MAHONING VALLEY Despite snaps of cold, spring waits in winds

Spring won't simply spring into the Mahoning Valley -- it will explode, one expert says.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
Does the latest cold snap have you longing for spring?
Just wait.
Dave Goerig, Mahoning County's horticulture extension agent, said the arrival of spring in the Mahoning Valley will be difficult to miss.
"Spring flowers are coming up, buds are swelling; everything's just about ready to burst," Goerig said. "When the warm weather comes, spring will just explode. We will have color very quickly."
If you can hardly wait to break out the garden tools and get your hands dirty, however, Goerig cautions against doing too much too soon.
Things to do: Rolling and fertilizing lawns, and pruning trees and shrubs are good late-winter activities, he said.
Now is a good time to prune, but not fruit or maple trees, he said. Maple sap is running now, and sap will bleed from any branches cut, he said.
Fruit trees and flowering trees and shrubs should not be pruned until after they flower and fruit is harvested, he said.
Goerig said fruit growers don't want to see too much warm weather too quickly because a cold snap after trees bloom could ruin the crop.
"If the blooms die, there won't be any fruit," he said.
He said nursery owners are enjoying the mild winter because they are having an easy time digging out tree seedlings for sale. Although consumers can purchase seedlings throughout the spring and summer, nursery workers are preparing them now, he said.
Check plants: Goerig said the cycle of freezing and thawing may have caused soil upheaval, preventing some plants from taking root. He suggested that gardeners check any late-fall plantings such as daffodils or horseradish.
"If they haven't taken root, push them back into the soil and get them covered up," he said.
Goerig also cautioned against doing yard work too early.
"Don't get too anxious to rake leaf-cover from gardens and flower beds," he said. "Plants might still need that cover to protect against frost or snow."
Ernie Oelker, agriculture extension agent in Columbiana County, said the same upheaval of soil that could cause problems for backyard gardeners could also mean trouble for alfalfa growers. The freeze-and-thaw cycle may have pushed up alfalfa seedlings along with the soil, he said.
The same conditions, however, could mean a boon for the area maple syrup industry, Oelker said. Alternating freezing and thawing is ideal to make sap run, he said.
He is optimistic about spring planting, despite the mild winter. There is plenty of moisture in the topsoil, but deep soil needs more, he said.
Winter wheat: Oelker said a downside to a mild winter is that winter wheat could be hurt by the lack of snow cover. "Western Ohio wheat fields died out completely, but we should not have that problem," he said.
Farmers plant winter wheat in September and October and usually harvest in early July. Without snow cover, plants are exposed to the dry, cold wind and may die, he said.
Goerig said watching for signs of spring has given him a case of spring fever.
"The daffodils are coming up in my yard at home," he said.
"It's March, but it's still a bit early."