Celebrate Arbor Day in 2013

Pink-flowered dogwood

   In Mississippi, Arbor Day is celebrated on the second Friday in February each year. This year it is on February 8. Arbor Day is a day set aside to remind us to plant trees and to appreciate all of the great things trees do for us.

   You might not consider trees that important. Who needs to rake up all of those leaves any-way? But, trees are espe-cially important in urban and suburban areas for a variety of reasons.

   Most of us would agree that Mississippi summers are too hot to begin with, but urban areas in particu-lar, are heat traps. Buildings, streets, and parking lots absorb and hold heat from the sun, causing these areas to be several degrees warmer than the sur-rounding countryside.

   Trees moderate this by intercepting the sunlight. The air temperature under tree canopies is six to ten degrees cooler than outside it. Overall, this helps to moderate tempera-tures in urban areas. Properly placed trees which shade your house can cut your air conditioning bill anywhere from 10 percent to 50 per-cent during the summer.

   Trees help out with air pollution also. The leaf surfaces of trees trap and filter out dust, pollen, and other particles in the air. Trees help supply the oxygen we need to breathe as well as use the car-bon dioxide that we exhale and that factories and engines emit.

   Trees stabilize the soil and prevent erosion, cut down on noise pollution by act-ing as barriers to sound, hide unattractive views, and provide food and shelter for urban wildlife. Trees also contribute great-ly to beautification, increase property values and shade our outdoor living areas in the summer. Fruit and nut trees can also be used in the landscape even provide something to eat.

    When is the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago! The next bet time is this Arbor Day. Your home and community and this state will benefit from them.

    Always remember to plant the ‘right tree in the right place!’

Grow Your Own Vegetable Transplants

         Truly dedicated gardener will grow their own transplants for their vegetable garden.  By doing so you can have the cultivars they want and have them at the proper planting time. 

Seeds of cole crops, such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower, will germinate satisfactorily in cool soils (temperatures from 45 to 50 degrees). But they germinate more quickly at higher soil temperatures.  After germination, grow plants at 70 degrees to 80 degrees for 6 to 8 weeks for best results.

 Recommended varieties of cabbage include: Bravo, Solid Blue 870, Gourmet, Cheers, Vantage, Fortuna, A&C #5 and Rio Verde.  Best broccoli variety for the spring is Packman.  You need fast maturing cauliflower varieties for a spring crop so try Snow King, Snow Crown, or Majestic.

Tomato, pepper, and eggplant seeds germinate best at soil temperatures of 65 degrees to 75 degrees.  Grow transplants at 65 degrees to 75 degrees during the day and 60 degrees to 65 degrees at night for 6 to 8 weeks this time of year. Temperatures much lower than this will slow, and possibly stunt, peppers and eggplants.

There are lots of tomato varieties you can grow but be sure to include some with tomato spotted wilt resistance (TSWV) such as Amelia, Crista, or Bella Rosa.  Stilleto, Heritage, Excursion II, and Declaration are TSWV resistant bell peppers. 

Fairty Tale Eggplant

 

 For eggplants try the classic Black Beauty or Ichiban.  Even better, experiment with some of the new, smaller varieties such as Ghostbuster (white), Hansel, Gretel (white), or Fairy Tale (miniature fruit with white with violet streaks)

A common problem in home production of transplants is not having enough light to develop a stocky transplant.  To be successful you need a well-light window on or ‘grow lights’.  Provide full sunlight all day when seedlings first appear.  If light levels are low, keep plants cooler and drier.

 

If you have extra seeds do not worry,  put then in a sealed container in the bottom of the refrigerator or in the freezer and the will last several years.  I am still planting some tomato seds I have had since 1984!