Divine Vines

 

August 2026

Pickaway to Garden

Divine Vines

By Paul J. Hang

Woody vines are climbing perennial plants that generally need the support of trees, arbors, fences, telephone poles or buildings. Vines attach themselves to objects by twining around, use hair-like structures that glue themselves to, or have cup-like ends to, grasp their support. Others use tendrils that are slender spiral-like growths that reach out to twine around a support. Cucumbers and grapes are examples of vines using tendrils.

Last month we covered the satanic Terrible Trio of woody vines: Poison Ivy, English Ivy and Winter Creeper. Poison Ivy is the only native of the three, the other two are invasive. Its white berries are consumed by birds. Its poisonous sap, urushiol, can cause misery for those sensitive to it and who come in contact with it. Vines, like most things, are mixed blessings, or curses. It all depends. A few more problematic vines on our devilish list are: Japanese Honeysuckle (invasive and wraps around young trees and strangles them); Oriental Bittersweet (invasive, a thick vine with berries along its stems) and Oriental Wisteria (very aggressive and can get huge and heavy). And, let’s add kudzu, very invasive and has been seen in Ohio.

Some divine vines, not holy but good, are native and worth considering for planting, with some reservations. A vine that behaves, will cover an eight foot trellis with pruning without covering your house, brings in hummingbirds and smells good, is Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). With coral red trumpet flowers, semi evergreen, berries that birds eat, pretty foliage, can grow to 15’ plus, this vine approaches the divine.

Other good vines to consider, with caveats, are all natives. Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quiquefolia) has five leaves, occasionally has some “leaves of three” which cause many to think it is poison ivy. It uses hair like growths, like poison ivy, to attach itself to supports. Unlike poison ivy it has purple berries and striking red foliage in the fall. It can also be used as a ground cover. Passion Flower and Trumpet Creeper are deciduous vines grown for their flowers. Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) has orange flowers three to five inches long attractive to hummingbirds. Passion Flower (Passiflora spp.)has purplish flowers that look like aliens from another planet. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The genus is Passiflora.  Both vines can be quite aggressive and require frequent pruning to keep them in check. Virgin’s Bower or Wild Clematis is a woodland climbing vine with maple-like leaves, small white fragrant flowers that appear in late summer. They are followed by attractive silvery seed heads.

There are two American vines that have undesirable Oriental namesakes. American Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens), unlike its foreign cousin, is controllable and won’t collapse on whatever it grows. American Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens), unlike its foreign cousin, has its fruits at the end of its stems and is not invasive. Another nice American vine is Pipevine or Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla).  It can grow in shade or sun and feeds the caterpillars of the striking Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly. It was often grown on grandma’s porch as a screen and/or for shade. I have not covered a number of other vines e.g. Morning Glory (Ipomoea tricolor), that are annuals or grown as annuals. There is a vine for everyone. Check the Latin name to make sure it’s the one for you.

Things to do in the garden:

August is Tree Check month. Water if we don’t get at least an inch of rain each week. Water at the base of the plant and do it in the morning. Water trees and shrubs planted in the past two years or if they look distressed. If you see lichen on your trees, rejoice it’s a sign of clean air.

You can still have a fall garden. Plant healthy looking broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage plants early in the month. Direct-seed beets, spinach, turnips, and snap peas mid-month. Other vegetables that grow well in cool weather but should be planted a little later are lettuce planted through August and September, carrots and radishes in September.  Count the days before the average frost (mid-October), veggies that have that many days to harvest can still be planted. Check the seed packet. Keep the seeds and soil moist for best germination.

Harvest vegetables and herbs in the morning for best results. Dig potatoes if the vines have died. Harvest onions when the tops fall over and dry them in the sun for a few days. Consider donating excesses to a food pantry.

As plants die back or stop producing in the vegetable garden remove them so bad insects and disease don’t have a place to over-winter. Plants with hollow stems, also native ornamental grasses, can be left alone for insects and for seeds for wintering birds or for visual winter interest. Put the debris of healthy plants in the compost bin, diseased plants in the trash.

Now is the time to renovate or start a lawn. Do your research at ohioline.osu.edu. Start cuttings of coleus, begonias, geraniums and impatiens for growing indoors this winter. Move houseplants to a shady spot to prepare them to move indoors. Disbud and fertilize your dahlias for bigger blooms. Fertilize peonies and roses with a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 12-12-12. Order garlic and spring flowering bulbs, plant biennials. Divide, transplant or give away perennials that are overgrown. Add new mulch where needed. Pull weeds before they go to seed.

Big tomatoes not ripening? I learned at the Midwest Native Plant Conference, the cause is night time temperatures in the mid 70’s. Once our nights cool off they should start to ripen. By the end of the month try disbudding your tomato plants. Remove the growing tips of each branch and pinch out all the blossoms that bloom. It takes six weeks from blossom to fruit. This results in bigger tomatoes and prevents those marble size tomatoes that never reach the table. Experiment! Try this with melons and winter squash. Consider picking tomatoes before they are completely ripe. They will ripen off the vine if they show a blush of green on an otherwise red, purple or yellow tomato. Totally ripe tomatoes still on the vine can burst with a glut of water from rain or the hose. They can also be sampled by birds and mammals. Big tomatoes not ripening, the cause is night time temperatures in the mid 70’s? Once our nights cool off they should start to ripen.

Monitor for pests. Check under the leaves. Use organic methods first. Remember, 97 percent of insects are either good or neutral. To eliminate bad bugs, the two-step stomp technique can be quite effective.  Or, just flick them into a cup of soapy water. No bug species has developed a resistance to these tactics. Need gardening advice? Call the Gardening Helpline at the OSU Extension Office 474-7534. Other resources are ohioline.osu.edu and Buckeye Yard and Garden Line (bygl.osu.edu).

Jeepers Creepers

 

July, 2026

Pickaway to Garden

 

Jeepers Creepers

By Paul Hang

 

“Jeepers Creepers where’d ya get those peepers? Jeepers Creepers, where’d ya get those”… Ivies? That’s not exactly the way the song goes. But if you have English Ivy (Hedera helix), Winter Creeper (Euonymous fortunei) or Periwikle (Vinca minor), you have creepers more like the horror movie by the same name. In the case of English Ivy and Winter Creeper you also have climbers. They can reach upwards of 75 feet. Periwinkle can climb to about 16 inches.

 

Sometimes we want a plant that can cover an expanse of soil from a few square feet to several square yards, a ground cover. We also might want a vine that can climb a trellis, a wall or a fence. Who wouldn’t want a plant that is: evergreen, a vigorous grower, low maintenance, deer resistant, a weed suppressor; a stabilizer of slopes, happy in full sun or shade, and tolerant of most soil conditions?  That describes the Terrible Trio mentioned above.

 

The Terrible Trio also: out competes native vegetation, damages trees, and disrupts ecosystems. They are serious invasives. They suppress weeds but also other desirable plants that they invade. I have had them overwhelm hostas and more desirable ground covers. They are fast growing and, except for Periwinkle, cover vertical surfaces when available. They spread by vegetative growth and seeds. They are still sold as ground covers and houseplants. I have even heard popular garden show hosts recommend them. The climbers have aerial roots that exude substances that help them adhere to walls and trees. English Ivy also has berries toxic to birds and humans.

 

Removing them can be challenging. Starting at chest height cut and remove the vines to the ground and an area a couple feet away from the vertical surface. With trees do not attempt to remove higher growth. It may injure the bark. It will die and fall off naturally.  On the ground remove the root stems by cutting and treating with an herbicide. You may need to repeat treatments.

 

Identification and treatments can be found on YouTube and in other references. There you can also find native alternatives. Pay attention to descriptive terms like “aggressive” or “vigorous  growers” as some, e.g. Trumpet vine or Campsis radicans, though native can cover a barn in just a few years. If you have any of the Terrible Trio as house plants put them in the trash when you are through with them. Consider not sharing them.  

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

The dog days began July 3^rd.  Time to take stock. What has gone wrong in the garden and what has gone right? Some days I am tempted to “throw in the trowel.” Once I see my daylilies in bloom, some tomatoes forming on the vines I get over that feeling and I resolve to keep on.

.

Are you waiting on cucumbers and squash to start bearing fruit? They get male flowers first then later the female flowers come on. This is the time to dry herbs. Harvest before they flower. Pick on a sunny dry day and in the morning. Tie them in small bundles with rubber bands. Hang them upside down in a hot, dry, dark, well ventilated spot in an attic, barn or shed. It is time to harvest garlic. Harvest when leaves are turning yellow but there are still one or two green leaves. Hang them or lay them out to cure.

 

Weeding, deadheading and watering are high on the list of routine activities. If July turns out to be bone dry, water the equivalent of one inch or more per week. Don’t let your plants wilt. This will cause blossom end rot in tomatoes and other solanaceous plants like peppers and eggplant. Mulch to conserve moisture and keep down weeds. If you haven’t mulched yet do so after a soaking thunderstorm or a good deep watering. Vegetables high in water content need more water e.g. tomatoes, watermelons, onions.

 

Keep your mower blades sharp; cut your grass long, 3-4 inches is ideal. If you use a pesticide for grubs you are also killing the ones that produce fireflies. Consider organic methods if you have a grub problem.  Kill Japanese beetle scouts before they let their comrades know about your garden. Brush them off into a cup of soapy water or alcohol (not Jim Beam). Repeatedly letting the lawn go dormant and reviving it by watering can kill the grass. Either keep watering or wait for Mother Nature to do it for you. Don’t forget to water your compost heap. It needs to remain moist for fast decomposition.

Container plants in the hot sun may need watering daily.

 

If grafted trees or roses are suckering below the graft, cut the sprouts off. In the case of roses these sprouts won’t produce roses like the original graft. If that’s all you have, consider replacing it. Keep picking seed pods off the annuals and clipping spent flowers (deadheading) to encourage bloom all summer. Pinch back mums July 15^th for the last time. Thin out fruit on heavily laden fruit trees. Prune climbing roses after bloom. Divide bearded Irises and do not re-plant too deep. Plant gladiolus up to mid-month. Add soil to potatoes as they grow.

 

Always read the labels on your plants for fertilization. Most woody plants have completed their growth and their buds for next year so fertilizing trees and shrubs after early July is a waste of money and may harm the plant. Keep watering trees and shrubs planted in the past 2-3 years. Ten gallons for every inch in diameter every week is good.

 

Consider planting a fall garden later this month. Plants such as cabbage, broccoli, spinach, collards, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts (plant seeds now, seedlings later), kale, Swiss chard even beets and parsnips thrive in our fall weather. Consider starting your plants indoors (except for root crops). Acclimate seedlings to the sun before putting them out in the garden. You can still plant beans, cukes, summer squash, greens and corn.

 

If you would like to see much more of things to do in the garden, as if this is not enough, see Margaret Roach’s web site awaytogarden.com (no relation). She gardens in Zone 6a in upstate New York. Have gardening questions? Call the Gardening Helpline 740-474-7534 and check out bygl.osu.edu.

Tomayto, Tomahto

 

June 2026

Pickaway to Garden

Tomayto, Tomahto

By Paul Hang

Remember that line from the song, ‘Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” in the film Let’s Dance? The film came out in 1937 which was even before my time, but not by much. The lyrics, by George and Ira Gershwin, sung by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, have been heard by most people. For gardeners and others, that controversy, over pronunciation, is minor. Another controversy, more controversial, mostly for non-gardeners, is whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable.

I remember hearing that a tomato is a fruit as a young boy, not a lad. I thought the proposition was preposterous. Like a lot of controversies it can sometimes be solved, by rational people, by defining the terms. What is a fruit? A fruit is a part of a plant that comes from a flower and contains a seed or seeds. A vegetable is another part of a plant not developed from a flower. Those are botanical terms.

Vegetables are parts of plants not developing from a flower. Some familiar veggies and the parts they come from are surprising. Artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage are buds, Asparagus is a sprout. Celery is a stalk. Lettuce and spinach are leaves. Carrots, beets turnips and parsnips are roots. Potatoes are tubers, modified stems whose “eyes” are buds. Onions and shallots are bulbs. A vegetable we think of as a fruit is rhubarb (a stalk).

Fruits develop from flowers and contain seeds. Strangely this includes many foods that we consider vegetables: squash and pumpkins, avocados, cucumbers, peppers eggplants, olives, peppers, zucchini, green beans. There are some weirdoes like rhubarb; figs (that are flowers that develop inward), that we consider fruits. Then there is corn, which if dry and mature is a grain, but if eaten fresh as sweet corn, we consider it a vegetable. But it is a fruit because it develops from a flower.

Ordinary people define these foods by their taste or culinary uses. Most fruits are sweet. Most vegetables are savory. It’s not that simple though. Have you ever tasted a ‘Sungold’ tomato or one of the other sweet cherry tomatoes? Have you eaten a sweet carrot or Sweet potato pie? Botany has other scientific names for the physical structure of fruits like, berries (tomatoes but not strawberries or raspberries), drupes (cherries), pomes (apples), and hesperidiums (citrus). Veggies with underground structures have names like roots, tubers, bulbs, corms, rhizomes. Many are surprising. Today, we appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to help settle our differences, which in 1937 ruled that tomatoes should be classified as vegetables under U.S. customs regulations. Or, we can do, like the aforementioned song says, “You say tomayto I say tomahto, Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”.

Wednesday June 10, plan on attending our annual Master Gardener Volunteer Founders Day Event. It starts at 6pm at Campbell Hall at the First Presbyterian Church, 134 E. Mound St. It is FREE! Diane Kadonaga of Sunny Glen Garden will present, “Herb Your Enthusiasm.” Master Gardener Volunteer Penelope LaRock will present “Art in the Garden.”

As always, your gardening questions can be answered by calling the helpline at the Pickaway County Extension office at 740-474-7534.

 

 

Things to do in the garden:

To avoid the wilting of cucumber and melon vines cover the new plants with row cover material until the plants flower. Then remove the cover so that the pollinators can do their work. Use row covers on all vegetable plants that do not need to be pollinated: cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, onions and root crops are examples. We eat them before they flower and go to seed, thus no need for them to be pollinated. I have begun to do this on more vegetables and it keeps most pests away. Mulch vegetables in mid-month after the soil has warmed up. You can fertilize all vegetables, corn two times, this month.

Weed and thin plants. Crowding plants more than is recommended results in all the plants doing poorly. Water deeply (not a little each day) one inch per week all summer.  Apply the water to the base of the plants rather than on the foliage. If you use a sprinkler, water early in the day so the foliage can dry before nightfall. Wet foliage overnight encourages fungal diseases to develop.

Remove seed heads from perennials. Don’t allow fancy hybrids to ripen and self-sow as their offspring will not come true. Deadhead flowers for more blooms. Iris can be divided and replanted after blooming. Pinch back mums once they are 4 to 6 inches tall. Continue to pinch back until mid-July. If your daffodils or other bulb plants didn’t bloom well it could be because they are now growing in the shade of larger grown trees or shrubs. Or, perhaps they are too crowded? Once the foliage turns yellow you can dig up the bulbs and divide and/or move them.

Fruit trees often shed small fruits in early summer called June Drop. Thin after this occurs. Thin apples to one fruit per cluster and one fruit every four to eight inches. Other tree fruit can be thinned a little less. This will cause bigger fruit. Don’t thin cherries. Pick up all fallen fruit. Only compost fallen fruit if you have a “hot” heap. Otherwise dispose of diseased fruit in the trash.

If you notice a “volunteer” tomato plant in your garden, yank it out or transplant it. Good gardeners, like good farmers, rotate their crops. A volunteer growing in last year’s tomato area allows disease to accumulate in that spot. Mulch under tomatoes keeps the soil from splashing up on the fruits. Soil on the leaves and fruits promotes disease. If you don’t stake, trellis or cage your tomatoes and let them sprawl on the ground, mulch will keep the fruit off the bare ground. Mulch also keeps the ground from drying out, suppresses weeds and moderates the soil temperature. Several layers of newspaper topped with organic mulch, leaves, untreated grass clippings, coarse compost, shredded bark etc. should do the trick. Never let your tomatoes wilt. Uneven watering causes blossom end rot.

Water your roses well but hold off on the geraniums. They will bloom best when kept somewhat dry. Roses sprouting from below the graft should be replaced. Peonies should be fertilized after they finish blooming. Newly planted trees and bushes should be watered well each week for the first two years if the weather turns dry. Give them a good soaking. Don’t give them a booster feeding of fertilizer this year. Force those young roots to search for food by stretching out into the soil. Mow the lawn high, 3-4 inches, it crowds out weeds and needs less water, and mowing.

Mother May I ?

 

May 2026

Pickaway to Garden

Mother May I?

By Paul Hang

 

When I thought of this childhood game, I had to look up how the game is played. Do you remember? I thought about the game because this May we seem to be playing Mother Nature May I? Mother Nature May I prepare the garden for planting or is the ground too wet? Or, is it too cold? May I plant my onion sets? May I set out my cabbage and broccoli plants? May I plant seeds of lettuce? How about seeds of marigold and zinnia? May I mow the lawn? The answer is No, because you didn’t start the question with Mother May I?

 

Actually, this May the answer to those, and other gardening questions, is Mother May I check the weather? This May has alternatively been warm or cold, wet or dry. What is a person to do Mother? First of all, we have to decide whether the weather is nice enough for us to even go outside. Then we have to decide if the conditions are right for what we intend to do. Different people have different tolerances in what weather they will work. Scandinavians say, “there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing.” So, discomfort comes from being unprepared and not from external circumstances. Does that sound like your mother? It certainly sounds like mine.

 

Next question, are the conditions right for what we want or need to do? How wet is the soil? If we gently squeeze a golf ball sized handful of soil and drop from waist high and it breaks apart the soil is not too wet. What is the temperature of the soil? If the soil temperature is 50 degrees we can plant our cabbage, broccoli, onions and lettuce seeds and plants. If the soil is 65 degrees we can plant seeds of most other vegetables and flowers. If the air temperature is going to cause frost it is best to not plant plants. If we have plants in the ground with frost we better cover them. We can mow the lawn at any temperature for which we can dress. If the grass is wet, better wait. With these precautions obeyed, Mother Nature may allow.

 

May will bring flowers even if we didn’t get much in the way of April showers. Surely the weather will settle down and moderate eventually. Frost in May? Mother Nature may.

 

The Master Gardener Volunteers are having their Plant Sale on May 16, 9am-1pm in the parking lot at the Pickaway County Library on N. Court St. Lots of plants, annuals and perennials are for sale. And, as always, the Helpline can be reached by calling the OSU Extension Office at 740-474-7534.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

Everything! The month of May is a busy one. You can direct-seed corn, beans, potatoes, melons, cucumbers and squash. Those last three are usually planted in “hills” of groups of three or four plants. Place cheesecloth or row cover cloth over vines until they bloom. With any luck you will have prevented the cucumber beetles from invading the plants. This also works on preventing the caterpillars of cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Don’t take the cloth off these as they don’t flower before harvest.

 

You can set out tomato, pepper and eggplant plants if the soil is warm (60 degrees). There is still a chance of frost but each week the chances become less and less. Be prepared to cover those tender plants if frost threatens. Don't be tempted to over-fertilize tomatoes, extra nitrogen will delay ripening and produce more vine than fruit. Remember tomatoes can be planted deep with the top few branches of leaves above ground. Roots will form along the buried stem. If you stake your tomatoes put the stakes in before you plant. Consider pruning your tomatoes and peppers. Look it up.

 

If you plan to put houseplants outside for the summer, a period of transitioning to the new environment will help assure their health and vigor. Fertilize and place in the shade. You can divide and move perennials now. As the soil warms (50 degrees) you can plant summer-flowering bulbs such as caladiums, cannas, dahlias, and gladioluses. You can begin spraying roses for black spot following the directions on the product.

 

Cut the seed pods off your lilacs (after the blooms fade), but do not prune the stems. If your lilacs are getting overgrown and leggy, cut a third of the old stems this year at the ground. Do this to a third next year and the final third the year after that. This way you will rejuvenate the bushes. Stake or cage floppy perennials like peonies. For bigger peonies, remove small buds near the larger ones. Ants on buds are not harmful.

 

If you have a home orchard remove any fallen fruit and dispose of them by burying or putting them in the trash. Don't put them into the compost heap unless it is really "cooking." (Our compost heaps don't "cook" unless we turn them regularly.)This will help prevent disease. Remember "June drop." It is a time when fruit trees rid themselves of excess fruit. This is a natural process. Then thin apples, peaches and other tree fruit (not cherries) to a fruit every six inches.  Pines can be pruned back. Cut just half of new “candle” growth, otherwise the branch will grow no further.

 

Mulch your beds after the soil has warmed. When you set out those tender plants protect against cutworms that can chew off new transplants. Use collars of aluminum foil, plastic, cardboard or other material to encircle the stem. The collars should extend into the soil an inch and above an inch or two. There are pesticides that can help control these pests (Google "cutworms extension”). I have also placed a toothpick in the ground right next to the plant stem with success.

 

This is a busy time for pollinators. When you spot a bug identify it before reaching for the spray. Fully 97% of the bugs in our gardens are beneficial or of no threat. Singular bugs are almost always beneficial predators. Crowds are often pests. Know your enemy! Consider starting a compost pile. Grass clippings, if not mulched and left on the lawn are a great “green” to add to the “brown.” Search (compost extension) for recipes.

Finally, it’s not how fast you mow but how high. Mow at least 3 inches high for a healthy lawn.

Bad Seed

 

April 2026

 

PICKAWAY TO GARDEN

Bad Seed

By Paul J. Hang

 

Few people remember the 1956 movie by that name. Nor do they recall the remake in 2018. The remake was not as terrifying as the first. I am no movie critic but a gardener. For a gardener, a bad seed can be a seed that does not germinate, not a child with serial killer tendencies. A bad seed could also be one that will result in an undesirable plant, like the invasive garlic mustard.

 

Seeds are amazing. I can’t begin to adequately cover them in these short paragraphs. (If I cover them they may sprout.) I always tread a fine line between scientist and poet without being either. Seeds come in many forms: kernels, acorns, nuts, samaras and catkins. Seeds are contained in several forms: pods, cones, husks, scales and fleshy coatings e.g. apples, cherries and paw paws. In fact, seeds are the fruit of plants. What we often call fruit are merely the carriers of seeds, their capsules.

 

Animals don’t produce the next generation by seeds but by sperm and egg. They produce embryos and eggs. Plants use something similar, pollen and ovules to produce seeds. Plants use the male anthers and female stigma. We are all familiar with what animals use. Both are methods to carry on the next generation of the species. Animals carry the method with them, with the individual. The method for plants is separate from the individual. The seed by itself carries the next generation on its own, waiting for the right conditions before germinating. As Thoreau said, “Every plant can be born again in every seed.”

 

Seeds come in all sizes, from a coconut which weighs 60 lbs. and nearly 20 inches in diameter and orchids whose seeds are barely visible and would take thousands to equal a grain of sand. Perhaps the most familiar, and amazing, are the seed balls, which hold three to four hundred small seeds, of the sycamore tree. From that small seed grows the largest tree in our latitude. There are some seeds that are 2,000 years old and have germinated. There are several seed banks which safeguard the future of our planet. Such a seemingly lifeless speck is a marvelous and complex thing full of wonder. As Thoreau in his book “Faith of a Seed, says, “The very earth itself is a granary.””

 

April 24^th is Arbor Day, time to plant trees. On April 25^th join the City Tree Commission, and city workers for an Arbor Day celebration at Barthelmas Park at 9 am to noon. Along with Arbor Day we will be celebrating the 1,000th tree planted in the city since the beginning of the City Tree Commission. Watch how to plant trees successfully. There will be information for adults and activities for kids. Free tree seedlings will be given away as long as supplies last. It should be Treemendous!

 

Things to do in the garden:

Tomato, eggplant and pepper seeds should be started indoors. The seedlings should be moved from the cells after 4 weeks into larger pots. Move them into the garden only after hardening them off and the danger of frost is past. As usual make sure you water-in the transplants. When you water, water deeply (top six inches wet) and water the base of the plant not the foliage. Water when the plants need it, not every day. Most plants require 1 to 1 and a half inches of water per week.

 

Vegetables that can be planted by seed directly into the garden are: beets, carrots, peas, onions, spinach, leaf lettuce, radishes. These should be watered enough to keep the soil moist to begin germination. Don’t let them dry out. Beets and carrots should be thinned at the seedling stage. Cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli plants can be planted as soil and weather conditions allow. The soil temperature for cool weather plants should be 50 degrees, warm weather plants at least 60 and some even higher. Put an inch of compost on the beds.

 

Use row covers (Google it) on your vegetables right after planting to keep the bad bugs off. For vegetables that produce fruit (beans, cucumber, pepper, squash, etc.) remove the covers after blooming to let the pollinators go to work. Tomatoes are self-pollinating and so you could leave the covers on. For those that don’t need pollinating (Cabbage, broccoli, onions, chard, kale, lettuce, beets and radishes, etc.) you can leave the covers on until harvest. Make sure you buy the right covers that let in enough light and rain. I have found this to be an effective method to protect plants without insecticides. Place collars around transplants that are susceptible to cut worms.

 

Most annual flowers can be seeded directly into the soil after the danger of frost has abated towards the end of the month. Some popular annuals that you should consider starting indoors are: snapdragon, wax begonia, sweet William, impatiens, sweet alyssum, petunia, gloriosa daisy, blue salvia, viola, pansy and zinnia, among others. This can save you a considerable amount of money that you can then spend on a perennial (native) plant.

Fertilize lawns lightly, if at all. The time to re-seed is when night time temps consistently reach 50 degrees and above. This is also the time to aerate lawns. Apply a pre-emergent herbicide now to prevent crabgrass, unless you plan to seed. When common lilac or Ohio buckeye begins to bloom it is too late for a pre-emergent herbicide to be effective and too early for a post-emergent. Leave clippings on the lawn. Their nitrogen content is high and will reduce the need to fertilize. Mowing height of at least three inches will retard the growth of crab grass and other weeds.

Unless you are prepared to cover plants in case of frost, don’t put out those tender plants such as tomatoes and peppers until mid-May or later when the soil warms up. The average last frost date is now April 23rd. There is a 50/50 chance of frost then and the chance decreases about 10% per week after that. Cool season transplants, after hardening them off, can be planted now (Lettuce, broccoli, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower).

Spring flowering bulbs should be fertilized after they bloom. Remember to leave the leaves of bulbs until they yellow, brown is better. If April brings its showers don’t work the soil if it is too wet.  Wait until it dries out a bit. If it seems wet enough to make a clay pot, wait. Squeeze a ball of earth about the size of golf ball and let it drop from waist high, if it breaks apart it’s ready to be worked. Don’t apply mulch until May. Allow the soil to warm.

Cut back your ornamental grasses to six inches or to the green stems. They can be divided now. Cut back your butterfly bushes, which have proved to be invasive, if you must. Prune spring blooming shrubs after they bloom. Bagworms on shrubs and trees hatch out shortly after the Snowmound Spirea blooms. This is when you can spray an insecticide (Bacillus thuringiensis, also called Bt, read the label) to kill the caterpillars. Now is the time to prune roses. Depending on the variety, you may prune back to a foot in height or to green growth. Fertilize monthly until Labor Day. You can plant new ones now. Large hostas can be divided as soon as they emerge.

Wait until several 50 plus degree days in a row before cleaning up debris of stems to save beneficial insects. If in doubt store them temporarily before putting them in the compost heap. Don’t prune your oak trees after the middle of the month or after they leaf out. Sap beetles are attracted to the open wounds and will bring oak wilt, a disease which will kill them and has been found in this part of the state. If pruning can’t be avoided after that, paint the cuts with a pruning sealant.

 

To identify the plants and trees around us, these two Plant ID apps can help; Pl@ntNet and iNaturalist. For information about planting and mulching trees see bygl.osu.edu. Gardening questions? Call the helpline at the Pickaway County Extension office at 740-474-7534.

Happy New Year?

March 2026

PICKAWAY TO GARDEN

 

Happy New Year?

 

By Paul Hang

 

This column was originally published in March of 2012. I thought a re-run might be fun. Notice how some references don’t apply to today.

 

For some reason I find it hard to believe that March is already here. Perhaps it is because we have had so little winter. Usually, by now, we have experienced so many days of cold and dreary weather that we are grateful for the promise of spring. But as I write this this winter has been pretty puny, so far. Yea right!

 

Robert Frost accurately described the weather in March in one of his poems. When we have a sunny day with a chill wind it feels like April. When the day is sunny and the wind still we feel we are in May. "But if you so much as dare to speak/ A cloud comes over the sunlit arch/ A wind comes off a frozen peak/ And you're two months back in the middle of March." March weather is unsettled and unpredictable. It makes me impatient for it to settle down. Just when I think I can get out and begin the new gardening year, along comes a nasty day that makes me postpone the anticipated season. But let's enjoy the forced leisure.

 

Regardless of our experience, the orb we reside on (whether we asked for the ride or not) continues inexorably to hurtle through space rotating about its axis and revolving around our sun. As that axis ceases to point away from the sun and reaches the point where it is half-way between pointing away and pointing towards the sun that point marks the equinox. This happens twice a year. The last time it marked the end of summer. This time it marks the end of winter, and as winter ends, spring begins with the spring equinox which arrives on March 20. The Romans began their new year in March and gardeners should too. After all it is pretty arbitrary when the New Year begins. Why not begin the year when the days are getting longer and warmer and the plants are beginning to spring to life? And gardeners are springing to life too. It is truly the beginning of the New Year. Let's have a spring's eve party on the 19th.

 

While we are getting our astronomical bearings look to the sky at night. We have our last chance to see the winter constellation that I like to think of as the Irish constellation, Orion! Soon it will no longer be visible until next winter. This also marks the end of winter.

 

March also begins daylight savings time. Everything that's old is new again. Plants begin to bloom, animals are generating a new generation. Birds are returning. Some have already nested. Buds are swelling. The sap has been running, ( some for office), people are walking and some bugs are crawling. It is the beginning. Happy New Year!

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

Begin fertilizing houseplants with a weak solution. Now is a good time to propagate houseplants. Have your soil tested. Materials and directions are normally available at the OSU Extension Office.The last average frost date here in zone 6B is April 23^rd. That means there is a 50/50 chance of frost on that date. A number of seeds should be started this month. Check your seed packet for the number of days to harvest and count back to the date you want to plant your seeds or set out your plants. A word to the wise, don’t set out your plants too early unless you are prepared to protect them should the odds work against you.

 

Rake the lawn to remove the twigs, leaves, and other winter detritus. Mow high, 3-4 inches. Dig out those biennial weeds before they get established. Now is a good time to plant evergreen and other trees and shrubs and bare root roses. The earlier you transplant perennials the better they will do. When is the soil ready to be worked? Soil that sticks to your spade is too wet to work and will be compacted. Make a ball of soil and drop it. If it crumbles it is ready to work. 

 

Before those buds break, spray fruit trees with dormant oil. Read the directions. Prune damaged, diseased, and dead limbs. Also, prune those limbs that grow inward, suckers and water sprouts. Do not remove more than a third of the tree. Prune deciduous trees and shrubs that bloom in the summer. Prune spring flowering trees and shrubs after they bloom. Prune raspberry canes and grapevines and fall flowering clematis. Divide snowdrops after they have bloomed. You can plant spinach, radishes and peas from seed unless the soil is wet.

 

If you cut back perennials and ornamental grasses (tying up the grasses before cutting them back to about six inches saves a lot of clean up). Don’t throw them in the trash or onto the compost pile. Store them until we have a few warm days (temps above 50 F) to give overwintering insects a chance to emerge. Pull back mulch from around perennials on warm days but be prepared to cover them back up if a hard freeze threatens.

 

Late March and April is the time to apply a pre-emergent to the lawn if you want to prevent crabgrass. The best indicator for this is the first bloom of Callery Pear. But be forewarned, pre-emergents prevent seeds from sprouting. Apply pre-emergent on a calm day. There are now selective pre-emergents that do not affect grass seed. If you plan to seed any parts of your lawn, don’t apply a non-selective to those areas. This warning also applies to areas where you plan to plant vegetables and flowers by directly seeding in the soil. A light fertilization of the lawn is all you’ll need.

 

Go to weather.cfaes.osu.edu/gdd for phenology information on when plants flower and insects emerge. Gardening questions can be answered at the Pickaway County OSU Extension Office 740-474-7534. 

The Dirt On soil

 

February 2026

PICKAWAY TO GARDEN

The Dirt on Soil

By Paul Hang

 

What’s the difference, if any, between dirt and soil? Both are the “skin of the earth.” It’s the stuff under our feet when we are out in nature, minus the vegetation. We use the terms interchangeably and sometimes differently. When we came in from outdoors with dirt/soil on our feet, our Moms said “Take off those dirty shoes.” Soil is sometimes used to designate a country or area of origin. “She’s from good Midwestern soil.” If you had an accident soil can be a verb. So what’s the difference between soil and dirt?

 

The EVS. Institute defines soil as, “Soil is a naturally occurring mixture of weathered rock, organic matter, water, and air that forms the foundation for terrestrial life. This dynamic medium supports plant growth, filters water, stores carbon, and houses countless organisms that make ecosystems function. Understanding what soil truly is reveals why protecting this precious resource is essential for sustainable food production, clean water, and healthy environments.”

 

The article defines soil and gives an eight page overview. In this brief consideration I am only able to overview the overview and overlook a lot. Soil is not just the dirt beneath our feet. What distinguishes soil from dirt is life. Dirt is the mineral particles with some, if any, organic matter, is compacted with little air and sometimes little water. When I went through master gardener training the most surprising thing I learned about soil was that half of it consisted of 25%water and 25% air. The other half consists of 5% organic matter and 45% mineral particles.

 

Mineral particles make up the parent material. The particles are sorted by their grain size. Starting with the smallest is clay, then silt, then sand. Particle size determines how much air and water can be held. Another type of soil is loam. The types of soil are determined by the amount water, air and organic material they contain. Some soils are better than others depending on what you want to grow in them.

 

Good soil is porous and biologically active. It’s alive! It contains microbes, fungi, bacteria, worms, and insects, alive and dead. The way to build good soil is to add organic material like compost. You can dig it in and/or use it as mulch that breaks down and is incorporated into the underlying soil. Another way is to dig a hole for your plants bigger than required and add extra organic material to the planting hole. The best way to find out about your soil is, don’t guess, test. You can receive information on soil testing at the OSU Extension Office at 740-474-7534.

 

This was just a little dirt on soil. There is a lot more to learn.

 

 

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

Check perennials and bulbs for heaving out of the ground. Press them down gently with your foot. Make a list of plants you want. Inventory seeds you have saved to make sure they aren’t past viability. Send in your seed orders. When you make out your seed and plant orders consider planting more native and heirloom plants. Native plants are plants that evolved here and are adapted to our conditions, diseases and native pests. While you’re at it try googling the name of a flower you’re thinking about ordering.  You will be able to see pictures and planting information.

 

This is the time to prune trees and shrubs (after you sharpen your tools). You can see their structure now that they are dormant and the leaves are down. Cut out crossing and rubbing branches and unwanted suckers.  Pruning can be done to reduce the size of a tree or shrub to bring it in to balance or to remove overhanging branches blocking a view or path. Insects are less likely to be attracted to cuts while trees are dormant. Remember, spring flowering shrubs should be pruned after flowering if you want to enjoy the blooms. Summer flowering shrubs can be pruned now. Cut back butterfly bush (Buddleia) severely.

 

On smaller trees you may want to take care of problems yourself. On larger trees you should call in an expert to inspect and perhaps correct any problems. Arborists are in a slow time of year. The ground, if frozen, will not be damaged and compacted as much from equipment and crews. The Arbor Day Foundation recommends that you have Certified Arborists check any safety problems you may have noticed. To find them go to www.isa-arbor.com click on “Verify Certification” and then “Find an Arborist.” They will not recommend topping your trees. The City of Circleville has a Comprehensive Tree Plan. You can find it at ci.circleville.oh.us, in the search box type Tree Plan. There you will find lots of information on caring for trees.

 

If you dug up bulbs for storage check on them. Spritz them with water to prevent drying out. Throw away any rotting or shriveled ones. Water any dormant or overwintering plants in your garage or basement. Water houseplants with lukewarm water, don’t overwater and turn them a quarter turn once a week, no fertilizer yet.

 

Seeds of onions, cabbage, cauliflower, and other members of the Cole family can be started indoors this month for setting out in late March or early April, depending on the weather: The University of Minnesota has a good discussion; go to www.extension.umn.edu/garden /flowers/starting-seeds-indoors. Also Google Winter Sowing. There you will read how to recycle plastic milk bottles to easily germinate some seeds. It is a good way to raise a lot of seedlings for planting “drifts,” those bands of like plants that wander serpentinely through flower beds. Now is a good time to start building raised vegetable garden beds.