Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs

• For an interesting ornamental plant and a culinary addition, buy a plump, unshriveled, ginger root at the grocery store and plant it in a light, sandy soil just under the surface in a 6- to 8-inch pot. Place it in a warm, sunny window and keep damp until shoots appear. Water more frequently and fertilize monthly with high-phosphorus fertilizer. Harvest your crop in about eight months saving a piece to replant.

• Start planning now for next year's holiday gifts and decorations. Record those items you wished you had this year (dried flowers, herbs, pickles and preserves) and make sure you plant appropriate plants for next year's harvest.

• Parsley seeds are slow to germinate. Sometimes it can be three or more weeks before they show signs of growth above the soil. To encourage them to sprout more rapidly, soften the seeds by soaking them overnight in warm water. Then put 3 or 4 seeds in a pot full of soilless mix, such as equal parts of peat moss and vermiculite, plus a tiny bit of ground limestone and fertilizer. Keep the media moist during the entire germination time. Set plants in garden in early May.

• If you have heavy soil now is the time to dig over the plot, once the soil is turned over the winter frost can penetrate the large lumps and break down the soil into a fine tilth. This will considerably ease your task at planting time.

"Though an old man, I am but a young gardener." -- Thomas Jefferson

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