DEALING WITH SNOW

Sometimes you have to stretch yourself and make an effort in the bad weather.

IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH…..
Either my memory is failing or I am imagining things, but there was a lot more snow around when I was a lad. We would go for weeks without a thaw and live in a roughly made igloo in the garden for what seemed like weeks in between skating on ice that was a foot thick and walking over the three-foot snow drifts to school. It’s not been like that for years though and we usually have to content ourselves with a light fall of snow and then a couple of hours of really wet mush until it finally disappears.

This year has been different though and the global warming critics have had a field day. It doesn’t take much snow or ice to put the whole county on a standstill and this year especially, the council appear to be getting through their stockpile of car bodywork rotting grit to put on the roads.

ALASKAN DREAM
I used to dream of living in Alaska, that fabulous country that can cope with even the deepest snowfalls and was sold to America for 2 cents an acre in 1874 (those were the days..). It has long periods of minimal light and months of snow, which sounds a bit depressing, but when I was up to my neck in gardening work, the thought of darkness or a thick covering snow covering plants would be a great way to sit back and do nothing for a while…. If you couldn’t see the greenery it wouldn’t need any work doing to it… Knowing me though I would be out with a snowplough as I am not very good at sitting still.

I love the way that the world turns into monochrome when the snow falls, it’s like looking at a negative of a photograph, and children love it too because it totally eradicates the adult world. Everything is on go-slow and people join together in unity to fight off the common evil that is snow. And all the time the children are throwing snowballs at anything that moves, or stays still long enough to be snowballed.

As pretty as a good snowfall is, covering plants with snow for long periods can cause a few problems. The main issue that the plants have had in our garden is the makeshift sledges (surfboards and bin liner bags) that have been running over the emerging daffodil tips and some ground cover plants. They will pick themselves up in no time though and in the wild they would have had animals treading on them anyway, so they are well used to it.

INSULATOR
Snow is actually a good insulator (as many Inuit people will know as they huddle in their igloos on fishing expeditions on the frozen lakes) and a good snowfall will also protect your plants from the ravages of a hard frost. Frost, can cause the water in plant cells to freeze, damaging the cell walls. Frost problems are often made worse where plants face the morning sun, as this causes them to defrost quickly, rupturing their cell walls.

PROTECTION PLAN
There are a few things you can do to protect your plants from the cold without having to go out and put potato sacking over your yucca’s.

Leave the old growth of tender plants unpruned over the winter months. This will help to protect the central crown of the plant and take the brunt of any frost damage. The plants look fabulous with frost and snow on them too.
Golden or variegated plant varieties are usually quite tender so avoid planting those in a frost pocket.
Choose plants that are reliably hardy in Inishowen, the nursery staff will tell you what’s good.
High-nitrogen fertilisers encourage plants to make lots of soft leafy growth so avoid those early and late in the year.
Plants with tender flower buds or shoots will do better if they are not planted on east-facing sites.


Dealing with snow in the garden
Even though snow is a good insulator, a heavy layer of it can also cause leaves and branches to break. It might be a bit late now, but it’s a good idea to be prepared for the next time it comes.
· Walking on snow-covered grass will damage the turf beneath and leave unsightly marks on the lawn, so use the paths to be safe…. try telling that to the kids….
· The snow cover could encourage the growth of fungal diseases, which thrive in the cool damp conditions, so keep a watchful eye on the condition of the lawn as things warm up.
· Shake excess snow from the branches of large trees, shrubs and hedges, to prevent them from becoming disfigured by the weight, get the kids to do it, as it’s great fun.
Remove heavy deposits of snow from the roofs of greenhouses or cold frames to let in the light and prevent the structures from bending under the weight.



Protect your evergreen plants in the cold spells by applying a thick layer of mulch around their bases to keep the soil frost-free. This will allow them to take up moisture during periods of cold weather and stop them from becoming dehydrated. I think that’s enough of me telling you what to do in the garden. If the snow comes again, get your gloves on and join the kids in their world, throw some snowballs…..