News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The first few days of warm weather have the potential to start some pre-spring blooming.
Putnam County UT Extension Agent Wayne Key said that buds will start to swell as the weather begins to warm, typically around the first week of March. However, the warm days but frosty nights can pose a problem to crops like fruit trees.
“They’ll begin to bud and they’ll begin to flower for example, and then sometimes we have those cold spells in March and early April,” Key said. “During those times, when the plants are very, very sensitive, we sometimes get die-back, winter injury, we can slow the development and sometimes even lose crop.”
Key said that the changes in weather are simply Mother Nature’s ways of warming things up for spring. He said that we see the ground start to warm, and plants start to come out of their winter dormancy.
Key said that there are several things people can do to take advantage of the warm, “fool’s spring.” He said that starting to seed and using roll covers to keep in heat and keep out frost can help kick start gardens to flourish during the warmer months.
“Days like today when it’s 60 to 65 degrees it can get up to 95 degrees under those plastic covers,” Key said. “And get really warm. And then those plants do pretty well starting out this time of year. If you can utilize these warm days and get some plants start under covers so that at night you cna cover them back up and try to hold int hat day time warmth so they dont’ get frost bit and then allow them to warm back up the next day.”
Key said that another major thing to consider is pruning. He said that if you plan on pruning, now is the time to do it. He said that once hte buds start to swell and greening begins, it will be too late.
