I don’t know if varmints are all that good at predicting when spring will arrive, but if your local soil and water conservation district has started selling trees it’s a sure bet that spring is just right around the corner.

The Gallia SWCD has an assortment of evergreen, deciduous, fruit and nut trees.

Evergreen offerings include two-year-old Norway spruce, 20 for $15; four-year-old Eastern White Pine, 10 for $15, and four-year-old Colorado Blue Spruce, 10 for $18.

Flowering trees include Eastern Redbud, 10 for $15, and White Flowering Dogwood, 10 for $15.

Hardwoods and wildlife trees include Sweetgum, 10 for $18; Blackgum, 10 for $15; Sawtooth “Gobbler” Oak, 10 for $10, and American Persimmon, 10 for $15. Fruit and nut trees: Montmorency Cherry, two for $25; English Walnut, two for $18; American Hazelnut, two for $10; Red Delicious Apple, two for $20; Yellow Delicious Apple, two for $20.

Last day to order trees is March 15 with trees being available for pickup around the second week of April. For an order form or for more information, contact the Gallia SWCD at 740-446-6173 or at 111 Jackson Pike, Suite 1569, Gallipolis, OH 45631.

The Meigs SWCD is offering the following hardwood packets including: Northern Red Oak, Black Walnut, Sugar Maple and Black Cherry in packets of 25 seedlings for $17.

Also available are packets of Austrian Pine, Colorado Blue Spruce and Bald Cypress in packets of 25 for $17, and evergreens Scotch Pine, Eastern White Pine, Norway Spruce, Canadian Hemlock and Douglas Fir in packets of 25 seedlings for $15.

American Chestnut seedlings are available in packets of five for $17.

The Nut Tree Packet consists of 10 seedlings, two each of Black Walnut, Shagbark Hickory, Hardy Pecan, Hazelnut and White Walnut (Butternut) for $15.

Other offerings include Grimes Golden Apples and Santa Rosa Plum in packets of two seedlings each for $17; Shiitake mushroom kits (consisting of 200 plugs) for $25; English Ivy and Pachysandra trays of 100 plants for $25, and Crownvetch trays of 72 plants for $35. Seed mixes include erosion control, showy native wildflower and grass, bird and butterfly and wildlife food plot.

Also available are bluebird boxes, bat boxes, marking flags and Plantskyydd deer and rabbit repellent (available in ready-to-spray quart bottles or in a powder concentrate).

The deadline for ordering trees or seed packets from the Meigs SWCD is March 4 with trees being available for pickup around the second week in April.

For an order form or for more information, contact the Meigs SWCD at 740-992-4282 or stop in during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 113 E. Memorial Drive, Suite D, Pomeroy. Order forms are also be available online at www.meigsswcd.com.

Since the groundhogs have already had their say; my prediction is that spring will arrive somewhere between the time you order your seedlings until they arrive in early April.

Jim Freeman is wildlife specialist with the Meigs Soil and Water Conservation District and his column, In the Open, generally appears every other Sunday. He can be contacted weekdays at 740-992-4282 or at jim.freeman@oh.nacdnet.net