Grab your wish list and stop by annual iris sale

Come to the best iris sale in town. The Las Vegas Iris Society is having its annual rhizome sale today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Plant World Nursery, 5301 W. Charleston Blvd. There will be iris rhizomes of every color and size obtainable.

If you were at the flower show in April and recorded those you liked, bring your "wish list" to get them. The society wants to educate you on how to raise these wonderful flowers. You will be amazed at their beauty and how easy they grow in our desert. For those already growing irises, the society has many new introductions on hand. Find out more about the society and how to join by calling 876-1525 or 228-0827.

HARVEST SCHEDULE

When to harvest vegetables? Here is the right time to harvest these veggies:

Cucumber: Harvest before the fruit yellows and seeds begin to harden.

Eggplant: Give fruit the thumb-press. If the flesh springs back, it's still green. If it doesn't, harvest it, but do it before the glossy skin dulls.

Summer squash: Pick fruit when it gets five- to eight-inches long.

Winter squash: It's ready when it is hard to crease the shell with your thumbnail.

Watermelon: When the ground spot on the bottom of the melon turns yellow, it's ready. Or, thump it early in the morning. If it sounds dull, it's ready.

Cantaloupe: Harvest at full slip or when the stem easily separates from the fruit, leaving a smooth cavity.

Crenshaw, honeydew and casaba: Bring them in when skins turn yellow or when blossom-ends soften.

READER CONCERNS

Birds damage peaches: Birds are difficult to keep away from peaches, but when they get to them, they only make one peck and the fruit is still safe to eat. Bird damage indicates the fruit is maturing. Bob Morris of Nevada Cooperative Extension recommends harvesting peaches after seeing the first peck and let them finish maturing in your home. Morris has tried about every claim to keep birds away to no avail.

Scarred nectarines: Western flower thrips cause scarring on the skin surface of nectarines, which enlarges as the fruit grows. Thrips go after nectarines because they don't have any fuzz on the fruit but is still edible. Apply spinosad until you harvest the fruit.

Mammoth greenish beetles: These huge, iridescent green bugs are June beetles. Yes, they scare you, but I find them to be scavengers; they feed on fruit that's already damaged. I once saw six beetles eating everything but the pit on one bird-damaged peach. You'll find them emerging from places such as compost piles.

Shriveled zucchinis: These fruits were not pollinated and later shriveled when they were about three inches long. If you don't have pollinators, then be the bee. To do this, observe the area behind the flowers. If you see a miniature zucchini, it's a female flower. If you find a flower on a stem, it is a male flower. Remove a male flower from the plant and get rid of its petals. Dab the stamen or center structure on the center structure in the female flower and your problem goes away. Flowers open early in the morning and sometime around noon collapse, so pollination can't take place and the fruit withers.

Blotches on beavertail cactus pads: These white blotches are cochineal scale on the pads. Direct a jet of water at the blotches to wash off the insects' protective covering. This exposes the insect and heat kills it. American Indians farm these insects. They remove the white stuff and collect the insects, which, when crushed, produce deep red sap. It is used to dye clothing and blankets.

Wood chips as mulch: Why is it that every major city in this nation mulches and we don't? Note why we should: Mulch conserves moisture; cools soil, controls weeds; and perhaps most importantly, microorganisms turn it into humus to improve the soil environment for roots to mine nutrients. I often hear complaints that wind blows mulch around and that it becomes an insect haven for bad insects. Think again.

The Nevada Cooperative Extension orchard in cooperation with the Southern Nevada Arborist Group is making mulch available at no cost. Arborists take their wood chips to the orchard so gardeners can get it. Call 257-5555 for directions to the orchard and when it's open.

Mums won't bloom: Mums bloom in the fall as the days shorten to trigger the flowering mechanism.

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