May 2014 Newsletter

It’s a great time to be in the yard and garden. May started off a bit warm, then cooled down then got warm again and just recently has cooled back down. The weather this year has definitely been a challenge. We had a hard freeze in January that set many  trees back on breaking dormancy. Everything should be acting normal now I think. Fertilizing It’s almost time to do your second fertilizing of the year. We recommend it be done three times. In spring when things are in full leaf. Usually March, then again in June and then again in the fall. Usually September. Remember to always water your plants well the day before you are going to fertilize. Then fertilize the next day and water in well. Most items will benefit from 16-16-16. There are special fertilizers to use for citrus and for Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and Camellias. Also different fertilizing schedules for the specialty fetilizers. Citrus should be fertilized monthly through the growing season with a citrus fertilizer. Rhododendrons, azaleas, and camellias should be fertilized three times after they are done blooming, each fertilizing done 30 days apart and then no more for the season. You don’t want to …

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Fruit Trees Are Now Ready For Sale

We will sell them on a first come first serve basis only. We will not be able to reserve trees or hold trees for customers. We’ve tried this in the past and had too many problems and dissatisfied parties on both sides. If you buy a tree you must take it with you. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation. All are in 5 gallon sized pots and sell for $28.50 each. We have apples, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, pluots. All were potted in March following bare root season. Some pears and cherries still need some rooting time. Quantities are limited. First come first serve only.

April Gardening Tips

Vegetable starts are available now. We are receiving shipments of vegetable starts every week now and will continue to have them through the next couple of months. We also have some vegetable and herb starts in the greenhouse that should be coming out soon. We will have many different and unique tomato varieties (different than our usual wide selection) that should be ready in about 3 weeks or so. They are about an inch tall now. As usual we have many heirloom and other varieties of tomatoes available now. Our 4″ vege starts are $1.95 each. 6 pak vege starts are $3.50 each. We have a very large selection of tomatoes, squash, peppers, pumpkins, cucumbers, etc. with more arriving every Wednesday. Start prepping your area for your vegetables now. Be sure to add phosphorous or bone meal for root development. Incorporate it into the soil. Also add calcium to your soil to prevent blossom end rot. Incorporate your vegetable fertilizer and compost and/or chicken or steer manure in advance and be ready to plant. I use vegetable fertilizer, kelp meal and bone meal in the vegetable garden. Kelp meal helps with disease resistance and bone meal adds the calcium needed. …

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Water Saving Strategies for Landscapes

Reducing Water Use in Your Landscaping The rain situation locally is much better now than it was in January and hopefully we get a decent amount of rain for the rest of March and April. I still think it is a good possibility. However, it is best to plan for the situation while hoping for the best as I see it. It is still a very dry year. Below are some easy ways to reduce the water use in your landscaping. Mulching Adding a layer of mulch 1 to 2 inches thick in flower beds and planting areas will significantly reduce the amount of watering needed. You can easily cut the number of times watered per week by almost half. The mulch holds the moisture in and not allowing evaporation so the moisture stays in the soil for the plants. Spread mulch 2 inches or more around the base of ornamental trees and fruit trees out to the drip line. Keep the mulch at least 6 inches away from the trunk of the tree. Drip Irrigation Use drip watering systems for your shrubs and trees. Better to water every 2 to 3 days when it is hot rather than every …

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March 2013 Newsletter

It’s time to get ready to start fertilizing. Almost everything should be fertilized soon. As soon as deciduous plants have their full set of leaves fertilizing should be done I’ve actually done it in timing with the rain and had the rain water it in for me. If the rains time themselves right, it makes it easy. For most plants you should use a balanced fertilizer or an all purpose fertilizer. The three numbers will be the same such as 16-16-16 or 5-5-5 for organics. When fertilizing trees and shrubs apply the fertilizer at the drip line and work it into the soil. Make sure the plant is watered well before applying the fertilizer and water the fertilizer in after application. We carry 16-16-16 in 20 pound bags. This year, like last year, we have balanced organic fertilizer. Dr Earth Life organic fertilizer is available in 25 pound and 4 pound bags. It’s formulation is 5-5-5. I used this last year on the orchard here at the nursery and it works really well. It is easy to use and the results I found were great. It also works well on container plants and raised beds. The 25 pound bag will …

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November 2013 Newsletter

November Gardening Tips Well it finally feels like fall. the weather through September and October was unseasonably warm. Just the past week or so it has gotten quite a bit cooler and we had some nice rain. The fall colors are really showing now. And it is still an excellent time for fall planting. Fall fertilizing should have been done by now. If you forgot to do it you can still do it if the plants have not gone dormant yet. If they are already in fall color and starting to lose leaves best to wait until spring. Dormant spraying of fruit trees will be coming up soon. This will be the first of three aplications. Make sure the trees have lost their leaves before spraying. Remember “Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines Day as dates to remember for the dormant spraying. Make sure to spray all three times to prevent leaf curl. Use copper spray and mix a dormant oil with it. We use copper and horticultural oil from Monterey mixed together with good results. The horticultural oil helps the copper to stick to the tree. It also helps to kill overwintering insects. Be sure to soak the tree all the way …

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September 2013 Newsletter

Fall Planting Season Fall is almost here. The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler. It’s been a little warm so far the last wekk or so but it will be cooling soon. The official first day of autumn is September 22nd. The wether is expected to cool down starting Sunday and next week the forecast is for the 80’s. Fall is definietly in the air. Time to get out and do fall planting.   THAT MEANS FALL PLANTING SEASON IS HERE!     Fall is the best time for planting just about everything, paritcularly trees. Plants that are planted in fall get the cooler weather to get roots established without the stress of the heat and transplant shock and continue to establish roots even after they lose their leaves. They will continue root devlopment with  the fall and winter rains. The roots then are established and the tree or shrub is ready to take off and grow next spring and is well established before the heat of the summer and can tolerate the summer heat much better than the same plant put out in the spring.   The inventory here at the nursery looks great. It …

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August 2013 Newsletter

Vegetable Gardens By now you should be getting vegatables from your garden. Watch for tomato worms. Use caterpillar killer on them or pick them off and kill. Water your garden well about 2 to 3 times a week. Give it a good deep soaking when you water. You may need to fertilize one time this time of year. If you are suffering blossom end rot, add calcium. Harvest regularly to keep your garden producing. Hopefully it looks full now and not like the beginning of the season. Water Water Water With the summer heat comes the need for watering. Remember that it is better for trees in particular to have deep soakings 2 to 3 times a week rather than daily short watering. This will get a deeper root system and produce a tree that can withstand the long hot days much better than one that is watered daily for short periods. If you are seeing stress from the heat such as burned leaf edges, flowers fading quickly, wilting, etc., increase the amount of water you are giving. If you are unable to increase the frequency, we have a product called Soil Moist. You mix it with the soil and …

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July 2013 Newsletter

Gardening tips for July The weather has been pretty darned hot the past week or so. Today as I write this it is very nice. Finally the heat broke. I’m a little late getting this out. Have been out watering two and three times a day here to make sure all the plants look good. And thanks to the hard work of all our people the plants look really nice. The biggest thing to do this month is water. When the weather is hot it is time to step up the watering. Increase time on timers to give plants good deep soakings. Some signs to look for that show not enough water are wilting in the heat that does not recover when the weather cools for the evening. If water is not increased when you see this the next thing will be leaves dropping and flowers dropping before the blooms are spent. The next thing is edges of leaves will turn brown and then die back on branches. If you see any of these signs increase the water to the plant. If a plant is stressed due to lack of water or other reasons, use Superthrive. Mix 1 to 3 …

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June 2013 newsletter

June is starting off fairly warm this year. This weekend is supposed to be pretty warm. Okay it is going to be hot.  Be sure to increase the water for the warmer temperatures. Plants need additional water during spikes in temperature and during the summer. Tune up your drip systems if you haven’t done so yet. Remember that trees in particular like long deep soakings two to three times a week for deep rooting. Daily short watering on your tree will cause surface rooting. Deep soaking ensures deep rooting and the tree will stand the heat of the summer much better. Tomatoes, melons, and cucumbers are also going to do better with deep soaking less frequently than with daily short watering. If you are unsure of the amount of water a tree needs, we have a handout at the nursery which will tell you the amount of water per week needed based on the size of the tree. It is a great resource for those in doubt.   June is the month for your second fertilizing of the year for most items in the landscape. An all purpose fertilizer such as 16-16-16 is good for most things in the landscape. This …

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