Time to Prune...

Ok... Let's see how this works. I spent much of the day today pruning our fruit trees. I took pictures of a few of them to put here on my blog.

Make sure all your trees are completely dormant before pruning. All your fruit trees should be dormant by now (except for citrus).

We do have a problem this year here in the Sacramento area. We are having a very warm winter which is disturbing the trees... particularly the apple tree. Our apple trees should have lost their leaves back in November. But our apple trees have not lost their leaves yet. If they don't lose them by mid-February, I will pull them off myself. They cannot stay on over the winter. Otherwise they will not produce fruit for the summer.

But here are some tips on pruning....

1. Start by pruning off all the dead branches...get those out of the way they are useless and can carry disease and pests.

2. Next you want to prune what some people call "suckers". These are branches that grow up around the base of the tree. Here is a picture of some suckers that I trimmed off our Eucalyptus tree. I let these get a little too big. But these are what suckers are:

Here is a picture with the suckers gone...it looks a lot better and cleaner:

3. Once you get suckers out of the way, you can prune however you like.... there are several different methods but I will only show one: the one I use. You prune your trees into a "V" shape. This methods is especially useful on peach and nectarine trees. The picture below is of the peach tree I pruned. I have a red arrow pointing to the branch I cut off.

Here is the picture of the tree after I pruned it:

You can see how this tree has a nice "V" shape now.

One more thing I want to discuss... pruning grape vines. This is easy... all you have to do is hack away. The fact is that grape vines only produce fruit on new wood. That is why you can hack away without harming the production of fruit. Some books say to hack as much as 75% of the vine back.

Here are some pictures of the vine I hacked back:

After I pruned: So that's all there is to it. If you have anymore questions just ask! I also recommend the book How to Prune Fruit Trees by R. Sanford Martin. This book is great especially if you have a lot of trees of different varieties. It gives simple illustrations of how to prune and specific methods for the different types of trees.

I also should note that you should not prune any citrus trees at this time. It is the worst possible time to prune. In fact most citrus trees don't even need to be pruned until their 5 years old and most of the time...they only have to be pruned once in their life time.

Happy Gardening!

Winter is Here!

Yeah, winter is here. It's time for some cold days.

I've brought my seedlings inside to keep warm. I want them to grow as fast as possible because I hope to plant them in the pasture this spring. I'm growing Honey Locusts trees for shade trees in the pasture.

I ordered the seeds from www.seedrack.com . SeedRack has a HUGE selection of all kinds of seeds from purple carrot seeds to elephant ear tree seeds.

I also brought in my Dwarf Yellow Poinciana tree seedlings in also. They got hit by a light frost before I brought them in so they are in the process of recovering still.

I advise all here in California or zones 8 and 9 to bring your fragile plants inside or cover them good with plastic. We are supposed to face (and have faced) temperatures in the 20's. All citrus trees should be covered. A awesome alternative to covering your citrus trees with plastic is to put white Christmas lights on them. Leave them on all night. During the day you can turn them off but at night turn them on and they will keep the tree just warm enough that the frost won't hit it.

I want to expand our orchard this coming 2009. Yeah...I have great plans for 2009...trying to buy sheep, a car, take 3 college music classes, finish high school, and expand the orchard. I can do it though.

I want to plant more citrus trees. I only have two orange trees which have not produced yet. Also they are dwarfs. I really don't like having dwarfs when we have 2 (almost 3) acres enough to plant standard size trees. I would like to get a standard orange tree, a lemon tree, a lime tree, a mandarin tree, a tangerine tree, and a grapefruit tree. All standards of course.

I also would like to get a grafted peach tree. I would also like to expand the nut section. I have a walnut, pecan, and almond tree right now. But I would like to plant a chestnut tree, hazel nut, and possibly a Filbert nut tree.

I need to replant the south windbreak for the pasture also. My poplars did not last very long when I let Cricket into the pasture. She trampled right over the fence around them and trampled the trees themselves into the ground.

I want to plant some type of evergreen for the windbreak. Something that Cricket would not like to trample. Perhaps a pine grove would do. We will see.

So that's what I'm up to. Hopefully during these next two weeks I will be able to write more often before I have to go back to school.

This Week in the Garden / More info on pruning

Well, I've been working out in the garden, and I think my work will pay off this year.

I planted cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, parsley, and my mom planted peas. We already have swiss chard growing but I may plant some more.

As you can see in the picture above, I planted my crops in raised beds. I decided to build some at the last minute. I've used them before...a few years ago... and they work very well. They are much easier to weed and they drain a lot faster which is why they are an excellent choice in the winter.

Most plants don't like to have what gardeners call "wet feet". They like the soil moist but not "soggy". So thats why raised beds are an excellent winter choice. The ones I made pictured above are 3 feed wide and about 8 feet long. I'm expecting good things out of the garden this year.

Why I don't Prune Fruit Trees in the Fall...

Earlier I answered a question about pruning fruit trees. Well I'd thought I would share some more about why I don't prune my fruit trees in the fall.

When you thing of spring you usually think of things coming alive right? Well in a way things are coming alive. During the winter, the trees are "asleep". In the fall, they are "falling asleep" and during the summer they are "hard at work". At spring the trees "wake up" from their sleep.

So what exactly happens during the summer? During the summer the trees are hard at work producing food. In a process called photosynthesis the trees actually take in CO2 (or Carbon dioxide) and "let out" H2O (water) and O2 (oxygen). The trees, after a long chemical process, use carbon dioxide as "food". So after making this food the trees usually store it in the roots. They send it down to the roots.

So there is water (and some minerals) coming to the leaves from the roots and food going from the leaves to the roots. The trees do this all summer, so when fall comes they are tired and "shut down" the food making process.

They are asleep all winter and then when the spring comes they put out their "food making machines" aka leaves and start the process all over again.

So I tell you all this to explain why I don't prune trees in the fall, summer or spring. I trim them in the winter while they are asleep. That way I don't shock them. In the summer they are in the middle of transfering food and water back and forth between the leaves and roots. If I trim them then, I will not kill the tree, but I will certainly shock it.

You can prune your trees without shocking them once all their leaves have fallen which is why in some cases, you can prune your trees in late fall. Sometimes you can prune your trees without shocking them in early spring if you get them before they start putting their leaves out. I usually prune mine in the winter to be sure that they are in a deep sleep before I start chopping away.

So that is my story.... I'd thought I would explain it a bit more.

And before I leave... I would like to give my readers some gardening links to my readers. Thanks to Brittni for telling my about these.

Peaceful Valley: Http://www.groworganic.com

and Park Seed: Http://www.Parkseed.com

Well that's all for now! Have a great week(end)!

What I've been up to...

We'll I promised I would give an update on what I've been up to lately in my Yarden so here goes...

We'll I know, I'm a little late...but I have just found the time to start planting my winter crops. Actually I haven't planted anything yet, but I am preparing the soil for cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, swiss chard, and maybe one last crop of radishes.

Radishes are any easy crop that only takes 14 days to produce. So if we have 14 days left of warm weather I think I'll be good.

On the tree side of things.... I received my Pineapple Guava tree from Gurney's nursery about a month ago. I probably won't put it in the ground till spring.

Our pomegranates have ripened. I eat about 5 or 6 a day! Yes, that's a lot of vitamin C! I want to get another pomegranate tree started soon though because one tree is just not enough for me! Our whole family loves pomegranates so much that I think we each need our own tree!

I am planning on getting into the citrus world this coming year. I have two orange trees that haven't produced yet, and I'm getting tired of it. So I am going to go mega-citrus next year. I will probably get a lemon, a grapefruit, and maybe a mandarin tree.

I also want to get a vineyard going. Our grape vine did well this year but we didn't have enough grapes, so I want to get maybe 5-10 grape vines going so that we'll have plenty of grapes. I will start the vines by cutting. When I do so (probably around January), I will post step-by-step pictures of how to make proper cuttings.

I'm expecting great things next year out of our orchard. This was the first producing year for most of our trees and the second can only get better! We never got any cherries off our cherry tree this year but I'm almost positive we'll get some next year.

I am looking forward to winter though.... it is nice to have a break from all the yard work. I can catch up on all my "inside" projects.

Well that's all for now! Remember, if anyone has any questions, just ask!

Your Question Answered...

Well...I don't have much time to write very much...but I do have time to answer a question by one of my blog readers.

Brittni asked: When do you prune fruit trees?

Well the best time to prune any decidous trees is while they are dormant (when the leaves have fallen). I usually prune my fruit trees around January or February. When they time comes to prune fruit trees I will post more about how to go about pruning them.

Evergreens, on the other hand, you can prune any time you want without having many negative effects. The worst possible time to prune evergreens (all citrus trees) is in the spring. I usually prune my orange trees in late summer if I prune them at all. Citrus trees need very little or no pruning.

If anyone has anymore questions... just ask! I am more than willing to answer them the best I know and I will try to answer them as quickly as possible.

Coming up next.... what I've been doing around the yard. I will post about it sometime this week so stay in tune!

Last chance to fertilize...

Hello Everyone!

Just a quick update....

Make sure you give all your trees and shrubs a good meal to last them over the winter. This should be your last feeding till the spring time. You should not wait until next month. This month is the deadline. Your trees are soon going to falling asleep and you don't want to try to feed them while they are asleep.

What should you feed them? Well you can feed them commercial fertilizer, horse manure, compost, or dog food. Just make sure you give them an extra big dose to last them throught the winter.

That's all for now! Keep growin'!

More Questions Answered...

I got some more questions... Here they are:

"We just planted a Japanese maple tree. It is doing ok, however, the leaves on the front side are kind of withering. what do you suggest? It is in full sun, however, part of the day its not. It gets watered by drip system everyday. Ok, now any suggestions?"

The most likely problem of withering leaves is not enough water. Maples like lots of water. You may try leaving the drip system on just a bit longer.

However, another possibility is aphids. Aphids love maples, and will suck the sap right out of them causing them to wilt. I would check under the leaves of the tree for aphids. If you do have aphids, spay the tree with a mixture of liquid dish soap and water. I'd say maybe 1/2 cup of dish soap per gallon of water. Put it in a hose-end sprayer or a squirt bottle and apply. The aphids should leave in no time.

Hope this helps...

Another question:

"Do the winter vegies take the frost that comes to us in the Sacramento area?"

They should... it depends on what variety of the vegetable you plant. You want to get a hardy variety. Make sure you read the label before buying.

Some of you also have an advantage because you live in the city where the temperatures stay warmer. The closer the plants are to the house, the warmer they will stay.

Last year I planted broccoli, cabbage, and lettuce in the fall and they survived 17 degree temperatures throughout the winter.

Let us know if you have any more questions!