Late January and almost February is not when many of us are thinking about gardening. But maybe we should.

We could be planning or dreaming about what we want to do once there’s little chance of frost or freezing or maybe get a jump on the warmer weather.

Horticulturalist Erica Jo Shaffer was on The Spark Tuesday and talked about some of the what to think about in the winter,"Sometimes you're planning about starting a new area. Maybe you want to take away some more lawn and put some more shrubs in. Maybe especially in the winter time, you can see the things that you maybe don't like anymore -- things that are overgrown, or maybe you've pruned nearly to death. Something that you say gets too big because you should have picked a smaller growing shrub and you're sick of pruning it. It just feels like we get a little more focused in the winter because we're not distracted by all the color and the butterflies and things that are starting to sprout."

Shaffer indicated it's too early to start seeds indoors, except for maybe spring onions or kale.

Shaffer cautioned not to forget the birds and especially making sure bird feeders are clean at this time of year,"When's the last time you cleaned your bird feeder? Especially with all the rain we just had and all the snow melt. The ports get really gross. They can have fungus. And also the way the birds are coming and going, if there happens to be some sort of a disease that's around within the bird population, that's a place where it can start spreading. So like get out your putty knife or get out a a flat head screwdriver or whatever. And you can use a mild bleach solution like you would for sanitizing and rinse it really good. Sometimes a bird seed gets wet and gets really gross."

Late January and almost February is not when many of us are thinking about gardening. But maybe we should.
We could be planning or dreaming about what we want to do once there’s little chance of frost or freezing or maybe get a jump on the warmer weather.
Horticulturalist Erica Jo Shaffer was on The Spark Tuesday and talked about some of the what to think about in the winter,"Sometimes you're planning about starting a new area. Maybe you want to take away some more lawn and put some more shrubs in. Maybe especially in the winter time, you can see the things that you maybe don't like anymore -- things that are overgrown, or maybe you've pruned nearly to death. Something that you say gets too big because you should have picked a smaller growing shrub and you're sick of pruning it. It just feels like we get a little more focused in the winter because we're not distracted by all the color and the butterflies and things that are starting to sprout."
Shaffer indicated it's too early to start seeds indoors, except for maybe spring onions or kale.
Shaffer cautioned not to forget the birds and especially making sure bird feeders are clean at this time of year,"When's the last time you cleaned your bird feeder? Especially with all the rain we just had and all the snow melt. The ports get really gross. They can have fungus. And also the way the birds are coming and going, if there happens to be some sort of a disease that's around within the bird population, that's a place where it can start spreading. So like get out your putty knife or get out a a flat head screwdriver or whatever. And you can use a mild bleach solution like you would for sanitizing and rinse it really good. Sometimes a bird seed gets wet and gets really gross."

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from <a href="https://www.witf.org">WITF</a>, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

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