Use green tomatoes for variety of dishes

As fall digs in, there are many questions plaguing Las Vegas gardeners. Here are some I've encountered:

Q: What can I do with all my green tomatoes, now that they froze?

A: There are all sorts of recipes to make relishes, pickles, jams, pies and my favorite, tomato bread. If you don't know how to make tomato bread, substitute the tomatoes for zucchinis in a zucchini bread recipe. Or, harvest tomatoes and put them in your home and cover with a blanket. Periodically remove the ripe ones. Don't waste time wrapping each fruit with paper, because they easily bruise. Speed up the ripening process by placing apples in with the tomatoes.

Q: How can I stop birds from pecking my oranges?

A: Citrus, and especially oranges, become magnets for birds. Once they get a hole started, other birds and pests cause the fruit to rot. Try Mylar ribbons at various locations on the tree and let air movement flutter them to deter the birds. Or, cover trees with netting so birds can't get to them.

Q: Will Boston ivy vine grow in Las Vegas? We've been told it won't. If not, what vine can cover our backyard wall?

A: Dennis Swartzell of Horticulture Consultants said Boston ivy does grow here, but it must have protection from the summer afternoon sun. He recalls a beautiful example at the Desert Inn casino along an east-facing wall. Consider trumpet vine, Hall's honeysuckle, cat's-claw, edible grape, banks rose, Virginia creeper and hacienda creeper. To get those vivid fall colors out of Virginia creeper and hacienda creeper, they must have plenty of fall sun.

Q: Why don't my Italian cypress and Japanese blueberry have foliage at the bottom end?

A: They are not getting enough light. We plant these beautiful plants too close to walls and/or let other plants shade out the light, so they shed the foliage.

Q: Last April, I applied crabgrass killer to my lawn and am wondering why it didn't control the weed.

A: You applied the chemical too late, a mistake most people make. Make your first application in late-February and again six weeks later. If you have thatch, it absorbed the chemical, so remove it.

Q: We planted black foot daisies and globe mallows. Since they're desert-loving plants, do we need to irrigate them?

A: Yes. Both plants are natives and excellent choices for native landscapes, but they need supplemental water until established and even through next summer. Now the good part, they reseed themselves. Expect volunteers to give you multiple seasons of color, but it may not be where you first planted them. With your globe mallow, cut its stalks down after seeds disperse. It becomes woody, so prune it severely after each blooming season.

Q: A gardener wants to give us some beautiful barrel cactuses. How do we move them?

A: When you dig up cactuses, you'll sever some roots. The openings can provide an entrance for infection. You want the wounds to callous before replanting. If you don't have time for callousing to take place, apply soil sulfur in the new hole, and then plant.

Q: Some of my cactuses have babies attached to them. How do I replant them?

A: Carefully remove the babies, and put them in a shady place for a few days before planting them.

Q: How aggressively do we prune Mexican palms?

A: First, don't prune them now. The lower fronds protect the palm's growing point or heart from freezing and you may lose them, as happened in the 1990 freeze. The heart is just below where fronds come out of the trunk. This is why we strongly recommend pruning palms in the summer. There are many "professional gardeners" wanting to entice you to prune them now, but don't.

PRUNING DEMONSTRATIONS

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension has scheduled a series of fruit tree pruning classes that will run every Saturday until March 5, except on Dec. 25, Jan. 1 and 8. The classes start at 10 a.m. at the University Orchard at 4700 Horse Drive. Bring your pruning shears, because this is a hands-on training class. For more information and what's to be pruned from week to week, call 257-5555.

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