Dear Friends and fellow Gardeners,

It has been a cold, cold, cold, winter and many plants have suffered frost damage. People have been asking what to do for frost damaged plants. The temptation is to remove the dead looking plant and/or much of the frost damaged foliage. I suggest you wait until new growth has begun to sprout before cutting or removing plants and foliage. You may be surprised how much of the plant will recover from frost damage.

Besides being cold, we are also in drought as it has been weeks since we have seen appreciable rain. If this lack of rainfall continues, water your bulbs, corms and tubers, vegetables & fruits, as well as lawns and any other shallow rooted plants. Let's hope the weather pattern may change by the time this article is published.

My son Michael reports that in Tanzania, where he is in the Peace Corps, this is the rainy season, and, so far, they haven't had any rain or the misty conditions normal for this time of year. The farmers are concerned as their tea crop production is dependent on seasonal rain.

Despite the foggy and cool conditions, there is lots to do in the garden. It's bare root season!! Time to buy that favorite fruit and nut tree, grapes, rose, flowering cherry, plum, pear, pomegranate, strawberries, cane berries, rhubarb, artichoke, and asparagus. I recommend that you make these purchases from your local nursery purchasing locally or California grown #1 stock.

Those roses and fruit trees in packages at the discount garden center may seem like a good buy, but beware; the stems are waxed to prevent dehydration which suppresses bud growth. The root ball often suffers from lack of moisture, and damaged, diseased roots resulting in a stressed plant that will have a difficult time getting started or growing at all. Even if the discount center guarantees the plant, how many people return them, and what would you get in return? No plant that's for sure. Think also about the effort of soil preparation and planting. It really is worth it to pay a little more for quality plants that are healthy and productive.

Vegetables to plant now: beets, carrots, chard, chives, leeks, lettuce, onions (bulbs) parsley, potatoes, radish, and turnips.

Flowering annuals: try planting, pansy, viola, calendula, poppy, stock, and sweet alyssum (a favorite for many beneficial insects).

If you have peach or nectarine trees, don't forget (last call before bloom) to spray them with lime sulfur and oil, or copper and oil, otherwise you may experience peach leaf curl which can be devastating to the tree. Also at this time of year, I spray my roses with lime sulfur and oil to help control powdery mildew in the spring and summer. Remember to always read and follow the label when applying any pesticide, even organic ones like these.

There is a new organic pre-emergent herbicide entering the market called Suppressa and is made from corn gluten. This material holds promise for weed seed control in our garden beds. I will discuss it in detail next month.