Karen Chang, UC Master Gardener

The days are ever so slowly lengthening and there are chores galore in the garden. But more rainy days are almost a certainty for February. Here's a way to create an artificial "dry spell" in a part of the garden that you want to plant:

Cover a section closely with a clear plastic tent to keep out the rain and raise the temperature of the soil. Remove the plastic between rains so that excess moisture can evaporate. You may have to cover and uncover the section several times until the soil is workable.

Soil management:

* Check around the trunks of your trees and clear away mulch, leaves or debris that may have washed up around the crowns during the flooding rains of early January. You need to keep the trunks clear to prevent crown rot.

* High rainfall leaches nitrogen from the soil, and cold temperatures make iron and phosphorus less available to plants. Now is a good time to fertilize deciduous fruit trees. But don't fertilize evergreens and perennial plants now as the fertilizer could trigger new growth that could be damaged by frost.

Planting:

* Bare-root fruit trees, roses and cane berries are still available in nurseries. If the soil is too wet for planting, keep the roots covered in wet sand or compost. Bare-root asparagus and rhubarb may also still be planted.

* Azaleas and camellias are blooming now and rhododendrons are in the budding stage. This is a good time to select azaleas and camellias in nurseries as you can see the bloom color.

* Plant these vegetable seeds directly if the soil is dry enough: carrots, chard, lettuce, onions, parsley, peas, radishes, root vegetables, spinach and turnips. Wait until the soil begins to warm before planting other seeds.

* Seedlings of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bunching onions, kohlrabi, leafy greens and parsley can be set out now for harvest in April, May and June.

* Plant these perennial flowers from gallon cans: dianthus, coreopsis and penstemon. Smaller seedlings are better off planted when the weather warms up.

* Start seeds of basil, eggplant, peppers and tomatoes for the summer garden, to be transplanted in six to eight weeks. Those with gardens prone to late frosts should hold off for another month.

* Start tuberous begonias and shop for dahlia tubers to plant in March.

Maintenance:

* Keep after those little weeds; hand pulling should be easy now.

* Finish pruning dormant plants: fruit trees, grapes, cane berries, wisteria and roses, and spray with a fungicide or horticultural oil to kill over-wintering insect eggs, mites, soft-bodied insects and some scales. This past summer we enjoyed glorious displays of roses because of the late spring rains. However those same rains also brought more of the fungal diseases, black spot and rust, than usual. Pick off all the rose leaves and also pick up the fallen leaves and dispose of them in the garbage bin, not in the compost pile. The spores for these diseases are in the leaves and will continue their reproductive cycle in your rose plants if not removed. Good sanitation is the best prevention.

* Repeat the dormant spray of peach and nectarine trees with a copper-based fungicide to control peach leaf curl and again just when the bulging buds show color.

* Citrus trees are heavy nitrogen feeders so fertilize now following the instructions on the package.

* Remove fallen buds and petals from camellias and azaleas to prevent petal blight.

Harvest:

* Bring in the crops planted in the late summer and fall: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, fava beans, kale, lettuce, peas, radishes, spinach and root crops.

Napa County Master Gardeners (www.mastergardeners.org) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, at the UC Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Ave., Suite 4, Napa, 253-4221, or toll-free at 877-279-3065. E-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on the Web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions?