Fruit Trees in the High Desert

Apple Blossoms

Spring is here and there is still some time left for planting fruit trees. Bare root season is all but over, but there are many fruit trees to choose from in containers at our local garden centers and nurseries.

Many fruit trees do quite well in our High Desert climate including peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, pears, apples, nectarines, pomegranates, figs and others. Which ever fruit trees you choose, make sure, by reading their tags, that they can handle our hardiness zones – generally Sunset zones 10 or 11, and USDA zone 8b for the Victor Valley area of southern California. Some surrounding areas with higher elevations need to allow for even colder winter temperatures. Fruit trees to avoid in the High Desert region – unless you have a special protected area or are willing to keep them in containers and cart them to a safe place for the winter – include most citrus, avocados, bananas and other “tropical” fruits. Apples that tend to do the best in this area include the more hard/crisp varieties such as Fuji, Granny Smith, Gala, Arkansas Black and others.

Most fruit trees have chill requirements – a certain number of hours below 45 degrees F. Try to avoid fruit tree varieties that have low chill requirements, which is anything with less than 500-600 hours below 45 degrees. If their chill requirement is met too early in the season, they will likely bud/flower too early in the spring and then a later cold snap will damage or kill the new buds, flowers and potential fruit.

Some fruit trees are “self fertile,” which means you only need to have one in order for the tree to produce fruit. However, many fruits, including most apples, cherries, plums and others require pollinator trees in order to produce fruit. Pay attention to the tags that are usually included with the tree as to whether or not the specific variety needs one or more pollinators and which varieties they suggest as pollinators (very helpful for finding potential pollinators that flower at the same time as the variety you want to pollinate). Some fruits will only require one other variety, while others such as Arkansas Black apple require two different pollinators (Granny Smith and Golden delicious are often suggested for Arkansas Black). These pollinators and desired varieties need to be planted within 50 feet of each other. The bonus is that they will all get fruit. If your space is limited, one way around having multiple trees (desired variety and pollinators) is to get what I call a “salad” tree – one tree with different varieties grafted together. My apple tree is such a tree and includes Granny Smith, Gala, Fuji, Braeburn and Jonagold all on one tree. I get a nice selection of apples, but a lot fewer individual fruits than if I had a separate tree for each one. Although more expensive than single variety trees, these types of trees are also available for pears, cherries and others.

Young fruit trees should not be pruned in their first year except to remove any dead or broken branches. Let them grow a year before pruning to develop a good branch structure. The extra branches and leaves can help shade the young tree’s tender trunk until real bark is formed. When the time comes to prune your tree(s), it should be done in the winter.

The Ladybugs Finally Arrived

Clusters of aphids on a Trumpet Vine

Over the many years that I have been gardening in the High Desert, I have noticed that each spring comes with a different set of insect issues to deal with. This year, and last year as well, the problem is aphids - lots of them. I always get a few aphids in the garden and landscape, but this year is a bit different with the aphids seemingly everywhere. They were in the pine trees, purple robe locusts, desert willows, bee balm, Angelita daisies, trumpet vine, butterfly bushes, pear tree, roses, and others. I was noticing all of these aphids, and wondering where in the world are the ladybugs?

One of the best ways to control aphids is with the use of beneficial insects (bugs that eat other bugs). Among the best aphid eaters are lady beetles (ladybugs) and especially their larvae, which look a lot like tiny black and orange alligators. Ladybugs can usually be purchased at a good nursery or through a catalog, which you can do if they don't show up in big enough numbers naturally.

A Convergent Lady Beetle

 The lady bugs finally showed up on their own this week - not just a few, but seemingly dozens if not hundreds, and more than one kind. There seem to be big ladybugs, small ladybugs, spotted ladybugs, no-spots ladybugs, and even beige-colored ladybugs. Yes, my aphid infestation may come to an end naturally. I have been blasting the aphids off of the plants with water, and spraying solutions of Ivory dish soap and water, which work fairly well in normal conditions, but I am thankful to get help from the ladybugs – especially for those areas on the plants that I can’t reach. I also noticed dozens of ladybug larvae on one of my yellow-flowering butterfly bushes – a good sign indeed!

Ladybug larvae on a Butterfly Bush

So what does an aphid look like? Aphids are pear-shaped and about one-tenth to about a half-inch long depending on the particular kind (there are over 4,000 different species). Generally, they can be green, yellow, peach or black and are found on the undersides of leaves or clustered on the new growth. If you look at them really closely - with a magnifying glass - you will notice two cornicles toward their rear ends that look a lot like exhaust pipes.

Aphids can cause your plants to be stunted, wilted, yellowish and to die by sucking out the plant's juices. They can also spread diseases. If you notice a lot of ants on your plants, you probably have aphids secreting "honeydew," which is a sticky sweet substance that attracts ants - get rid of the aphids and the ants will usually go away, too.

Hopefully, the aphids will be gone in a couple of weeks, thanks to the arrival of the ladybugs and their offspring.

Growing Potatoes

Potatoes seem to be among the most popular vegetables and are absolutely my Husband's favorite. If I ask him what he wants for dinner, it almost always includes potatoes. Because my hubby is diabetic, he can’t have a whole lot of potatoes, but, at least for him, some types of potatoes don’t mess up his blood sugar levels as much as some others. Those types that seem to be better include varieties of red and/or gold … russet types tend to spike his sugar more.

Potatoes are pretty good purchased from the store, but a few years ago I decided to start growing some for myself. Those potato varieties were 'Yukon Gold', 'Pontiac Red', 'Kennebec' (a type of russet), and 'All Blue', which are pictured above. The results were awesome! There is a huge difference between those fresh dug potatoes from my own garden and those purchased from the grocery store, even after they have been stored for a while. The homegrown versions tend to be firmer, not bruised, and certainly sweeter and more flavorful. The results were so good that I have been  repeating the process each year. This year I chose only two varieties instead of four – German Butterball and Sangre Red.

I ordered my seed potatoes from Territorialseed.com several weeks ago. I had a choice of having them shipped to me in April, or as soon as they became available. I chose when they became available – they arrived in the mail a couple days ago.

When preparing to plant the seed potatoes, I cut the larger ones in half, making sure there were a couple of "eyes" on each piece, and then put them in a plastic bag with some agricultural sulfur. According to "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" by Edward C. Smith, the sulfur helps prevent fungal diseases and wards off potato beetles. I left the bag of potatoes in a cool dark place for a couple of days.

To prepare the ground, I loosened the soil in one of my raised-beds (about a 4-by-8-foot area) and added a couple of large buckets of compost and mixed it in.

I just I planted them this morning. I dug seven trenches across the four-foot width of the plot and about eight inches deep – four trenches for the German Buttterballs and three trenches for the Sangres. In these trenches I sprinkled a little more of the sulfur along with some organic bone meal. Along the bottoms of the trenches, I placed the seed potatoes every eight to 10 inches and covered them with about three inches of the dug out soil mix. When the emerging potato plants reach a height of three to four inches, I will put in more of the soil mix and repeat the process until the soil pile is gone. Once the last of the soil is added, I will add a layer of straw. Potatoes are sensitive to changes in soil moisture; the straw helps to regulate the soil moisture and temperature. The soil around the potatoes needs to stay moist, but not soggy, so irrigate accordingly.

Last year's red potatoes about six weeks after planting.

After about three months or so, the Sangre potato plants (an early variety) should start looking yellowed and begin to die back - don't' worry, this is supposed to happen. At this time, I will harvest my crop, being careful not to damage the potatoes. First, remove the straw covering and then start to dig into the soil where there should be many pounds of fresh potatoes, usually a nice mix of small new potatoes and larger baking-size potatoes. I will repeat the same process a couple of months later for the German Butterballs, which are a late variety.

Once the potatoes are harvested, they should be laid on a table in the shade and let them dry for a day. The next day, brush off the dried soil and place the potatoes in a crate and store them in a cool, dry, dark cabinet. Washing the potatoes should be done just prior to cooking them and not prior to storage. A few of the small potatoes can be saved to repeat the above processes around the first part of August to get a fall crop, too.

One of our favorite ways to enjoy potatoes is in a delicious potato salad. Here is my recipe - an altered version of the one found on the Best Foods mayonnaise jar:

Micki's Potato Salad

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp. vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. celery salt

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 lbs. potatoes (cooked and cubed)

1 cup thinly sliced celery

1/2 cup sliced green onions

4 hard-boiled eggs (sliced)

1/4 cup chopped dill pickles

1/4 cup crumbled bacon (optional)

In a large bowl, blend the first five ingredients; stir in remaining ingredients; cover and chill. Makes eight servings.

For a festive potato salad, use different colors of potatoes such as red, white and blue to go with those Memorial Day, Independence Day or Labor Day barbecues and picnics.

Fertilizers Demystified

With spring about here, it is time to start fertilizing our garden plants, whether they are landscape shrubs, shade trees, lawns, roses, fruit trees, berries, grapes or vegetables. But many people are confused by the huge number of different fertilizers to choose from. I hope to help clear up a little of the mystery.

There are 18 elements essential to plant growth: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, chloride, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel and zinc. Generally, the first three elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen come from the air or through watering and usually don’t need to be added. The elements boron through zinc are micronutrients and are needed in such small quantities that adding them is not usually necessary, however in alkaline soil environments, such as here in the High Desert, iron and zinc may be insufficient and may need to be added depending on the specific plant. The macronutrients needed in larger amounts include nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), plus secondary nutrients calcium, magnesium and sulphur.

That brings us to the N, P, and K – in that order. These correspond to numbers that come on the front of the fertilizer packages, such as those pictured. The numbers correspond to the ratio of the specific nutrients in the package. Nitrogen is responsible for strong stem and foliage growth; phosphorus aids in root growth, plus flower and seed production; and potassium is responsible for plant health and disease resistance.

So, keeping in mind the specific plant and what you are trying to achieve, you can pick the right fertilizer. Nitrogen is the most likely nutrient to be deficient, but if you get too much, your plants may get too leafy at the expense of fruits and flowers. Too much tender new growth can also be targeted by sucking insects such as aphids. If nitrogen is applied too late in the growing season, the lush new growth may be subject to frost damage. Phosphorus is rarely deficient, but if you are looking to get more flowers, fruit or stronger roots it may be needed. If you want more resistance to disease or to hot and cold temperatures, a little potassium might be good, but mot too much or it can interfere with the absorption of calcium and magnesium. I have had many people over the years mention that their tomato plants were huge and green, but not producing tomatoes. The most likely problem is that the plant was getting too much nitrogen and/or not enough phosphorus. The remedy is to cut back on the nitrogen fertilizers and add a little phosphorus. Natural sources of phosphorus include bone meal and bat guano, both are available as packaged fertilizers via nurseries and catalogs.

There are all kinds of choices available from chemical fertilizers to all-natural and organic. Inorganic/chemical fertilizers are made from synthetic substances and are available for fast or slow release. Organic/natural fertilizers come from living or once living organisms and can include manure, fish emulsion, bone meal, blood meal, kelp meal and more. Plants don’t care where their nutrients come from, so whether to use chemical or natural is personal preference – my preference being natural/organic. It is very important to always follow the package directions for amounts to use and application methods – as the saying goes, more is not always better.

There are many fertilizer formulations from “general purpose” with nearly equal proportions of N, P and K, to “special purpose” fertilizers such as high-nitrogen fertilizers (example 29-2-4) for green, quick-growing lawns, or a higher phosphorus formulation (example 6-10-4) for getting more flowers and fruit. Others include special formulations for the specific needs of palms, citrus, blueberries and more.

Determining nutrient deficiencies is also a way to figure out what fertilizers are needed. There are a number of books available, including the “Sunset Western Garden Book”, which has a small section on fertilizers with an illustration describing what symptoms to look for and which nutrient will remedy the problem. The book also offers a lot of other useful gardening information.

If you are unsure of what nutrients your soil needs, soil test kits are available at garden centers and catalogs. Territorial Seed Company – territorialseed.com – offers a couple of different kits depending on the extent of testing you want to do.

Raised-Bed Vegetable Gardens the Easy Way

 

The wading pool gardens I created a few
years ago. Planted are some young peppers
and tomatoes with a micro-spray drip
irrigation system.

Wow! Here it is again – almost time to plant warm-season veggies like tomatoes, squash and peppers. The weather will soon warm up and the danger of frost is nearly gone. Some folks want a quick and easy way to plant a garden, while others may have limited space, or only want to grow a few crops. The solution – wading pools. I created a couple of wading pool gardens a few years ago, and while they did not produce the huge amount of vegetables that I need, they did work exceptionally well, on the small scale that they were intended for. I would have needed a dozen or more to get the amount of produce I like to grow for eating fresh, plus preserving some for the winter months.

My husband had mentioned that a friend of his always plants his garden in wading pools. They travel a lot, and maintaining a regular garden was not an option. I went to check it out and thought it was a great idea. I also decided to do a little Internet research and discovered that wading pool gardens are used quite a bit in big cities where roof tops offer the only spaces available for a garden. Wading pools make an ideal container or raised bed garden. And, it’s fast – buy a pool, add drainage holes, place it where you want it, fill it with potting soil, plant your seeds and young plants, and water – instant raised-bed gardening.

So here are the instructions:

1. Purchase a solid plastic wading pool or recycle the one used for your dog to play in and get him a new one. Get a pool that is about one foot in depth so the plant’s roots have space to grow. I have found them at Wal-Mart and K-Mart, but they should be available at many places once the warm weather strikes.
2. Purchase quality potting soil for flowers and vegetables. Avoid using natural soil unless you mix it with compost, peat moss or other organic materials. Native soil doesn’t drain properly when placed in containers. To determine how much soil you need multiply Pi (3.14) by the radius (half the diameter) squared, then multiply this by the depth of the pool. In my case, 2.25 squared, times 3.14, times 1 (depth in feet) equaled 15.90 cubic feet, which I rounded to 16. I then bought eight 2-cubic-foot bags of potting soil for each pool. Check around, you may be able to get potting mix in bulk and save a little money. Once, you have the soil, you’ll only need a little each year to refresh it and not have to refill the pool entirely.
3. Drill drainage holes (one-half to three-quarters of an inch) along the bottom edge about every 12 to 18 inches. Keeps these holes low on the sides and not on the bottom where the weight of the pool and soil could clog them.
4. Place the pool(s) exactly where you want them. The weight of the soil will make them very heavy and difficult to move. Make sure that the new garden will get plenty of sunlight. I placed mine near a couple of trees so they would get a little afternoon shade, but would otherwise receive direct light.
5. Fill the pool with the soil – water and pack it down as you go.
6. Plant your plants and sow your seeds. Keep in mind to plant the tallest plants in the center or toward the back depending on where you place your pool(s).
7. Add water. As with any garden, your plants will need regular watering. Hand water, or set up an irrigation/sprinkler system – whatever you prefer. I put in a small drip system with micro sprayers. The system was connected to a hose and faucet timer. While the seeds are germinating, the system should come on for a few minutes four times per day. Once the seeds have sprouted and start developing root systems, the watering schedule should be cut back to about 10 to 15 minutes once per day. Make adjustments to the watering schedule once you see how much moisture the soil retains. It is good to keep the soil moist, but not soggy.

Getting an Early Start on Planting Warm-Season Veggies

I have my "Kozy-Coats" ready to go.
I started my tomatoes from seed indoors
a few weeks ago. As soon as they are big
enough, in a couple more weeks, I'll be
planting them in the raised beds with
the added protection of these handy devises.
Without the added protection, I would not
recommend planting tomatoes, or other
warm-season crops outdoors here in the
High Desert any sooner than
mid to late April'

Is there anyone else out there who’s noticed the weird weather? One day it seems to be spring with hints of summer coming soon, and the next day winter is back with its chilly temperatures – not to mention the wind. Are any of you trying to plant a veggie garden and are worried about the cold nights killing those tender new plants? I noticed that there are a lot of tomatoes, peppers, and other warm-season vegetable plants for sale at the local garden centers. Unless you plan on keeping them indoors, or have some kind of plan to keep them warm, they will most likely not survive the night-time temperatures. There are a number of products on the market — most through catalogs — that can help prevent cold/frost injury to the young plants, thus allowing you to plant a few days or even weeks sooner than would ordinarily be safe.

Since tomatoes are among the most popular “vegetables” (botanically, tomatoes are actually a fruit) for home gardeners, I’ll start with them first. There are a couple of nearly identical products that can allow tomatoes to be planted six to eight weeks sooner than usual, which include “Wallo’ Water” and “Kozy-Coat.” Each is approximately 18-inches high and consists of a circle of tubes that are filled with water, which creates a tee pee over the plant that literally has a “wall of water.” The idea is that the water absorbs the sun’s heat during the day and releases that heat slowly through the night, keeping the plant in a warmer environment, and keeping the frost away. The “Wallo’ Water” claims to protect plants to 16 degrees F., while the “Kozy-Coat” protects to about 22 degrees F. Both are reusable over several seasons.

The main difference between the two products is that the “Kozy-Coat” has a red tint to it that is supposed to enhance photosynthesis by reflecting red light onto the plant, thus allowing the tomato plant to grow bigger, and produce larger and earlier yields — giving similar results to what red mulch can do, with the added benefit of frost protection. “Kozy-Coat” is slightly more expensive than “Wallo’ Water” (approximately $21.50 versus $19.95 respectively for packages of three), so it depends on your preference. I have been using the “Kozy-Coat” product for years and they continue to do a great job year-after-year. Occasionally one of the water tubes springs a leak, but that problem can be easily remedied with repair sleeves, which are available for both products.

There are a number of fabrics/floating row covers available for placing over young vegetable plants to protect them from the frost and temperatures as low as 24 degrees F. depending on the specific product. Territorial Seed Co. offers several choices: “Grow Guard 20” is a polypropylene fabric that weighs only 0.6 ounce per square yard, allows 85-percent light transmission, and provides protection down to 27 degrees F. as long as there is no breeze; “Reemay” has a long-standing reputation, same weight as Grow Guard 20, 75-percent light transmission, and protection to 30 degrees F; and “Frost Blanket” is three times the thickness of Reemay, allows 50-percent light transmission, protects down to 24 degrees F., and is UV stabilized. Gardens Alive carries a similar selection of products.

If this information comes too late for this year’s garden, save it and try out some of the ideas next year. You’ll be the envy of your neighborhood when you have ripe homegrown veggies earlier than the rest because you were able to plant them in the ground sooner. Check out the Web or your local garden centers for these products. The Territorial Seed Company’s web address is www.territorialseed.com, and the Gardens Alive address is www.GardensAlive.com

Composting – Recycling Nature’s Way

A couple of my chickens
checking out a batch of
partially finished compost in
my Earth Machine compost bin.

Gardening season is here and what better way to add organic material to the soil - for healthier veggies, flowers, shrubs, and trees - than with compost. You can buy compost at nurseries and garden centers, but why not make it yourself? For the most part, the ingredients can be found right in your own kitchen and yard.

Several years ago, I participated in a Master Composter training program held by the Mojave Desert & Mountain Recycling Authority/Master Composters. Upon completion of the program, I became a certified Master Composter. Included in the experience was a promise to pass along what I learned to other residents of the High Desert and beyond.

Composting is nature's way of recycling plant materials into a product that can be used to enrich the soil and nourish plants. By adding compost, sandy soils retain water better, heavy soils are loosened and drainage is improved, and plant health is improved. Composting reduces the amount of waste discarded into the trash, thus sending less waste to landfills.

Composting is partly art and partly science. Compost piles are actually microbial farms - bacteria are the most numerous decomposers and are the first to break down plant tissues. Later, fungi, protozoans, centipedes, millipedes, beetles, earthworms and others join in to do their part. Anything that grows is potential food for these decomposers. They use carbon from leaves and woody waste, and nitrogen from items like grass, weeds, manures, and fruit and vegetable waste from the kitchen.

Materials containing higher carbon content are considered "browns," while materials with higher nitrogen content are considered "greens." Recipes for the best compost can vary, but a good rule-of-thumb is a mix of 50-percent greens and 50-percent browns by volume.

Green materials include fresh weeds and plants, green prunings, grass clippings, horse, cow, chicken and rabbit manures, and fruit and vegetable trimmings.

Brown materials include fallen leaves, dry weeds and grass, chopped prunings and twigs, wood chips, hay or straw, and cold wood ashes.

Other materials that can be composted include egg shells, old flower bouquets, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, paper towels and napkins.

Materials that should not be used in composting include oleander bushes, tamarisk/salt cedar, invasive weeds, meat, fish, dairy products, bones, fats, bread, large pieces of wood, pressure-treated wood, barbecue ashes, dog or cat wastes,  and materials with spines or thorns such as rose branches and cactus.

The more surface area the microorganisms have to work on, the faster the materials will decompose, so it's a good idea to run large pieces of waste such as branches through a chipping or shredding process before adding them to the compost pile. The microbes also need moisture and air. The best moisture level for the microbes and for faster composting should be that of a wrung out sponge. It is usually necessary to occasionally add water to the compost pile. It should also be turned periodically to get more air into the center. About once a week, I add water to my compost bins. I turn it with a pitch fork whenever I add new materials, which is at least a couple times a week. Most of the contents I add are kitchen waste, chicken manure, wood shavings, straw, leaves and pine needles.

Large compost piles will insulate themselves and hold the heat given off by the microbes. The pile's center is warmer than its edges. The ideal compost pile is about 3-feet by 3-feet by 3-feet. Smaller piles have trouble retaining heat, while larger piles don't allow enough air into the center. Of course these proportions are only important for making compost quickly. Slower composting requires no exact proportions.

There are a number of ways to compost - some take less time and effort, some take more. The main things to consider are how much time you have to spend managing the pile, how much green waste your yard or kitchen generates, and how quickly you want the finished product.  Two common methods include holding units and turning units. Each method has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Holding units are the "no fuss" method where you add as you go. You can build or purchase a bin approximately three-feet square, or just start a pile. Fill it up as materials become available - when it's full, start another pile - water and turn occasionally. I use two vented black bins, called Earth Machines, which have a removable lid on the top, and a door at the bottom for removing the finished product at the bottom of the pile. I also use two "Compost Orbs," which I purchased because they were supposed to be easy to roll them to where ever I needed them. They roll well when empty, or full of dry leaves, but not when they are full of heavy moist compost. I like my Earth Machines better. There are many models available, check them out and see what works best for you.

Turning units are the "active pile" method. These are usually a series of three or more units that allow garden wastes to be turned on a regular schedule. These are more appropriate for gardeners with a larger volume of waste, or for those who want to produce compost faster. Each bin should be about one cubic yard in size. Fill one bin by layering green materials with brown. Water the piles as you add layers. The pile will probably heat up - when it cools after a few days, turn the pile into an empty bin and water again, continue until the pile no longer heats up and materials are decomposed.

Now you know the basics of composting - an environmentally friendly method for dealing with all that yard and kitchen waste! If you are in the High Desert/Victor Valley area of SoCal, visit the Mojave Desert & Mountain Recycling Authority website at http://www.urecycle.org or call 1-888-URECYCLE (888-873-2925) for more information or to find out when their next free class will be offered You can also contact the Master Composter Coordinator, Don Woo, at MC_Coordinator@dnbvisions.com