LIFESTYLES If - Friday, February 2, 1990 - North Shore News LIFESTYLES LATE WINTERS Viother Nature up to new tricks 1 AM now sure Mother Nature is out for revenge. | mean, just because we happen to dump a little garbage and sewage sludge into her ocean, is this sufficient reason to litter our beaches with poison-filled hypodermic needles? So we haven't quite figured out how to eliminate the PCBs from the paper process; I still don’t see the need for two-headed fish on my dinner table. And what’s all this brown stuff in the drinking water? All of these are important issues, and the next time I see Mom I'm going to demand some answers — but not before I ask about this weather. Yes, we may have sent half of the world’s resources up in smoke, carbon dioxide and carbon monox- ide, but if I had wanted April showers in October, November, December and January, I would have asked for it. And I certainly did not put in a request to switch winter with spring and vice versa. I feel sorry enough for all of the harmless entrepreneurs who had enough faith in Mother’s habits to clear-cut a fortune out of the Whistler/Blackcomb area. Along comes the Christmas/New Year’s boom period and instead of allow- ing people to slide down the snow-covered siopes in gravy trains, the best she can do is a rock-strewn gravel pit. These last few winters have all seemed to start out the same: sur- prisingly mild beginnings, middles, and approaches to the end. Then, just when we start to let down our guard, a SMACK and welcome to February. It is hard enough trying to think up timely tasks for you gardeners out there, but it is twice as hard when Mom’s playing little games. Here is my best shot: Continue winter protection — Some of your shrubs may have suffered broken branches after last week’s wet snowfalls. If the snow should come again, knock it off before this damage occurs. While you’re at it, and if you haven’t already done so, you might stake newly planted trees, shrubs, and any other plants in need of protection from winter winds and/or snow loads. Radical changes in temperatures can cause the sap in some trees to alternate between flowing and freezing. Although not dangerous WHOLESALE” : SPA PRICES SAVE UP TO $1000 mg Sen. POOL & SPA CHEMICALS “your Hot Tub Specialist” bartle & gibson co. Itd. 399 Mountain Highway (2 blocks off Main Street) 988-4141 s in itself, this may result in splits in the bark and these openings could serve as points of access for pests and diseases. Scrape clean any such areas and apply a latex-based pruning paint when the weather warms. These temperature changes can also cause bulbs to begin sprouting. If severe frosts should occur after the appearance of some premature shoots, cover them with a four-inch layer of fallen leaves, compost or peat. Begin pruning — As mentioned in many previous articles, the dormant season (NOW) is the best time to prune. Any day now (Mother N. willing), buds will begin to swell, indicating the best places to prune. Waiting until these buds have opened means you are a little late, and once they begin pumping out new growth, it is dangerously late. The Parks Department of the District of North Vancouver usual- ly puts on a free pruning demonstration every spring around the first Saturday of March, so be on the lookout. It is usually held at Maplewood Farm. Dormant season spraying — Lime-sulphur and dormant oil are commonly used at this time of the year to ‘clean up’ deciduous shrubs and trees before the advent of the growing season. Over-wintering insects such as scale and diseases such as peach- leaf curl are easier to control at this time of the year. The use of mildly toxic dormant sprays now is much preferred over the applica- tion of more toxic products later in the year. If you have a problem with peach leaf curl, try using copper spray; one application in mid- November and another now. The best method of contro! for this problem and others such as apple scab is the removal and destruction of infected leaves as they appear. Flower and vegetable beds — You can get an early start now by applying dolomitic limestone, compost and bonemeal. These soil amendments are organic and take longer to kick in. Hopefully, my ravings about the preferred use of organic products have sunk in, and you will use some now. Use the Man-made chemicals in a sup- plementary role later, and only when necessary. Take the time to remove weeds as they appear; a little extra effort now wiil eliminate hours of work in the summer. If you have cleaned out the beds already, shame on you. (I'm going to tell Mom.) Seed starting — There are a few flower and vegetable seeds which OUR PRODUCTS COME FROM OAK TREES: OUR QUALITY GROWS ON OUR. CUSTOMERS BEDROOM DINING ROOM TV CENTRES “WALL UNITS HYBRIDS BEDDING WATERBEDS CUSTOM WAREHOUSE BUILDING DIRECT TUBE BEDS AVAILABLE SAVINGS CORNER UNITS ACCESSORIES - BOOKCASES - ROUND, OVAL, SQUARE, RECTANGULAR AND TILE OCCASIONAL TABLES CHAIRS, DESKS, CHOICE OF COLOURS my Heritage O Oak and yBine ~ 'WATERBEDS & FURNITURE 993 W. = i Ist, North Van: OPEN 7 Days, 984-3255) - CONTRACT VOLUME. SALES 985-8081 need an early start to ensure an abundant production of blooms or vegetables this surimer. (Check your local library or garden centre for a list, or wait for the upcoming article on this and aspects of start- ing seeds indoors. If you have a cold frame or a cloche you could start many more over the garden gate Geoff Tobiasson varieties now and get a real head start on the season. A trip to your local library wil! provide you with many different titles displaying a wide array of types and construc- ticn plans. Sammer-flowering bulbs — The garden centres will have all of the spring bulbs in this month. If you would like to plant some begonias, dahlias, gladiolus, etc. get in early to assure yourseif access to the best selection. You can root the tuberous begonias in the house now. As these plants take a while to get started and produce the best results when they reach a larger size, an early start is highly recommended. Lawn maintenance — If the weather permits, you should begin teconditioning the lawn. Most of you will have moss problems which will require treatment this spring. Those of you who were smart enough to give the lawn the best of care last year can now relax while the rest struggie with aerators, de- thatchers, moss killer and the lawn rake. If you are one of the unfortu- hate ones, this is the proper se- quence of events. First ‘power- take’ or de-thatch, aerate, apply moss killer, dolomite lime and fer- tilizer, and then look after your lawn in order to prevent repetition of this process next year. Planning — Paper, pencil and an eraser still beat the pants off money, a shovel and a bad back. A little planning on paper now will achieve the best results with the least amount of money and effort. Whether it be the layout for this summer’s vegetable garden or a major landscape renovation, plan- ning is still the route to perfection. And Mother, if you're listening, lighten up. We promise to do bet- ter; the 1990s will see the re- awakening of the same kind of en- vironmental awareness as was kindled in the ’60s — only sans the long hair and beads. GOLDEN TOUCH INTERIORS