PLATEAU GARDENING: Battling winter weeds

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Pictured is Scarecrow Lindie Lou.

February 20, 2012

By C. Rae Hozer Chronicle contributor The Crossville Chronicle Mon Feb 20, 2012, 01:42 PM CST

During January, I was in my vegetable patch gathering up oak leaves that had blown there from the woods and pulling winter weeds known as hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsute) out of the raised beds. But in February, Old Man Winter sent harsh gusty winds, freezing temperatures and snow to chase me back indoors and show me this year’s Groundhog Day prediction was right — winter isn’t over yet.

The weatherman says the rest of the season may be lot colder than December and January were. I’m hoping for a few spells of milder weather so I can finish my outdoor spring cleaning. With luck, I’ll have the vegetable garden weed-free and will be able to sow seeds for snow peas (the ones with edible pods), spinach and other cool season crops around the first of March.

Grandma Hozer (also known as Miss Janet) moved to Tennessee to live with us in October 2010. She enjoys watching the plants in my yard and gardens grow, but arthritis in her back makes the bending, stooping and kneeling required to tend them too difficult for her these days. Walking is her favorite form of exercise. Grandma named the scarecrow at the corner of my vegetable garden “Lindie Lou.”

Since Miss Janet looked for her each time when returning from a stroll around the neighborhood, I left Lindie Lou out in the garden over the winter of 2010-'11, all during the 2011 growing season, as well as this past autumn and winter. Poor Lindie Lou began showing her age after exposure to the elements year-round for almost three years.

Despite her tattered and weather-worn appearance at the start of 2012, Lindie Lou has a whole new look today. We gave her a February makeover using a set of toddler-sized Valentine’s Day pajamas and an old golf hat. Her nip and tuck work included a face-lift, thanks to some fabric from the sewing room with a magic-marker smiling face drawn on it. Grandma is happy to see the newly spiffed up Lindie Lou there to greet her each time she comes back from a walk. However, it is a good thing crows can’t read. They’d know right off there was nothing to fear from a scarecrow whose tee shirt spells out the message “I love you with all my heart.”

You, too, may have a bumper crop of the “winter weeds” due to Tennessee’s warm January weather. These broadleaf annuals sprout from seed in late summer and early fall, form small green plants during wintertime, then grow, flower and set seed in late winter and early springtime. Gardeners should time control measures based upon their life cycle. Use pre-emergent controls to stop seed germination in autumn. At this time of year, block production of new seeds by killing the parent plant with either a post-emergent herbicide spray or by uprooting it. A five-percent (culinary-strength) vinegar can be sprayed as an organic alternative to commercially formulated herbicides. Apply herbicides when conditions are warm and sunny and prior to seed set for best results.

Winter weeds typically seen in home landscapes and turfgrass include common chickweed (Stellaria media), corn speedwell (Veronica arvensis), henbit (Lamimium amplexicaule), purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum), shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) and hairy bittercress. In the address line of your Internet browser, type utextension.tennessee.edu/publications/documents/W205.pdf to view the University of Tennessee Extension publication "W205 Controlling Winter Annual Broadleaf Weeds." This document contains color pictures and descriptions of each weed’s identifiable characteristics along with a table listing various post-emergence herbicides.

•••

Plateau Gardening is written by Master Gardeners for gardeners in Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland Region. UT Extension Cumberland County at P.O. Box 483, Crossville, TN 38557 (931-484-6743) answers horticulture questions, has free publications and details on how to become a Master Gardener. Send email comments or yard & garden inquiries to Master Gardener Rae, mgardenerrae@frontiernet.net.

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