I am cutting and pasting this from the White Flower Farm (Litchfield, CT) newsletter because since I read it, I have been fascinated with the topic. I have yet to find a good book on the subject, so if you know any, please pass it along.
“Paying attention to the first signs of spring in your area can be useful in determining when to plant. A whole branch of science, called phenology, now documents the seasonal cycle of buds and blooms, bird migration, and insect hatch.
Here’s more folk wisdom (essentially applied phenology) based on generations of observations:
- When Forsythia blooms, it’s time to prune Roses, fertilize the lawn, and remove about 1/3 of the layer of winter protection you applied in fall around perennials (remove another 1/3 the following week and the rest the week after that).
- When Dandelions start blooming and Lilac leaves appear, it’s time to plant cool-season crops such as beets, lettuce, and carrots.
- When Shadbush (Amelanchier) blooms, plant your potatoes (and for those who fish, this is the time shad are running in the Connecticut River).
- Plant Corn when Oak leaves are the size of a squirrel’s ear.
- When Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria) is in full bloom, it’s time to plant Tomatoes.
- And when your Daffodils are blooming, it is time to plant Peas.
Fascinating right? I really want more…..have you got any folk wisdom or practical phenology to share?
Also — because I am a person who remembers thing far better if I can visualize it, I created a pin board with a bunch of images that correlate to these associations. I did it over at Pinterest. Do you know about Pinterest? It is a great site where you can manage images that you find around the internet. I am finding it to be more and more useful as I keep thinking of new ways to organize my thoughts. It’s easy to sign up and if you want, I would be more that happy for you to follow my boards (which are about all sorts of silly things) to get yourself started.