Published: Saturday, December 21, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 10:44 a.m.
Today is the official start of winter, the shortest day of the year.
At this point, the sun reaches its southernmost point, and beginning tomorrow, although it will be imperceptible, the days will begin to grow longer. The term "solstice" comes from the Latin words for "sun" and to "stand still," probably because for these few days the sun seems to stand still as it reverses course. One can almost imagine a creaking of the brakes as the sun slows, grinds to a halt, then starts up again in the opposite direction. The thought of a large ship reversing course in a deep body of water comes to mind.
One of the things that has always intrigued me is the movement of the sun on the horizon. Today, Dec. 21, it will rise as far south on the horizon as it is going to, and as we move toward June 21, the sun will begin to rise — and set — further to the north each day. This has an effect on the shadows and the set of the light inside the house, on the trunks of trees in the yard and wherever you observe that light strikes.
For some, the beginning of winter is associated with a type of depression, perhaps because of the longer periods of darkness or the bleakness of the gray skies in northern climates.
While Florida may see some cold, the skies remain largely blue, and we won't have to deal with the ice or snow that causes problems for travel only a few miles to our north. Plants are affected by light, and these shorter days mean a period of dormancy for most plants where the growth cycle, in concert with the movement of the sun, slows to a halt. Dormancy means minimal nutrient and water uptake, so no need to fertilize until mid-March, and lawn irrigation should be limited to every 14 days.
Established landscape plants should require no irrigation during these winter days. The goal of any managed landscape is to apply water and nutrients at the recommended rate, when the plant is actively growing — taking up all of the applied material — so none is lost to the environment.
Plants also are affected by temperature and, interestingly, there is some lag time between the shortest day of the year, today, and the lowest average daily temperature of the year, which occurs in late January. This is because the Earth's mass still retains heat from the summer and fall days. It will continue to cool, resulting in our coldest temperatures still lying ahead, even though the amount of light received each day is growing longer.
Shortly after Christmas, vegetable seed catalogues begin to arrive, and the short days of winter are a good time to make plans for the spring vegetable garden. Place orders so that seeds arrive in time to be sown in early to mid-March. Gardeners may elect to start some plants — tomatoes and peppers for example, indoors using heat mats. Heat mats typically raise seedling flats temperatures 10 to 20 degrees above the room temperature. Monitor the growth of plants carefully, and remove plants, if needed, to avoid too much rapid growth, resulting in "leggy" transplants. The University of Florida has a good publication on the EDIS website, edis.ifas.ufl.edu, HS#507, "Starting the Garden with Transplants," that details procedures for starting plants indoors.
Landscapers also may wish to take advantage of winter dormancy to sharpen blades, repair tools and inventory equipment in preparation for the coming spring. The cool winter days offer a good opportunity to mulch plant beds. Remember to place mulch no thicker than 3 inches deep, and keep mulch away from trunks of plants. Rake out any fallen leaves prior to applying mulch, as these can be a source of plant diseases. Destine fallen leaves for the compost bin. Remove winter weeds and check under hedges and ornamental plants for sprouting trees and smilax. These are much easier to remove when they are small, delicate plantlets as opposed to waiting until they develop a more extensive root system. Inventory the landscape and determine areas that may need replacement or expansion during the coming spring.
In northern climates, the first day of winter suggests a time to cuddle closer to the fire to await the melting of the ice and snow. For Florida gardeners, winter need not mean inactivity. There still is much that can — and should — be done to prepare for the coming spring.
David Holmes is Marion County extension director. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.org.