The snow is back! It’s good for the soil and helps diminish potential fire danger in the spring. The next six weeks are still an ideal time to prune your fruit trees if needed. But this week’s topic is indoor plants.
It’s staying light until six in the evening and indoor plants are waking up and returning to a growth state. You can feed your plants a couple of times per week with organic fertilizer. Advice from Tom Kasper is to add a relatively light application of fertilizer - don’t overdo it. A combination of good care and increased daylight will pay dividends in plant health.
It’s also important to inspect your plants for pests. There’s a little black fly called a “fungal gnat,” and they’re generally a sign that you’re watering too much. You can use organic sprays to control this pest, but an even simpler approach is to cut back on watering the plant. If the soil surface completely dries out between waterings, that can be a good thing.
Spider mites are also a threat. They are very small and red in color. A telltale sign is the presence of spider webs where the leaves meet the branches. It’s an indication that your indoor environment is too dry. If you can add some humidity to the air, that will help to reduce spider mites and your plan
You can hear Tips for Hardy Gardeners every other Tuesday at 8:20am on Northland Morning.
