For Release January 2, 2001

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

I really feel sorry for my friends over at the US Post Office. No sooner have they waded through the Christmas deluge, but now here come the spring garden catalogs. In two days, last week, I received seven catalogs. I enjoy looking at all those catalogs. I like to see what’s new, what’s different, what’s popular and what is being heavily promoted. These catalogs always look tempting. But this year, after all the cold weather and a month of snow cover, they are going to look even more tempting than usual.

One of the biggest problems that most gardeners run into with garden catalogs, is that their eyes are bigger than their gardens. Sure, I’d like to plant one of everything myself. I have no idea where I’d find the room or who would take care of them, but I’d still like to plant one of each. To survive the onslaught of catalogs takes planning, will power and the involvement of your spouse and family. The latter two are very important, because they will remember more clearly than you what has happened in past years!

One of the first things you need to do is conduct a reality check. This is Kansas. Remember July and August, then remember December of last year. These are classic examples of the kind of weather extremes we can face any given year. We are in plant hardiness zone 5 (5b to be precise). If you are looking at a plant that is adapted for zone 6 or zone 7 or higher, don’t plant it. The lower the zone number, the lower the winter temperature.

We have an average growing season of 180 days. Of those 180 days, 100 are usually well adapted to warm season crops. If you are looking at any vegetable variety that has a season length of over 90, you may not have much success. Some years you’ll be okay, other years will be a bust!

Fruit trees are always popular with homeowners. I agree that there is no comparing a normal store bought fruit, with a tree ripened fruit from your own yard. But as you look around this area, you will notice that there aren’t any large commercial orchards. There’s a reason for that. It’s called a continental climate. We do not have any climate moderating factors like an ocean or the Great Lakes. We can have extreme temperature fluctuations at very inopportune times. Early warm ups in January or February can cause fruit tree flower buds to start swelling. This makes them more prone to freeze damage later on. Do not confuse plant hardiness with reliability of yield.

Pears, apples and sour cherries are our most reliable bearing fruits. Even then, you may only get a good crop one out of every three years. Good site selection, annual pruning and care will help improve your odds. Sweet cherries, apricots and plums are the least reliable bearing fruits with peaches and Asian pears falling in between. You will want to plant your fruit trees where they receive a lot of sun during the summer, but are slow to warm up in the spring. Too many people plant their fruit trees in the warmest spot they have, which only encourages them to break dormancy early, only to be nipped by freezes later on. Protection from the southwest summer winds is also desirable.

Just like many other gardeners, I’ll be spending several hours going through the catalogs over the next month or two. But I’ll have my map showing me how much space I have to work with. I’ll have my plan from the last couple of years to help me remember what worked and what didn’t work. And I have my wife who’ll have to approve my order before I send it off. Enjoy those catalogs and all that planning, just proceed with caution and common sense!

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