Gardening by the Moon Weekend To-Do
An idea as old as agriculture, based both folklore and superstition but there are scientific ideas to back it up.
- Lunar Phase: New Moon, Friday, January 24
- Saturday-Monday: Moon in the sign of Scorpio,
- If you are planning to compost any of your holiday decorations be sure to cut them into small/tiny pieces. If you can put them through a shredder this would be ideal as the smaller the pieces the faster the material will compost.
Later in the Week
- Wednesday-Thursday: Moon in the sign of Capricorn: Prune and fertilize
- All forms of Crape Myrtles should be pruned at this time of the year. Many gardeners forget that those round, brownish clusters, are last years dried up flowers and need to be removed. Crape Myrtle does not self shed the old flowers. After pruning, feed Crape Myrtle 16-16-16 to encourage the new growth. Crape Myrtles only bloom on the current years' growth
- When pruning roses, do not be concerned about pruning to an outside bud if none are present. Instead, prune the rose(s) back to a uniform height. As the days get longer and warmer, the buds will form. In three to four weeks, you can come back and finish up.
Other Things To-do
- Blackberry and Raspberry vines should have two applications of dormant spray to control Berry Mite. Berry Mite is a very small insect that causes the berries to only ripen halfway. By the time you discover the problem, it is too late to control it.
- To help prevent the spread of Camellia Petal Blight, keep the area under the plants clean from spent flowers and other debris. Camellia Petal Blight is a fungus disease that causes the center of the flowers to rot when they open. We have no chemical controls, so good cultural practices are a must. The light cultivation under the plants also disrupts the spore-producing structures.