When Winter Rolls in I Consult My Mississippi Gardener's Guide

I consult my Mississippi Gardeners Guide all year long to use my garden best. Then, I put my young plants in the house during cold temperatures. I have about 25 potted plants that are still young and tender and need to be inside in the winter. Even living in zone 8b the night air sometimes kills off the young one.

I plant the tops of pineapples every time we eat one, palm trees are grown from seeds I found, and some traditional house plants stay outdoors in the warmer weather. However, I discovered by trial and error that potted plants must come inside to vacation from the cold air. Once they are mature enough, you need to plant them in the ground, and their roots won't be subject to cold air from changes in the air temperature. As a result, they look beautiful indoors or out.

I like to keep my plant healthy throughout the season and use fertilizers only as needed. I place each in my garden area according to the needs of each plant. For example, some like the sun, while others require partial or complete shade.

The weather will determine whether it is necessary to protect new plants from sun, cold, and wind. It would help if you had protection from the weather. Cold shelter = includes containers, baskets, flowerpots, and milk receptacles. A Retail heat holding cover like a greenhouse made of paper or plastic protects tender plants from extreme temperatures. A piece of wood buried in the earth at an angle serves as a sun or wind shade. A bit of newspaper or a paper grocery bag pinned down over a plant protects from the sun.

Wrap the base of 10 to 16 inches of wire tomato cages with clear plastic to shield transplants from wind, cold, and blowing sand. You may bypass this bother by planting the garden a week or two later when the weather is warmer. Also, warm-season plants do not grow well in freezing soil and chilly air temperatures. Therefore, sowing extra early before the temperature heats in the spring may hinder the plants. I water my plants as needed since the summer season always brings adequate rain, making watering unnecessary most days.

After reading up on my seed-planted palms, I found out they need to be at least 5 feet tall to plant successfully in the ground. The weather where I live stays relatively mild most of the winter. However, 5 to 10 days in February when the temperature drops to freezing at night. This quickly followed my planting season about the last week of February.

During the winter months, I tend my baby plants indoors until March, when they return to the sun's warmth in my garden. The winter is spent recycling found objects into helpful garden decorations and planters. I do a lot of planting in pots since the grass and the trees grow close to the ground's surface. This makes digging difficult. Most of my trees have roots that are exposed on the surface of my yard; My grass is Bermuda which also grows on top of the soil, the runners tangle the surface, and digging is near impossible.

I elevated the garden bed and held the soil from the summer rains. Most of the plants remain green all winter long in the warm earth. Rarely does a winter day go by that I am not doing something in the garden or yard.