapes remember that the Vinifera types should be planted only in areas where 170 frost-free days are the rule. As an average, American grape varieties will mature in about 160 frost-free days provided summer heat is adequate. Grape varieties should be selected on the hardiness of the cultivar.			Exotic Greenhouse plants may require shading to protect them from the increased sunlight as days become longer.
Week 3
The CSFS Seedling Tree and Shrub program offers seedlings at minimal cost for erosion control, reforestation, wind breaks, wildlife habitat and other natural resource projects. Seedling are normally delivered to participating counties at the end of April	Chip all leaves, dead branches and other plant debris collected during the winter. Apply this as a mulch around trees and shrubs or add to the compost pile.	When ordering caneberries and strawberries these plants should be certified as disease free. The use of diseased plant material defeats the objective of a successful harvest and may result in contamination of the soil and surrounding area by the plant disease.	Gardeners with a few backyard fruit trees should consider pruning during the next couple weeks. Avoid pruning just before a heavy freeze as this can create internal injury and reduce the overall health of the tree.		The pruning of grape vines in the home vineyard can be delayed until bud break later this spring.
Week 4
Based on the winter temperatures, Pear Psylla may need to be treated in late February or early March. Check the weekly Dial-a-Garden Message to keep up to date on this treatment.		Most ornamental trees can be pruned in late February with the exception of the bleeders - Maple, Birch and Walnut. The bleeders are best pruned in late July to avoid the discoloring effects of the sap that runs out of these trees in copious amounts.			Peach and nectarine trees are pruned heavily removing 50 to 70 percent of last years growth. This results in the shoot growth necessary for next year's fruit crop.
Week 5
When ordering fruit trees remember that a quantine for Peach mosaic virus prohibits the planting of nectarine and white-flesh peaches in Mesa county. The other Western Colorado counties are not affected by this quantine thus permitting the planting of these trees within those counties.