Final Fall Cactus Festival kicks off Saturday

Dave and Chris Turner of Turner Greenhouse will have their final Fall Cactus Festival from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Oct. 5 at 4455 Quadrel St. They are closing their cactus and succulent farm.

The Turners have always been ahead of their time, before water conservation was the thing to do. Many Southern Nevada Water Authority landscape award winners this year purchased plants from their nursery.

It is an ideal time to plant cactuses and succulents and a perfect opportunity to pick up some unusual accent plants. Note reasons why planting in fall is so great:

• Shortened days decrease strain on plants getting started.

• Cooler temperatures mean greater survival.

• Root growth that happens during winter means better plants next summer.

• Less watering is required.

• Expect less dieback next summer.

• Insects, weeds and disease won't be problems.

For details about the Fall Cactus Festival, call 645-2032.

CLASSES AT THE PRESERVE

Turn over a new leaf and grow your own salad bar. Let master gardener Helen Brown show you how easy it is to grow and harvest from your garden this fall. She'll also tell you how to prepare for next spring's garden, then sow and reap your harvest. The program is at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd.

A free drip irrigation seminar will teach you how to design and install a drip irrigation system, from the street to the plants, including how to select and assemble components. Join experts from the Southern Nevada Water Authority at 2 p.m. Saturday at the preserve.

Here are answers to some recent questions:

EDIBLE SOCIETY GARLIC

Society garlic is edible and often mentioned as a substitute for onions and garlic in recipes. The name comes from the assumption that it doesn't have that familiar garlic odor associated with bad breath. This perennial flowers long, so if you eat them, harvest before they open.

RIPE PISTACHIOS

Pistachios ripen now. The hulls slough off as nuts mature and change to a light color. Squeeze some; if hulls separate from the shell, begin harvesting. To hasten harvesting, put tarps under the tree to catch nuts and shake the branches. Remove the hulls or they stain the nuts. Rinse the nuts off and allow to dry. To salt them, make a saturated solution of salt and water and dip the nuts in it for 20 minutes. Then dry and store the nuts in a cool place until eaten.

DYING GAZANIAS

Gazanias dressed with bright colors will quickly die if overwatered. Losing plants here and there is a sure clue to cut back on the water.

DEAD TWIGS ON AFRICAN SUMAC

Experts call this flagging. Cicadas lay eggs in new twiggy growth of sumac trees and the twigs die from that point out. It is nature's way of grooming sumacs.

NEWLY PLANTED ASPARAGUS FERNS

Allow asparagus ferns to grow until they frost down, then prune to the ground. Harvest some spears next spring, but you are still a year away from full production. Note how much the ferns add to the landscape.

MOVING PERENNIALS TO OTHER STATES

Check to see if that state allows taking plants in. Many states have restrictions because plants may be invasive or carry with them unwanted diseases. Second, will plants grow in your new zone? Place plants in pots to transfer them. Finally, transport them in your car so you control the heat, light and watering.

NUT-LESS ALMOND

Almonds need another variety nearby to pollinate the tree. If you have a small lot, graft another variety onto your tree but mark it so you don't prune it out later or get your neighbor to plant another variety.

BUFFALO GRASS

It is a warm-season, perennial, blue-green grass that survives drought and extreme temperatures, but struggles in sandy soils and won't tolerate lots of foot traffic or shade. It shows best when mown a couple a times per year. It spreads by surface runners and by seed. This grass comes from the Great Plains and advertised as not needing any water, but it needs water in Las Vegas. The Preserve has it and other water-conserving grasses on display.

UNWANTED TORTOISES

Call the Clark County Tortoise Pick-up Service at 593-9027. It cares for tortoises until an approved home is home. Read about possibly adopting a tortoise at www.tortoisegroup.org. Because of unforeseen problems, the Springs Preserve cannot accept animals or plants.

Linn Mills writes a gardening column each Sunday. You can reach him at linn.mills@ springspreserve.org or call him at 822-7754.