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Don't let good weather fool you; beware of the frost
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| Popular tomatoes: The vegetable plants are always popular, but a local gardening specialist warns residents to beware of another frost. (Thelma Grimes/photo.) |
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
While rose bushes and citrus trees should already be in the ground, a local gardening expert warns residents to beware of the frost that is still likely to come.
Fred Holly, of the gardening department at Ace Hardware, said the weather has been nice, with temperatures in the 80s and 90s, and while March 20 marked the first day of spring, it could still be too early to put certain plants in the ground.
"If you don't want to wait and are putting things like tomatoes and other plants out right now, you must make sure you'll be able to cover them," Holly said.
Holly said the biggest thing to remember is the weather in the San Pedro Valley is unpredictable, recalling a few years ago when there was snow on the ground around Easter.
If plants such as tomatoes are in the ground, Holly said they can still be protected in the event of a frost if they are covered all night.
"A good measure I use up here is the mesquites," Holly said. "If they are starting to bud, then the frost is probably over. They are not budding right now. Up here it's really a guessing game."
Holly said he does know that new rose bushes should have been in the ground about a month ago, and are likely getting ready to bloom now with such good weather.
While this is a good time to plant trees and citrus, gardeners must also be aware of the possibilty of a frost. If temperatures do sink one or two more times this year, citrus also must also be covered.
Last year, a frost in April hit an orange tree in the area, and the plant is just now starting to show signs of recovery.
With the San Pedro Valley elevation being around 3,500, vegetable gardening takes some planning.
Cool-season vegetables include beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, onion, peas, radishes, spinach and turnips. Holly said all of these should already be planted, or should be in the garden soon.
These vegetables can go in early because they are frost tolerant and germinate in cold soil. They work best when planted in winter or early spring.
In Southern Arizona, it is also suggested that cool-season vegetables be planted in late-summer, as they will grow in the cooler fall months.
Warm-season vegetables include beans, cucumber, eggplant, melons, pepper, pumpkin, squash, sweet corn, sweet potato and tomato.
These plants do not tolerate frost, but need warm temperatures to set and properly mature fruit. However, when temperatures get too hot, the fruit plants lose quality.
In Arizona, two problems exist when gardening; the hot summer at the lower elevations and the cold winter in higher elevations, such as the San Pedro Valley.
Aphid Control
Aphids are sneaky and inconspicuous. They can show up, breed and destroy your flowers, vegetables and trees before you ever know there's a problem.
There are many species and colors of aphids. They come in shades of green, red, brown, black and yellow and almost all have fat little pear-shaped bodies with several little tubes poking up out of the back end called cornicles. They feed by piercing plants and sucking their juices. In doing so they can transmit viruses that cause yellowing, curling and distort growth.
The following are suggestions to help keep your gardens and plants safe and healthy.
- Frequent inspection. Catch them early. One "colonizer" can produce up to 80 offspring in as little as a week and is capable of doing so several times. Slowly walk through your garden several times a week, paying close attention to the underside of leaves. Also check for aphids on newly purchased plants and transplants.
- Don't over fertilize. Aphids prefer the new growth found in abundance in overly fertilized plants. Use only slow release fertilizers. It is also a good idea to grow plants inside or under a cover until they are large enough to be a little more tolerant.
- Spray with water. A strong spray of water is an effective way to dislodge aphids from your plants. Most dislodged aphids will be unable to return to the plant. The Bug Blaster is a hose attachment that works great for this.
- You can kill aphids by spraying with a solution of two teaspoons mild dish or laundry soap to a bottle of luke warm water.
- The most common and effective application types of aphid pesticide are IGRs, insecticidal soaps and oils.
Ground cover suggestions
There are many ground covers for desert landscapes that require little watering and make any yard more appealing to the eye.
Some of those plants available in most nurseries or gardening centers include the Acacia redolens, otherwise known as desert carpet, the Baccharis hybrid, Convolvulus ceneorum, otherwise known as morning glory, Calylophys hartwegii, Dalea capitata, Dalea greggii, Lantana camara, Rosmarinus officinalis, Teucrium chamaedrys and Verbena tenuisecta.
Before purchasing, check the maximum width of the ground cover to determine the spacing needed between plants.
While rose bushes and citrus trees should already be in the ground, a local gardening expert warns residents to beware of the frost that is still likely to come.
Fred Holly, of the gardening department at Ace Hardware, said the weather has been nice, with temperatures in the 80s and 90s, and while March 20 marked the first day of spring, it could still be too early to put certain plants in the ground.
"If you don't want to wait and are putting things like tomatoes and other plants out right now, you must make sure you'll be able to cover them," Holly said.
Holly said the biggest thing to remember is the weather in the San Pedro Valley is unpredictable, recalling a few years ago when there was snow on the ground around Easter.
If plants such as tomatoes are in the ground, Holly said they can still be protected in the event of a frost if they are covered all night.
"A good measure I use up here is the mesquites," Holly said. "If they are starting to bud, then the frost is probably over. They are not budding right now. Up here it's really a guessing game."
Holly said he does know that new rose bushes should have been in the ground about a month ago, and are likely getting ready to bloom now with such good weather.
While this is a good time to plant trees and citrus, gardeners must also be aware of the possibilty of a frost. If temperatures do sink one or two more times this year, citrus also must also be covered.
Last year, a frost in April hit an orange tree in the area, and the plant is just now starting to show signs of recovery.
With the San Pedro Valley elevation being around 3,500, vegetable gardening takes some planning.
Cool-season vegetables include beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, onion, peas, radishes, spinach and turnips. Holly said all of these should already be planted, or should be in the garden soon.
These vegetables can go in early because they are frost tolerant and germinate in cold soil. They work best when planted in winter or early spring.
In Southern Arizona, it is also suggested that cool-season vegetables be planted in late-summer, as they will grow in the cooler fall months.
Warm-season vegetables include beans, cucumber, eggplant, melons, pepper, pumpkin, squash, sweet corn, sweet potato and tomato.
These plants do not tolerate frost, but need warm temperatures to set and properly mature fruit. However, when temperatures get too hot, the fruit plants lose quality.
In Arizona, two problems exist when gardening; the hot summer at the lower elevations and the cold winter in higher elevations, such as the San Pedro Valley.
Aphid Control
Aphids are sneaky and inconspicuous. They can show up, breed and destroy your flowers, vegetables and trees before you ever know there's a problem.
There are many species and colors of aphids. They come in shades of green, red, brown, black and yellow and almost all have fat little pear-shaped bodies with several little tubes poking up out of the back end called cornicles. They feed by piercing plants and sucking their juices. In doing so they can transmit viruses that cause yellowing, curling and distort growth.
The following are suggestions to help keep your gardens and plants safe and healthy.
- Frequent inspection. Catch them early. One "colonizer" can produce up to 80 offspring in as little as a week and is capable of doing so several times. Slowly walk through your garden several times a week, paying close attention to the underside of leaves. Also check for aphids on newly purchased plants and transplants.
- Don't over fertilize. Aphids prefer the new growth found in abundance in overly fertilized plants. Use only slow release fertilizers. It is also a good idea to grow plants inside or under a cover until they are large enough to be a little more tolerant.
- Spray with water. A strong spray of water is an effective way to dislodge aphids from your plants. Most dislodged aphids will be unable to return to the plant. The Bug Blaster is a hose attachment that works great for this.
- You can kill aphids by spraying with a solution of two teaspoons mild dish or laundry soap to a bottle of luke warm water.
- The most common and effective application types of aphid pesticide are IGRs, insecticidal soaps and oils.
Ground cover suggestions
There are many ground covers for desert landscapes that require little watering and make any yard more appealing to the eye.
Some of those plants available in most nurseries or gardening centers include the Acacia redolens, otherwise known as desert carpet, the Baccharis hybrid, Convolvulus ceneorum, otherwise known as morning glory, Calylophys hartwegii, Dalea capitata, Dalea greggii, Lantana camara, Rosmarinus officinalis, Teucrium chamaedrys and Verbena tenuisecta.
Before purchasing, check the maximum width of the ground cover to determine the spacing needed between plants.
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of bensonnews-sun.com.
phil grieves wrote on May 14, 2009 9:08 PM:
What fruit and fast growing shade trees would be good to plant to give shade to my famiy and possible chickens we are seeking to get? "