AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Imagine our surprise when, following a New Year weekend with temperatures in the mid 60’s, we woke Monday morning to 10 inches of snow and temperatures dropping into the teens.
Glances out the window confirmed that, for the moment, we were snowed in. Though beautiful, the heavy, wet snow bent tree branches nearly to the ground and the winds were creating drifts. Snowplows were absent from many Severna Park communities and there were scattered power failures. However, neighbors soon popped out of their houses to dig out their cars and clear driveways while their children found the nearest hill to sled down or snowdrift to make snow angels in.
Outdoors, there was damage to deal with in the aftermath of the storm. Everywhere one looked, there were broken branches and fallen trees.
Splintered branches were seen everywhere. 
Sticks and branches were scattered beneath all the trees.
According to Lou Meyer at The Davey Tree Expert Company, after a snowstorm, cleaning up downed branches can help you evaluate the damage to your trees and help the landscape recover. Branches can be resting on valuable landscape plants and shrubs and putting pressure on them as the snow melts, potentially causing damage. They are also tripping hazards. Meyer warns those cleaning up to make sure there are no downed power lines or trees leaning on power lines.
He adds that, when limbs break in snowstorms and leave a splintered stub, it’s an invitation for decay to develop in the tree.
“Trees have a ridge called a ‘branch bark collar’ where a subordinate stem meets a parent stem, for instance where a branch meets the trunk of the tree. Within this ridge there is a group of cells known as the branch defense zone, which activate healing when exposed. Leaving the splintered stub after the storm prevents these cells from allowing the wound to heal. ”
Branches can easily be pruned but larger limbs would be best removed by a professional from a local garden center or tree service.
Cleanup from the storm remains a work in progress but, most of the time, we’ve remained cozy inside, our thoughts turning to what lies ahead. For gardeners, that means thinking about what we want to plant in our spring flower and vegetable beds. We inventory seeds we have on hand that are still viable and scan paper and virtual seed catalogs for what’s new. We’ll also phone our local garden centers to see when the new seeds will be available.
Anne Arundel County Farm, Lawn & Garden owner Cory Stephens and staff began working on their displays of flower and vegetable seeds on Monday. According to staff member Karen, the new seeds just came in and it’s taking a while to assemble them in the displays according to manufacturer and in alphabetical order. She noted that certain varieties of seeds for things like tomatoes, peppers and carrots that are favored by customers for their hardiness and reliability sell out quickly. Lettuces and cold weather greens sell especially well – particularly kale which AA Farm, Lawn and Garden sells a lot of.
“You can start cold weather crops in the ground in March. However, we sell everything people need to start their plants indoors eight weeks before the last frost,” she said. “We sell seed staring trays and inserts, grow lights and heat mats on which to set the plant trays. It’s wise to start the seeds in an organic growing medium like Espoma.”
Favorite herbs like parsley and basil and vegetable plants like Amaranth started indoors early, will grow like wildfire when transplanted and set outdoors on sunny spring days. Customers can find more information at AA Co. Farm Lawn & Garden (aalawnandgarden.com).
Popping in at Homestead Gardens Severna Park, we found some seeds already displayed (as seen in the opening photo) but the store was still waiting for the bulk of them to arrive and be put out.
Homestead Perennial Supervisor Alice Milchling said it’s early yet. However, she expects the trend for sustainable gardening that’s been dominant for the past two years to continue. Supply chain issues and inflationary prices for produce of all kinds at the grocery store may create even more new gardeners. Spring garden products and events will shortly be posted on the store’s website at Severna Park Store – Homestead Gardens, Inc.
At Homestead Gardens Davidsonville, the staff was in catch-up mode with a great deal of inventory work and clearing out to do from their extensive exterior and interior holiday displays.
“We have a lot of work still to do and won’t be putting out our garden seed displays until February when it’s time to start the cold crops,” said Homestead gardening expert Dave Kemon.
He noted that the gardening department is happy to advise customers who want to start their seed indoors ahead of time. There is also a lot of information on the Homestead Gardens website about what customers will need, when to start which plants, etc.
Like last year, Kemon expects seeds for some plants to sell out quickly.
“It’s been that way for the last two years. With everything that’s going on in the world, people want to grow their own stuff.” he said. “Taking into consideration inflation and supply chain problems, we think we’ll sell even more seeds and supplies.”
Kemon added that both branches of Homestead Gardens carry a full spectrum of organic and regular seeds including well-known brands like Lake Valley and Renee’s Garden Seeds. Cold crop seeds for lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and rhubarb, to name a few, can be started inside with a grow light or heat mat and seed-starting soil (a light-weight mixture that plant roots can penetrate through). Homestead also carries plant trays and peat pots.
For information on seeds, plants and spring events visit Homestead Gardens – Garden Supplies, Nursery, and Landscaping.
Starting a few favorite herbs, vegetables or flowers now (like the garlic chives pictured below) will delight gardeners come summer when they will see their efforts amply rewarded.
