What do Gardeners do in the Winter?

Freezing temperatures are not about to keep us from thinking green and nurturing plants.

Here are a few tips to keep your plants healthy and your thumb green throughout the winter months:

• Stay vigilant so snow and ice don't damage your outside plants. Gently brush off snow from heavily laden shrubs and trees to prevent breakage. Shovel or blow snow with care to avoid burying shrubs and perennials.

• Keep your garden tidy by continuing to remove broken or fallen branches. A few minutes of tidying now can save a lot of time in the spring and get you some winter exercise.

• If you need to remove ice from sidewalks or driveways, choose an environmentally friendly product that won't harm your plants. Most deicing products damage lawns, and granular fertilizers contaminate our waterways and the Bay. Instead, use sand or products containing magnesium chloride.

Winter Blahs - Quick cures

Now that the holiday season is over, but the days are still so short, it is easy to feel a bit lackluster in energy.  I thought I would share a few quick and easy recipes that will help you improve your mood and energy as the winter months drag on.  I did a post last winter about this same time detailing some of the herbs that will lift spirits in winter.  Check it out with this link.

Enjoying the Cold

This recipe I found in the Essential Herbal Magazine December 2012 edition.  Michael Blackmore wrote an article about making herbal ice pops.  One of his suggestions was a blend of heart healthy and uplifting herbs he called Happy Heart.  Here is how he made it.

1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 ounces of lavender buds
2 ounces rose hips
1 ounce hawthorn berries
1/2 cup honey

In a pint-sized mason jar combine the herbs and berries and allow to steep for several hours.  Filter out the herbs from the water, placing the liquid in a measuring cup.  Add the honey and stir until dissolved.  Pour the result into molds, leaving head space for expansion.  Freeze for several hours (between 2 and 6 depending on the freezer.)

Using Aromatherapy

Another way to lift spirits is with scents.  This combination of essential oils can be used in salves, lotions, room sprays or scent infusers.  Combine the following oils in a jar and shake well.  Then add by drop to terra cotta infusers or other scent holding items.  This is may favorite blend as it citrus base adds a ray of sunshine:

5 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
5 drops of Orange Essential Oil
3 drops of Geranium Essential Oil (I use Lemon geranium)
2 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil

Winter Sowing

I am attending the Chicago Flower and Garden Show this weekend and next week will be sharing gardening ideas I picked up or improved learning there.  To get you in the mood, I thought I would share an idea I have been toying with and finally decided to accomplish.  If there are no pictures with this post, please bear with me, I am having some trouble with the computer recognizing the .jpgs  I will post photos as soone as it allows me too!

Winter sowing is an easy germination method that allows you to start hardy seedlings for pennies.  Winter sowing is done outdoors during winter using mini-greenhouses made out of recyclables.  There is no heating devices, no energy using grow lights and nothing very expensive at all to start your seeds.

The best source on the internet for winter sowing tips and guidelines is www.wintersown.org by Trudi Davidoff.  On that site you can identify what can be winter sown or if you should just save the seed and direct sow it in the garden.

This is a great green project for recycling old milk jugs and toilet paper rolls, yet you can get a bit of dirt under your finger nails when it is hard to do that outside in Illinois just yet.

What you need:

Sharp scissors or a knife

Milk cartons, gallon size or paper towel tubes and a card board box

Seed packets

Waterproof marker

Water

A roll of duct tape

Potting soil

Outdoor location to place your planted seeds

Steps:

Place the tubes in a small cardboard box spaced so they touch each other and do not fall over.

Or poke holes in the bottom of a one gallon milk carton.  Then using sharp scissors cut the carton all the way around by the handle, leaving the handle intact.  This will leave a hinge for opening the milk jug.

Add the potting soil to the milk jugs or paper towel rolls.  It does not need to be very deep about 1 ½ to 2 inches at most.  Label the milk jug or writ on the inside edge of the towel rolls the name of the seed you will be planting.  You can put a label on the bottom of your milk jug too in case the other falls off.

Give the soil a good watering before placing your seeds.  This will keep them from floating away when watered after.  I watered the milk jug before I planted and the towel rolls after I planted them. 

Remember to plant the seeds at the depth specified on the seed packet.  Pat the soil down or add a layer of soil on top of the seed instead of pressing them in.

You need to have 2 inches above the soil to allow space for seedlings to grow.

Secure the sides of your cut milk jug with duct tape and place it in the snow outside or on a picnic table, sidewalk ledge or balcony.

I put plastic wrap, double thickness over the top of the cardboard box.  To give the greenhouse effect I need to get the seeds to start.

Herb seeds I recommend for winter sowing:

Calendula

Viola

Flax

Basil

Mint

Oregano

Parsley

Sage

Thyme

Dill

Hyssop

Marjoram

Chamomile

Chives

Yarrow