Treat stone fruit trees and birch for borers

Stone fruits are fruits with pits: peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots. They are susceptible to invasion by borers. When we first bought our house we had a nice apricot tree in the back yard and a peach tree. The peach tree had just one healthy branch that first year and the next year it had one single leaf. Borer Infestation. The apricot died shortly after that. Dang borers. The prevention for this is to spray the trunk and lower branches with Dursban on July 1 and August 1. But Dursban is no longer sold. So see what replacements are available where you shop and spray the trees on July 1. (Okay June 2 is a Saturday and that will suffice).

Birch trees are also vulnerable to borers so give them the same treatment.

IF you have a tree that dies of a borer infestation, do not save the trunk for firewood. The insects will leave the tree and look for another host--like a neighboring apricot tree :). Get it out and away from your trees and your neighbors.

Snow Peas cool off a 94° day

Better than popcorn for my movie tonight.

Thin the fruit on your trees/insect control on the lawn

Remember that bag of fertilizer with insect control I told you to get last week? This weekend fertilize your lawn with it. Those blasted ants are driving me crazy all over my yard. I'm gonna send 'em to that big family reunion in the sky...

AND, if you have fruit trees, you've got to thin the fruit. For apples, reduce the fruit in each cluster to one or two of the healthiest looking fruits. CUT them off with scissors, it will be much easier than pulling them off. For peaches and plums, reduce the fruit to about one every 4-6 inches. I usually end up just climbing up in the tree to do this. You'll feel like a kid again. And I know if feels like you are taking off a lot, but you'll be surprised how much is left at the end of the season. And you'd much rather have one LARGE fruit than several teeny fruits with full-sized pits. The tree has only so much energy, you want to focus it on the fleshy part you can enjoy, rather than 5x as many seeds and pits.

Fertilize your annuals

This weekend, give your annual plants a little boost with some fertilizer. A nice easy granular kind is good if you have sprinklers to help you water it in. If you have a drip system, you may need to use some Miracle Grow mixed with water. And while you're at the garden center, get some fertilizer for your lawn with insect control in it. Next week it will be time to apply that.

I am SOMEBODY!

I got some free seeds from Twilley Seed Company. It is so fun to order things online and have them arrive. And, it is SUPER fun to get things you didn't even have to order. They want me to plant these bush beans, grow them, eat them, and tell them what I think. They have no idea I am SO good at telling people what I think. The only problem is finding more space in the garden...

Little Okra Babies

I'll be bringing lots of okra to my classes this summer. I planted 24 seeds and they are emerging!  Why do I just LOVE seeing them emerge? This was the last of my seeds so I have to be sure and save some for next summer. This variety ('North and South') is off the market but grows well in this climate.

Lettuce coming up everywhere!

I always let one or two lettuce plants go to seed each year so that in the spring I get lettuce coming up all over the garden. It doesn't require any additional work. This year it is coming up all over my side yard because we don't have grass in yet. AND I found this cutie in my driveway!

I like pulling weeds

I think I really like yanking weeds. It's a satisfying sensation when you get a good grip on the base of a plant and the soil has just the right amount of moisture and the roots rip right out. Maybe I like the constructive way to work out my aggression.

But here's what I don't like:

These are shamrocks, also known as oxalis.

And this is what they look like when they are embedded among the plants you want to keep.
So I just spent the sunny afternoon digging up this entire plant and several others. I performed surgery by carefully separately the shamrock roots from the ice plant roots. Then I replanted the ice plant.

This is why the shamrocks are so vicious:

They reproduce by underground roots. They spread like crazy. This one was pretty small compared to some of the intricate shamrock mafia systems that I unthreaded from the plant. But I didn't want to touch my camera with my dirty hands again.

My grandmother was very proud of our Irish roots. I do NOT like these roots.

My neighbor is making sure I will be fighting this and many other weeds for decades. I've found that a cocktail of Roundup and Weed-B-Gone are very effective against morning glory. I'm starting to get control of that one. But the shamrocks are tough because the seedlings are so teeny and hard to catch. Before you know it, you have a full blown infestation.

At least I like pulling weeds on a sunny day.

Spray the Fruit Trees

When the blossoms on your fruit trees fade, it is time to start spraying them on a regular schedule. I use Imidan that needs to be applied every 17 days.

Here I go...

Make your own hotcaps!

I was at the garden center yesterday and right next to the official HotKaps (for 89 cents EACH) was this sample homemade hotcap. You cut an X in the bottom of a milk carton and then 2" up the sides. Flare out the triangular pieces. Cover your plant and throw dirt on the flared out portion to secure them down so they don't blow away. This is great! They stand a little taller than just cutting off the bottom of the milk carton and are more secure.

NOTE: I tried milk carton hotcaps last year and my plants got too hot. So keep the lid of the milk carton off unless it gets really cold. Then you can just go out and put the lids on for a day or two.

Thanks to Vineyard Garden Center for this great tip.

Don't be watering that lawn yet

It's too early to be watering the lawn. Temperatures are low, there is plenty of water in the ground and the longer you wait to provide extra water, the further down the roots of your grass will reach to access whatever water remains. Deep roots makes your grass more resilient to drought. Usually there is no need to water until at least the first week of May.

Get a jump start for melons and squash

Melons and squash are very tender starts and don't like to have their root systems disturbed. For that reason, most people plant them directly in the garden when the weather is warm. They start easily and grow quickly so the starts you buy at the garden center are usually only about a week old. But the fruits from these plants will continue growing as long as there is no frost to kill them off, so it makes sense to extend the life of the plant by starting them earlier in doors. If you have a large container you can give them (like a big and WIDE), you can start them now and then transplant them outdoors in late-May.

Peas are up!

Yay! I thought the seeds were duds because they took so long. Aren't they cute?

To Do this Saturday

In addition to fertilizing the lawn, I've got to trim up my sedge grasses. They are "evergreen" but they really look horrible right now. If I trim them too early (in March) the new growing tips will also turn brown and I have to trim them again. Also give them some fertilizer.

And those dang ice plants. They are gorgeous and I absolutely love how reliable they are, but I have to give them a "haircut" every spring to get the dead bloom heads off. They will bloom like crazy in May and then bloom more gracefully for the rest of the season and be a nice ground cover for this dry climate.

Fertilize the lawn April 16

Time for a general "weed and feed" fertilizer for your lawn. If you didn't already have your lawn aerated, get that done beforehand so the water and nutrients have a better chance of getting down to the grass roots.