Okay, all you gardeners, this is just about your last chance to get plants and trees into the ground before the rainy season starts.

Rainy season = free water. Dry season = I have to drag the *%#(@ hose out and stand there in the blistering sun watering my plants so they won’t die on me.  I am sure you wish you had planted in the rainy season.

Yes, for some of you, it may be too late. Things are changing, El Niño is back, and some of you are already dragging out the hose. For some of us, though, there is still some rain beginning and caring for new plants.

Right now, my gardener is putting in trees that were just tiny seedlings, which we took out of those planting bags and put into pots with lots of rooting room. Now they are much bigger and have a stronger root system and are ready for permanent homes.

The laurel will go to a hectare in the rear of the property along a gully, so they will have some water now until the rainy season approaches.

Smaller trees go on the border of the road where ICE cut down trees and just piled up the branches. ICE promised to come back and clean up, but no truck has appeared yet. Maybe the branches will just rot away and fertilize the soil.

Veggies are another thing to start as the rain comes. Too much rain washes the seeds out or clumps them up at the low end of the garden area. Just enough rain will get them well started as the sun begins to shine.

Remember, January or February is the time to plant your short-day sweet corn seed so the plants can take advantage of all that lovely sun in March.

And what is “short-day sweet corn?

Have you ever wondered why you couldn’t find good sweet corn in Costa Rica? Well, it’s because sweet corn – like that from Iowa – takes 14-16 hours of daily sun to ripen. Short-day corn seed is available from the University of Hawaii, Hilo’s agricultural department. Email me for details.

But, time for a true confession, my veggie garden looks terrible. Right now, it is choked with weeds and needs help. We have had so many big projects recently that the ‘little ones’ have been pushed aside.

Fortunately, the ‘volunteer’ tomatoes have produced like mad, so we have plenty for salads.

Plant of the week. I love iris. The bearded iris that we had in the States will not grow in Costa Rica and most Costa Rican iris wilt within hours of being picked. Then there is this little iris, sun-drenched, rain-spotted and happy to hang around for a little longer when cut. It will never smell quite as good or last quite as long, but it is a little beauty.