Bayer Garden Products tells us, when treating for grape bunch diseases, that about half of the improvement is due to better air circulation and the other half using a copper-based fungicide.
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Dr. Sylvan Wittwer’s information on raised bed gardening stands the test of time. It is essential to use his recommended varieties but his recommendations on fertilizers and pesticides can be substituted for more organic forms if you prefer.
In the hot desert, loss of shade from an irrigation problem leads to attacks by borers.
Wood chip mulch is again available at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension orchard located 100 yards east of Horse Drive and North Decatur Boulevard.
Beans, carrots and beets should have been harvest before the weather got hot. These are cool-season crops.
When preparing to prune plants, follow these three rules: adjusting loppers or hand shears so they don’t rip plants instead of cutting them, making sure the blade is sharp for the same reason and sanitizing the blades.
Plant landscape trees in wet soil and keep plant roots wet during planting. The soil should stay wet for the first couple of days while these plants are getting established.
Horticulture expert Bob Morris answers readers’ gardening questions.
Q: I have 19 mature, healthy Mexican fan palms pruned every year after flowering. This year they were pruned on June 13, but after three weeks one suddenly died and another died two weeks later. I used the same pruning crew for five years with no problems. I removed about 250 square feet of turf from in front of the trees last year with no other significant changes to their irrigation or fertilization regimen.
Q: You emphasized it’s better to water longer rather than more often. But what if that’s not possible? Our small condo community has an old irrigation system with everything watered from the same lines. We irrigate for nearly 24 hours. Less than that and small plants really struggle. Is there anything we can do?