In This Issue:

1. SPRING HAS SPRUNG!
2. SWING INTO SPRING LINK
3. GARDENERD TIP OF THE MONTH

1. SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

For those of you who haven't already begun planning your spring garden, let me be the first to remind you that NOW IS THE TIME! On the West Coast we are fortunate enough to have a very early planting date for spring crops (February 15th is our frost free date in CA). So fire up those Gardenerd Journals and start picking out seeds and transplants! Don't know what to plant? Well, here's a handy-dandy list of warm season veggies and flowers that can go in the ground any time now:

Vegetables --

Brassicas: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower (in some areas)

Leafy greens: lettuces, arugula, mustard greens, spinach, etc.

Root vegetables: carrots, parsnips, beets, potatoes (oh, you haven't lived until you've grown your own), and turnips.

Herbs: basil, parsley, chives, etc.

Other great things to plant in spring: peas, dry beans - like black and pinto - radishes and asparagus.

A little later in the season, depending on your location and how warm it gets, will be the time to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, melons, and squash - don't forget to plant pumpkins for carving in October!

Flowers -- (Note: There are many more flowers to plant in spring than I have room for here. These are just a few of my favorites)

Blue Bonnets

Butterfly attractors: zinnias and Mexican sunflowers, which should be planted with milkweed, parsley and dill so the butterflies will have a nutrition source and a host plant.

Cosmos

Daisies

Marigolds

Pansies

Sunflowers

Wild Flowers

Yarrow

So try your hand at these veggies and flowers this spring. I hope you find the experience as rewarding as I do. J

2. SWING INTO SPRING LINK

Had your eye on some Gardenerd stuff? Here's a handy link to entice you! Just click on the link, place your order and enter the coupon code when you check out.

3. GARDENERD TIP OF THE MONTH

Coffee grounds - garbage or gold?

A large percentage of people on our planet live for coffee. However, it's that smaller percentage of Gardenerds like you and me who can keep those spent coffee grounds out of landfills and in our gardens. By now most of you have probably heard that Starbucks is giving away free bags of used coffee grounds, but perhaps you don't know what to do with them once you get them home. Well, it's easy. Spread them in your garden! Coffee grounds increase nitrogen in soils and can help increase acidity for acid-loving plants (like those precious tomatoes we're about to plant). You can mix them into your compost bin, which according to a survey I read recently is the way most people incorporate coffee grounds, use them as mulch, or till them right into your soil. Either way, it's effective, and you can't beat the fragrance. So next time you reach for that cup-a-joe, ask your favorite barrista if they have spent coffee grounds to unload. Everyone benefits from it: they have less trash, you have great fertilizer and your garden will love you for it.

Link: http://www.gardeners.com/gardening/content.asp?copy_id=5522