Warm weather is a’ coming

I don’t know about you, but I am ready to be able to get outside. There are a lot of activities that can be done this time of the year. In the following, I will try to list a few of the things that can be done in the outdoors this time of the year.
One of the things that can be done as the weather warms is to prune your fruit trees. I have a small orchard with about 25 trees. This is the time of the year to fertilize and prune the fruit trees. This can be accomplished by adding about half-pound of fertilizer for each year of the tree’s life. If the tree is 10 years old, then I use about four to five pounds.
I punch holes in the ground about eight inches deep and add the fertilizer. Putting holes in the ground helps prevent run-off entering into streams; a 10-10-10 fertilizer mix – or something comparable – is fine.
I would suggest that you contact the Penn State Agricultural Extension Center and ask about a soil sampling kit. This will determine the best type and amounts of fertilizer to use.
Also, pH is an important factor for healthy tree and fruit production. Each tree or berry has its own preference to pH. It is best to establish your fruit and berry plots by pH preference. If you establish your acid-loving plants in one area and your base-loving plants in another, you can manage pH much easier.
Also, don’t forget to prune your berry bushes. They should be pruned about 30 inches high.
Next, you can prepare your garden. This can be done by adding fertilizer and lime as needed. If you spread your soil amendments in the early spring the rain will help the minerals enter the soil where needed.
Be careful not to over lime or over fertilize your areas, there is no need. A plant will use what it can and that is all it will use. Excess fertilization can wash into our waterways and stimulate algae growth, causing stream problems.
Then, it is the time of the year to clean and check our fishing gear. It will not be too long before the state Fish Commission will start their trout stocking programs. This is a sure sign of spring. And one must not forget that spring gobbler season is also just not that far off. It is a good time to clean and check your weapon. Sighting your gun in is very important for a clean harvest shot.
I was recently talking to a young man that knew exactly the number of days till opening day of spring gobbler season. This young man appreciates the sport and the out-of-doors; it is young people like this that will assure a safe and clean environment for the future.
For myself, I am hoping to get some walleye fishing in before the season goes out in early March. At this time of the year, I will not keep the females. They need to be left and given a chance to drop their eggs.
One must also remember that all streams are closed for possession of trout after the last day in February. It makes no difference where or who stocked the trout, the only exception are regulated lakes and youth day. Check your law book for details and location of these areas.
If you are like me, I will be fishing in West Virginia for trout until the Pennsylvania season comes in. I have had pretty good success in West Virginia over the past several years.
In April and early May, the Morel Mushroom season will start. It should be a good year for mushrooms. There seems to be plenty of water from the amount of rain we have been getting.
All in all, it will be good to go outside and enjoy the warmer weather.
Well, spring will come and soon our out-of-doors time will increase, but let us never forget our responsibility to nature and to preserve her offerings.