The Frugal Garden: Warm Winter Blues

Most people enjoy having a warm winter, but not this southern gardener and for one very good reason: Bugs!  It takes about three good freezes to kill off some of our slumbering garden pests.  Without freezing weather we will have an overabundance of plant eating insects in the Spring garden.

It has been so warm this winter that our weather recently has been in the low 80's during the day.  I had been sorely tempted to plant my Spring garden and get it over with, but I fear that we will get one of our February cold snaps.  It seems as though we regularly get a freeze toward the end of February and I don't want to chance losing my plantings.

Freeze Damage

So I will show restraint and not sow any plants outdoors, but this is a good time to start seeds indoors.  It is also a good time to get your sweet potato slips going (see earlier post on sweet potato slips).  Of course, all of this has to do with your gardening zone.  I live in zone 10.

Time to kick my feet up with my seed catalogs and dream of gardens to come.

God bless,
Pam