IN THE YARD: Gardening by nature's hints

For centuries gardeners have observed nature and found correlations between things going on in nature and the way their gardens produce.

These signs are often fairly reliable indicators of the weather and other natural forces that lay ahead of us during the growing season.

The Greek word phenology means “the science of appearances.” In this case it is used to describe “the study of periodic biological phenomena as in the time of flowering or migrating, and their relationship to climate and each other.” This simply means to look at what is happening in nature to predict the weather and make decisions about when to do things in your garden.

One of the more common signs used by gardeners is to decide when the time is right to prune the rose bushes. Most people agree the best time to do this work is in mid-spring when the chances of a hard freeze are past and just before the roses start to grow.

It is more than a coincidence the forsythia plants are blooming about this time. So a good sign to follow when pruning roses is to wait until the forsythias are in full bloom. This is also when crabgrass geminates so gardeners should be ready to apply the crabgrass preventer on their lawns when they finish pruning if this weed has been a problem.

“If apple trees bloom in April the crop will be plentiful — if they bloom in May the crop will be poor.” The origin of this statement is not exactly clear, but it is probably related to lower than normal spring temperatures.

Freezing weather in late April can occur when the apple tree has just started to grow but before the buds have swollen large enough to notice. The result may be the ovaries in the flowers are frozen and will not produce fruit even though the blooms appear to be normal.

Kidney beans can be safely planted when the leaves on elm trees are the size of a penny. Peas can be planted when daffodils begin to bloom. Plant your first crop of corn when oak leaves are the size of a squirrel’s ear, double check this against the apple blossoms, they should be falling at about this time.

The common lilac can tell us a lot about when to plant. When it has just leafed out plant lettuce and other cool weather crops. Another good sign to use with cool weather crops including beets, lettuce, and spinach is to look for the dandelions to bloom, this is also a good time to plant carrots. When dandelion flowers are in full bloom plant beans and squash. When these flowers have faded it is time to plant cucumbers and more squash.

It is safe to plant tomatoes and peppers when daylilies are starting to bloom. When dogwoods are at the peak of their bloom it is supposedly safe to plant tomatoes, peppers and early corn (seeds only, seedlings should be set out around the third week of April to avoid frost).

There are other signs that tell us about things besides gardening. When wasps build their nests in exposed areas, expect dry weather. Seeing caterpillars later in the fall than usual indicates a mild winter. Japanese beetles can be expected to show up and eat our gardens about the time morning glory vines finally take off and start to climb.

Really heavy nut crops usually indicate a hard winter. Depending on who one talks to, this could be the crop in general or may be limited to acorns or beech nuts, or even hickory nuts.

Most of these sign have come from observations that have been passed down from one generation of farmers and gardeners to the next for centuries. By observing what Mother Nature is doing around us and how it affects our gardens we can begin to make our own lists of signs to help us with our gardening decisions.

Sutphin is an extension agent with the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Danville Unit Office. Contact him at (434) 799-6558.