Pick your own fruit right from the vine

Las Vegas has a fresh vegetable and fruit "gold mine" at the Gilcrease Orchard, 7800 N. Tenaya Way. You can pick your own fresh produce without going through the pain of growing your own. It's especially good for children to experience picking their own fresh produce off the vine rather than getting it at grocery stores.

The orchard produces a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Right now, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, leeks, zucchini and zucchini flowers, summer squash, onions, okra, eggplants, cucumbers, cantaloupes, pears, peaches and apples are available. In October, their famous pumpkins and fresh apple cider will be featured.

The orchard is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to noon where you "pick-'n-pay." The orchard puts out a weekly email newsletter notifying you of what's available. To get this newsletter, go to www.thegilcreaseorchard.org.

The Gilcrease Ranch came about more than 90 years ago when the family came from California. They purchased some of the best ground in the valley. They raised chickens and turkeys, assorted crops and eventually developed the apple orchard. Their famous apple cider has become their signature item .

It was Ted Gilcrease's dream for families to bring their children to enjoy a sampling of farm life and to pick produce from the vine and taste the difference as he experienced in his life. For more information, call 409-0655.

Here are some questions that came to me at the Springs Preserve:

Q: We're building a raised bed garden using modular blocks and wondering if we need to seal the insides of the blocks with tar?

A: I'd avoid the sealer. Use a plastic liner to line the walls of block so the moisture won't bleed out. Leave the bottom open, so moisture can drain .

Q: Do heritage oaks grow in Las Vegas? I want a clean shade tree.

A: The heritage oak (Quercus virginiana) is a stately tree creating a wide-spreading canopy with dense shade. Its evergreen small leaves vary in size and shape. It's long-lived and tolerates our alkaline soils. There are several beautiful mature specimens across the valley. Horticulturist Pete Duncombe is testing other varieties at the Springs Preserve.

Q: Why were the first fruits of my eggplant delicious and now they are bitter and sunburned?

A: It's brought on by the hot, dry weather, which slows down the plant's growing conditions. Shade your plants to give them some relief and prevent sunburning. If the sunburning isn't too bad, you can remove the damaged tissue.

Q: What causes eggplant fruit to become misshapen and off-colored?

A: It's also tied into hot weather and your plant not getting enough water. The off-colored fruit is overmature; harvest them while still glossy, and that stimulates more fruit to come on.

Q: Our sweet peppers are so bitter. We're wondering if we planted them too close to our hot peppers to cause the problem?

A: Absolutely not. Pepper flowers are self-pollinated but occasionally will cross-pollinate. Even then, you won't see the result of this crossing unless you save seeds from one year to the next. That's when you see the different characteristics show up. Like eggplants, peppers become stressed with our heat and go off-flavor.

Q: We are new to Las Vegas and wondering what garden clubs are available?

A: Vickie Yuen, president of the Nevada Garden Clubs said we have: The Cactus and Succulent Society of Southern Nevada, Carnation Garden Club, Las Vegas Chrysanthemum Society, Las Vegas Flower Arrangers Guild, Las Vegas Iris Society, Las Vegas Bonsai Society, Las Vegas Valley Rose Society, Rose Garden Club and Sunset Garden Club. To get more information about these clubs and when they meet, go to www.nevadagardenclubs.org.

Q: If you produce a newsletter will you put me on your mailing list?

A: I let this garden column act as my newsletter, covering readers' concerns from week to week. Go to www.lvrj.com/columnists/Linn_Mills.html where you will find my columns for the past five years.

Q: What are the dark pits on my apples? The flesh beneath them has an unpleasant taste.

A: It's a disorder called bitter pit brought on by low levels of calcium in the fruit. Our hot, dry summers and a stress for water bring it on. Water frees up the calcium to solve it. If it's really severe, spray fruit during development with calcium nitrate.

Linn Mills' garden column appears on Sundays. He can be reached at linnmillslv@gmail.com or 702-526-1495.