TOPIC: Spring is coming on down here in the South...

Reached 77 degrees here this evening - NICE !

Some of those early spring signs are showing up too.

Check out my Plum trees - just about to bloom.

And back behind that you can see a cover crop of green on one of my raised garden beds(winter wheat).

TNhunter

Here is another one about to bloom - a bradford pear.

On Monday me and my son got out and put down gypsum on 8-10 wild simulated beds.

Saw a few little things greening up in the woods but no 3 leafers showing up yet.

I like 4 more beds having all my gypsum put down this spring. Hope to get those this weekend.

TNhunter

Hi TN,
I fertilized my peaches and plums yesterday and the rain began just as I finished the last trees. It was well up into the 70s here today and it is awfully early for the bud swell to be as far along as it is. We could lose the entire peach crop through the South this year because they are already bloomed out there.
I will try to spread the Calcium Nitrate on my ginseng just before the rain starts , maybe next week. We'll see what the weather offers.
I fished in the Smokies just a couple of days ago and most of the mountains had snow on them. It is strange to see snow one day and in the 70s the next.

http://smokymountainflyguide.com/reports%2029.htm
Hugh

Hugh,

Yesterday was definately unseasonably warm for us. Last night a front came thru and today looks like our high is going to be around 55.

I have pruned my peach and apple trees already but not my grape vines yet.

I will get to them before they start budding good, or about the time they do. I hear that pruning grapes just as they are starting to bud, will make them fully bud out a little later and may get you past a frost.

How do you fertilize your peach trees ?

I have not fertilized mine in several years now and no doubt they need it.

What I used to do is take a metal pipe and drive it in the ground about a foot deep or more, out around the drip line, and then pull it out and fill that hole with a mix of bonemeal and blood meal.

I am sure there is a better and easier way than that.

Thanks

TNhunter

We have very similar conditions here in the peidmont of NC as well!

Plums tree are blooming and I hope that we don't have a killer frost anytime soon. We had this happen last year -same thing occurred- and didn't have plums a'tall last year.

I'm going to get into my ponds sooner that I usually do, if this keeps up. Might be able to get a leg up on the propigation season for water plants w/ all the warm weather. Plus, maybe can save some $$$ on heating the greenhouse!

TN,
I usually just spread lime and 20 Mule Team Borax early in the winter and about the 1st of March I hand spread , around the drip line a balanced fertilizer like 13-13-13.You don't need to use the Borax every year. You look as if you have good success with yours the way that you've been doing them. I hope that you have a good season with your fruit as well as the ginseng.
Hugh

It looks as if this year is shaping up to be the same as last. I noticed emergence of seedlings I believe in the second week of march last year and I assume it will be the same this season. I almost got tickled at the sight of fruit trees for sale at tsc yesterday, I suspect they come from further down south but they had apples and pears that were fully leafed out already.

Hillhopper

Inspected my beds near to home and nothing up yet here. It would've been pretty cool to see some up, however it's bit early.

Im thinkin it wont be long around here Whitjr. I have already seen some of the other earliest sprouting spring plants beginning to come up in the woods already.


Hillhopper