Get weeds under control early this winter

While removing vegetables from my garden, I found annual sow thistle, dandelion, mustard and other weeds camping in my yard. Normally my wife, Barbara, takes care of weeds, but she's under the weather. I had to do something quick, because many were setting seed.

Winter weeds establish themselves unbeknownst to us, primarily because our interests are more on Christmas activities. Most weeds are prolific seed producers: Spotted spurge contributes 3,500 seeds, redroot produces 185,000 and mustard creates thousands for future weeding. Never allow weeds to go to seed, or they'll plague you for years.

While making resolutions for next year, include these six rules of weed control:

1. Cover bare soil with mulch. Most weeds need light to germinate. If soil is bare, dry and compacted, weeds will cover this area. Reverse these conditions so weeds can't survive.

2. Place plants closer together to shade soil to prevent weed germination.

3. Avoid soil compaction. Desired plants become very aggressive in friable soils, driving weeds crazy trying to compete.

4. Enrich your soil with compost using debris from your yard to improve your environment.

5. Control weed seedlings early and be persistent. My wife used to walk our yard weekly to rogue out seedlings, she didn't wait to weed. Compost seedlings or let birds use them for nesting.

6. Mow your lawn high. The added height shades out weeds, conserves water, increases food reserves and taller grass means deeper rooting to extract more water for turf.

Eliminate invading insects: Bugs are seeking winter quarters. Their favorite hangouts are along the home foundation, in grass next to patios, carports, walkways and mulched beds. Spray areas with proper insecticides or hire a pest control operator. They now use organic-based sprays.

A pistachio with no nuts: You use pistachio singularly and you need a mate. Get a male variety such as Peter and a female variety such as Kerman, or graft these varieties onto the tree to make it produce.

Pruning desert spoon: First, wear heavy leather gloves and a long-sleeved shirt when working this plant because of its thorns. As leaves turn brown at the plant's base, pull them off. When a flower stalk finishes flowering, reach down in the bush to cut off to hide the stump.

Pruning citrus trees: Do most of your pruning in the spring. As citrus trees mature, their attractive globular shape develops naturally. Young trees often develop strong vertical shoots to create an off-balanced tree. To maintain their global shape, cut vertical branches back. Trees allowed to grow with full skirts to ground have less sunburn, and skirts shade roots from the heat.

Citrus fruit split: Inappropriate water management leads to sunburn, making rinds less supple and less resilient to stretching, so as fruit enlarges it splits. There is nothing you can do now but ensure adequate irrigation next summer.

Low-growing shrubs to replace rosemary: Here are some to consider: dwarf myrtle, dwarf mock orange, yaupon holly, dwarf Japanese boxwood and cotoneaster.

COMPOSTING AND WORMING

Turn kitchen scraps into glorious compost. Let our experts share composting techniques to create a lush garden from kitchen waste. They'll also dig into the wonders of vermicomposting (worm composting) to improve soil quality to avoid using chemicals. Find out why "happy worms make happy gardening." The program is at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd. Call 822-7786 for reservations.

NEW MASTER GARDENER CLASS

Registration for the spring master gardener training program takes place from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Nevada Cooperative Extension Learning Center. Seminars will run from Feb. 2 to April 29 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m.

Master gardeners complete 24 classes in horticulture covering introduction to plants, soils, mulching, composting, plant nutrition, irrigation techniques, propagation, landscape design, selecting and maintenance of plants, basics of watering, vegetables, flowers, integrated pest management, palms, pruning, fruit trees, turf, natives, cactuses, succulents, plant pests and container gardening.

Some volunteer projects master gardeners do include the Las Vegas Community Gardens, caring for plants surrounding the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area visitors center, propagating native plants and conducting tours at the Gardens of the Springs Preserve, conducting garden classes and maintaining a 450-tree orchard.

If you are interested, contact program coordinator Ann Edmunds at edmundsa@unce.unr.edu or 257-5587.

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