The past few weeks have brought the expected monsoon storms with strong winds and thick, blowing dust. Sadly, there have been many trees that have been damaged or lost because of wind throw.
Wind throw is a term that is used to describe the toppling of trees, large cacti, and some thick- branched shrubs by heavy winds. It usually occurs when top heavy, poorly rooted, thick-canopied plants are pushed by strong winds, such as those found during our severe desert storms. Toppled trees fall over onto their sides leaving their roots upright and exposed to the air.
The good news is that well rooted trees should be able to withstand even the most vicious of storms. Wind damage is not unavoidable. If sound horticultural practices are applied, most trees will be safe from even the most devastating of winds. Proper planting and irrigating of trees and shrubs are the best protection against wind throw.
Most trees, especially the desert-adapted trees, are best planted following the instructions in the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Bulletin AZ 1022 entitled “Planting Guidelines: Container Trees and Shrubs”. Proper planting requires the excavation of a planting area three to five times the width of the root ball or box, but no deeper than the depth of the container. The old adage of digging a hole “four feet by four feet by four feet” is no longer held in good favor because it tends to constrict the growth of roots into that specific, narrow area. Large trees with small root systems are particularly susceptible to wind throw.
A caliche layer or other type of hard soil layer underneath the tree can also restrict the development of a strong root system. If either of these are present, it is a good idea to drill or dig a drainage chimney to one side of the hole, so that excess water and dissolved salts can drain out of the root zone. Make sure that the chimney is to one side of the root ball, not directly underneath. With desert species, amending the soil that will go back into the hole is not recommended.
Timely and effective irrigation is another key to the development of a strong, dispersed root system. Irrigation systems that are designed, installed and managed to provide the long and short-term water demands of the plant will help ensure vigorous root exploration and growth.
Please remember that roots only grow into moist, not dry, soils. This is one of the basic rules of plant growth and we violate it only at the risk of causing landscape disappointments later on. Irrigation wells or drip system emitters must reach out to the edge of the tree canopy in order to encourage the growth of a root system capable of withstanding the strong winds of desert monsoons. Trees that receive water from small water basins next to the trunk of the tree will have small root systems that cannot provide good support during high winds.
Sometimes we want to cut back on irrigation expense. If there is a large tree present, it will have developed an extensive root system wherever irrigation water has been applied. If water is suddenly cut off to the tree under the guise of cutting back on the water bill, there is a good chance that the root system will also begin to die back, thus weakening the tree’s support. As support weakens, the tree will be more susceptible to wind throw.
A drip irrigation system is a good way to cut back on the water bill and still protect the health of trees and shrubs. Installation of twelve drip emitters in an “X” pattern underneath trees is the best way to ensure good distribution of water with a mechanical irrigation system. The first three emitters should be near the trunk with the last two in each arm of the “X” three to four feet out from the previous emitter. This arrangement will allow root growth out to about twelve feet in all directions. The resulting root system will be well dispersed and able to balance the top growth of the tree. The more extensive the root system, the less likely a tree will blow over in the wind.
Root growth occurs throughout the year, not just during the active growing periods of the above ground parts. With appropriate watering in the summer months, roots of a newly planted tree can grow beyond the leaf canopy in thirty to sixty days. These newly planted trees and shrubs need the emitters placed near the trunk to help settle and compact the soil above the fresh root ball, but as the tree matures, however, emitters near the trunk should be closed in favor of emitters near the outer edge of the expanding leaf canopy. Additional emitters might be needed if the tree canopy continues to expand past the last emitters on the line.
If stakes are used with young trees, they should not be left indefinitely. Good root growth will encourage good trunk growth and allow the resulting tree able to stand on its own within a short period of time. If a tree is dependent upon stakes and wires to hold itself up, there probably is a problem with the root system.
Tree form or structure also plays a role in wind throw. Properly selected and shaped, low-branching, upright trees will have a natural strength that will stand up to strong winds. Some pruning might be helpful to lighten the wind resistance of the canopy but heavy pruning may do more damage than good. A rule of thumb to follow when pruning trees and shrubs, especially the desert adapted mesquites, is to lightly and frequently remove about 20 percent of wood at any one time. Most of the wood that is removed would come from the outer 20 percent of the canopy and promote natural branch tapering while opening up the canopy to light and wind. This process also helps retain the natural beauty and appearance of the tree.
Wind throw is all too common a problem for trees and some shrubs during the high wind episodes of our monsoon storms, but, good planning and care of susceptible plants can help avoid the frustration of having to replant expensive trees every three to five years. In Arizona, every tree is worth its weight in gold.
If you have questions, you can reach one of the Master Gardeners at the Cooperative Extension office, 820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C, in Casa Grande. The telephone is (520) 836-5221.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
Rick Gibson
Extension Agent, Agriculture
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C
Casa Grande, Arizona 85122
Voice: (520) 836-5221, 227
Fax: (520) 836-1750
email: gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
Benefits of Keeping a Garden Journal
Are you keeping your garden journal up-to-date?
A garden journal is a written document kept update through the growing season to record and keep track of important garden information that you want to remember and possibly reuse in the future. It is also an excellent way to enjoy the garden year round, and to bring to quick recall favorite garden experiences. Many find garden journals great leisure reading. Perhaps the greatest benefit is that they can help us correctly manage and care for our gardens and landscapes.
A garden journal can take many forms. It can be simply a brief listing of specific plants and their performance during the growing season, or it can be an in depth history of the lives of people enjoying the simple pleasures of gardening. Filled with photos and drawings, and notes of feelings and insights, a journal can be a book of fond memories just as much as it is a record of life emerging from the soil.
A journal takes on the personality of the author and its benefits are as numerous and as varied as the reasons that it is kept. If you think a garden journal is for you, here are a few ideas to get you started.
First, think of your garden journal as a tool, a very important tool to help you maintain a productive garden. If you are an avid gardener, you may have so many plants that it becomes easy to forget when you last fertilized your rose or watered your citrus tree. A journal will help you remember what task you performed for each plant, and when. Many dead or dying trees and shrubs would probably be alive and well today if we could have just remembered when we last gave them water.
The content of the garden journal should include the important basic information of planting dates and the dates the plants emerged from the soil. The time between planting and germination is always a difficult time for young plants and is affected by temperature, rainfall and light intensity. Each year many of us try to get an earlier start in our gardens to avoid the problems of heat and insects later on. By recording planting and germination dates we can keep track of how well our plants do in the early season. That information will tell us whether we can squeeze the calendar a little more, or whether we should wait for warmer temperatures.
The same goes for harvest. We should record not only how well the plants do during the growing season, but we should also note the quality and quantity of the harvest at the end of the season. This information, recorded in the journal, will be available for you to ponder the next time you select a planting date.
If you are into flowers, blooming periods are important information to collect. Many are trying to ensure a colorful garden for a party or family gathering. Information related to peak blooming times, tied to the planting calendar, will help you remember year to year what worked best.
Many of us like to experiment with different varieties. As we get older, our “forgetters” seem to get better. Soon, if we do not write it down, we can’t remember the varieties we have tried in the past. Then, we either begin to duplicate ourselves, or we forget how well a particular variety performed in the garden. A journal will help capture this important information.
Do not forget to record the costs of plants and supplies. How better way to build a good budget for that next garden than by keeping track of the actual costs of keeping the garden productive and healthy?
In the interest of good plant health, it is important to remember what plants went into which part of the garden in a given season. Crop rotation has been an important cultural tool since the early years of agriculture. Because rotation helps prevent the build up of disease pathogens and insects, recording plant locations each year will help us decide where specific plants should be placed in the garden.
Into the journal should also go details of all garden tasks that you do. When you perform a specific operation like feeding, watering, spraying and pruning, write it down for future reference.
Styles of record-keeping can range from nearly clinical listings of plant names and bloom dates to sentimental narratives chronicling both facts and feelings. The contents of garden notebooks and journals could vary from harvest recipes to weather data and from equipment warranties to vegetable taste-test results.
A three-ring binder with a washable cover and an inside pocket to hold pens and pencils is a great choice for recording garden information. The ring binder gives flexibility to add pages as needed and to slip in clippings and other useful information.
Some people divide the notebooks by month using plastic-covered index tabs on dividers. Behind each divider they place a page from a store-bought calendar. You can either fill in the daily calendar squares with ‘to do’ lists gleaned from magazines and Cooperative Extension garden columns, or you can keep track of the day’s achievements, such as when a particular garden bed or tree was watered.
While this much information may be sufficient for some, others may want to follow the calendar leaves with lined paper for making detailed notes on garden activities, and impressions, such as successful plant combinations, weather patterns, including their effect on the plants, and reminders to move plants or allow more time for certain garden tasks.
Another useful addition to the notebook is a reference section organized alphabetically to keep track of books and tools. In clear plastic inserts, you may want to slip seed packets, plant tags, articles, and instructions.
You may decide that you want to design your own data forms. You might, for example, assemble a form that records a plant’s common and botanical names, characteristics and use, size, bloom season, cultural requirements and pests and diseases. It all depends upon your needs and interests.
As you personalize your journal, you may want to write in it daily or you may decide to write only when important information presents itself. For example, you may decide to walk through your garden on the last day of the month and make notes that will be important to you.
When it comes time to begin a new year, simply add extra pages to the monthly sections. If you are more ambitious, you can file each month’s entries in a separate notebook or in a file cabinet file labeled by month.
Keeping a good garden journal through the months and the years will, at the very least, help you make sound decisions in the garden. If you have kept track of family events, such as garden parties, a wedding, new garden renovations and new pets, you will have at your fingertips a set of memories that will last a lifetime.
If you have questions, you can reach one of the Master Gardeners at the Cooperative Extension office, 820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C, in Casa Grande. The telephone is (520) 836-5221, 204. The author’s email address is gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
Rick Gibson
Extension Agent, Agriculture
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C
Casa Grande, Arizona 85122
Voice: (520) 836-5221
Fax: (520) 836-1750
email: gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu
A garden journal is a written document kept update through the growing season to record and keep track of important garden information that you want to remember and possibly reuse in the future. It is also an excellent way to enjoy the garden year round, and to bring to quick recall favorite garden experiences. Many find garden journals great leisure reading. Perhaps the greatest benefit is that they can help us correctly manage and care for our gardens and landscapes.
A garden journal can take many forms. It can be simply a brief listing of specific plants and their performance during the growing season, or it can be an in depth history of the lives of people enjoying the simple pleasures of gardening. Filled with photos and drawings, and notes of feelings and insights, a journal can be a book of fond memories just as much as it is a record of life emerging from the soil.
A journal takes on the personality of the author and its benefits are as numerous and as varied as the reasons that it is kept. If you think a garden journal is for you, here are a few ideas to get you started.
First, think of your garden journal as a tool, a very important tool to help you maintain a productive garden. If you are an avid gardener, you may have so many plants that it becomes easy to forget when you last fertilized your rose or watered your citrus tree. A journal will help you remember what task you performed for each plant, and when. Many dead or dying trees and shrubs would probably be alive and well today if we could have just remembered when we last gave them water.
The content of the garden journal should include the important basic information of planting dates and the dates the plants emerged from the soil. The time between planting and germination is always a difficult time for young plants and is affected by temperature, rainfall and light intensity. Each year many of us try to get an earlier start in our gardens to avoid the problems of heat and insects later on. By recording planting and germination dates we can keep track of how well our plants do in the early season. That information will tell us whether we can squeeze the calendar a little more, or whether we should wait for warmer temperatures.
The same goes for harvest. We should record not only how well the plants do during the growing season, but we should also note the quality and quantity of the harvest at the end of the season. This information, recorded in the journal, will be available for you to ponder the next time you select a planting date.
If you are into flowers, blooming periods are important information to collect. Many are trying to ensure a colorful garden for a party or family gathering. Information related to peak blooming times, tied to the planting calendar, will help you remember year to year what worked best.
Many of us like to experiment with different varieties. As we get older, our “forgetters” seem to get better. Soon, if we do not write it down, we can’t remember the varieties we have tried in the past. Then, we either begin to duplicate ourselves, or we forget how well a particular variety performed in the garden. A journal will help capture this important information.
Do not forget to record the costs of plants and supplies. How better way to build a good budget for that next garden than by keeping track of the actual costs of keeping the garden productive and healthy?
In the interest of good plant health, it is important to remember what plants went into which part of the garden in a given season. Crop rotation has been an important cultural tool since the early years of agriculture. Because rotation helps prevent the build up of disease pathogens and insects, recording plant locations each year will help us decide where specific plants should be placed in the garden.
Into the journal should also go details of all garden tasks that you do. When you perform a specific operation like feeding, watering, spraying and pruning, write it down for future reference.
Styles of record-keeping can range from nearly clinical listings of plant names and bloom dates to sentimental narratives chronicling both facts and feelings. The contents of garden notebooks and journals could vary from harvest recipes to weather data and from equipment warranties to vegetable taste-test results.
A three-ring binder with a washable cover and an inside pocket to hold pens and pencils is a great choice for recording garden information. The ring binder gives flexibility to add pages as needed and to slip in clippings and other useful information.
Some people divide the notebooks by month using plastic-covered index tabs on dividers. Behind each divider they place a page from a store-bought calendar. You can either fill in the daily calendar squares with ‘to do’ lists gleaned from magazines and Cooperative Extension garden columns, or you can keep track of the day’s achievements, such as when a particular garden bed or tree was watered.
While this much information may be sufficient for some, others may want to follow the calendar leaves with lined paper for making detailed notes on garden activities, and impressions, such as successful plant combinations, weather patterns, including their effect on the plants, and reminders to move plants or allow more time for certain garden tasks.
Another useful addition to the notebook is a reference section organized alphabetically to keep track of books and tools. In clear plastic inserts, you may want to slip seed packets, plant tags, articles, and instructions.
You may decide that you want to design your own data forms. You might, for example, assemble a form that records a plant’s common and botanical names, characteristics and use, size, bloom season, cultural requirements and pests and diseases. It all depends upon your needs and interests.
As you personalize your journal, you may want to write in it daily or you may decide to write only when important information presents itself. For example, you may decide to walk through your garden on the last day of the month and make notes that will be important to you.
When it comes time to begin a new year, simply add extra pages to the monthly sections. If you are more ambitious, you can file each month’s entries in a separate notebook or in a file cabinet file labeled by month.
Keeping a good garden journal through the months and the years will, at the very least, help you make sound decisions in the garden. If you have kept track of family events, such as garden parties, a wedding, new garden renovations and new pets, you will have at your fingertips a set of memories that will last a lifetime.
If you have questions, you can reach one of the Master Gardeners at the Cooperative Extension office, 820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C, in Casa Grande. The telephone is (520) 836-5221, 204. The author’s email address is gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
Rick Gibson
Extension Agent, Agriculture
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C
Casa Grande, Arizona 85122
Voice: (520) 836-5221
Fax: (520) 836-1750
email: gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu
Friday, August 9, 2013
Eco-Friendly Gardening
More and more people are becoming interesting in growing at least some of their own food in an earth-friendly manner. For many, maybe even most, that means organic gardening. It is important to know, however, that organic production is not the only system that is eco-friendly. Let’s take a look at some of the others.
Organic gardening is not new. The term “organic” has become quite popular as more and more shelf space in the supermarket is dedicated to food grown through organic processes. To be sold as organic, a product must be certified by an outside oversight group, usually a private, non-profit organization. Only after rigorous review can a product receive the USDA organic label.
It is well known that organic production requires fruits and vegetables to be grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. In addition, organic gardeners strive to replenish nitrogen and other key elements through processes that mimic nature. The use of cover crops, green manures, and composted animal manures are good examples.
Organic gardening also strives to build soil resources, like tilth and friability, by adding organic matter to the soil. Experienced organic gardeners feel that the best way to feed a plant is to feed the soil itself. The use of beneficial insects and crop rotations help manage weeds, insects, and diseases.
Other eco-friendly production systems accept the basic assumptions of organic production, but are different in that they add other ideas to the production system. Three of the most prevalent include biodynamic, biointensive, and permaculture gardening.
A biointensive system focuses on producing maximum yields from a minimum area of land. At the same time it strives to simultaneously improve the soil. The goal of the method is long term sustainability on a closed system basis. The system has also been used successfully on small scale commercial farms.
The biointensive method is rooted deep in human history. Elements of biointensive farming can be found in the ancient Mayan and Aztec farming systems of Central America and the Chinese systems in Asia. The Greeks in the Mediterranean area and early feudal Europe also practiced biointensive farming. In each case, these systems supported large and growing populations. It is important to note that these civilizations flourished when the stability of the soil was maintained but declined when for one reason or another the soil became impoverished.
Key elements of some biointensive systems include double digging, companion planting, and intensive planting. The soil is often spaded or tilled deeply by loosening the upper layer of soil to the depth of a spade and then setting it aside. The lower level of soil is then tilled or spaded and the original soil either replaced or, more commonly, spaded into from the next slice of ground to be tilled. The soil is often heaped up into raised beds that are never walked on and are carefully maintained with compost and other natural materials.
Companion planting places multiple crops at the same time in the same place. The ancient American technique of planting corn, beans, and squash intermingled into the same bed is a good example. These crops helped each other by providing support and nutrients for each other.
A form of companion planting also occurs as crops are rotated from season to season. In this system, a different crop is planted in a given location each growing season. Three field crop rotation became a staple of feudal Europe agriculture. We still use crop rotation today in our mainstay agricultural systems.
Intensive planting places crops in close proximity together either in rows or beds, or in clearly defined areas, such as in the waffle gardens of the Pueblo tribes of northern Arizona and New Mexico. We often practice intensive planting today when we use the square foot garden technique.
Biodynamic gardening was developed in Germany by Rudolf Steiner. It emphasizes the holistic growing system and maximizes the interrelationship of the soil, plants, and animals as a closed, self-nourishing system. It values manures and composts as sources of nitrogen and other nutrients and, like organic gardening, excludes the use of artificial fertilizers and other chemicals. Among its techniques are the use of fermented herbal and mineral preparations as compost additives. Those who practice biodynamic gardening feel that they are producing food that augurs well with the production cycles of the earth itself.
Permaculture gardening is a system that was originally created in Australia by David Mollison and David Holmgren. The word permaculture is a hybrid of two common words, permanent and agriculture. The systems strives to integrate the use of plants, soil, climate, and animals into a unified whole where each supports the development of a system that resembles and mimics natural ecosystems.
Today, there is currently much interest in eating foods and wearing clothes that have been grown and processed in an earth-friendly manner. Food safety, reducing the carbon footprint, and protecting the environment are just a few of the goals that have become important to us all. We all recognize that the earth is the home in which we live our lives. Sustainable living is the practice of living in harmony with the natural processes of the earth so that we can enjoy a healthy lifestyle and, at the same time, preserve our planet as best we can for future generations.
There are many gardening systems that help lend sustainability to our life styles. Many of these systems are becoming more and more popular as people strive to become more earth-friendly. These techniques are equally at home in food systems as small as container gardens as well as in large farming operations. As we begin to appreciate the wide variety of options available to help us choose and select the appropriate gardening system for us, we begin to appreciate the diversity and the resilience of nature itself.
No matter what production systems you decide to use, I feel that it is important in today’s economic climate for everyone to know how to produce at least part of their food for themselves. No matter how you choose to manage your garden, the end result should always be the same: fresh, wholesome food for our tables!
If you have questions, you can reach our Cooperative Extension office at 820 E. Cottonwood Lane in Casa Grande. The telephone is (520) 836-5221, extension 204. The author’s email address is gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
Rick Gibson
Extension Agent, Agriculture
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C
Casa Grande, Arizona 85122
Voice: (520) 836-5221
Fax: (520) 836-1750
email: gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu
Organic gardening is not new. The term “organic” has become quite popular as more and more shelf space in the supermarket is dedicated to food grown through organic processes. To be sold as organic, a product must be certified by an outside oversight group, usually a private, non-profit organization. Only after rigorous review can a product receive the USDA organic label.
It is well known that organic production requires fruits and vegetables to be grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. In addition, organic gardeners strive to replenish nitrogen and other key elements through processes that mimic nature. The use of cover crops, green manures, and composted animal manures are good examples.
Organic gardening also strives to build soil resources, like tilth and friability, by adding organic matter to the soil. Experienced organic gardeners feel that the best way to feed a plant is to feed the soil itself. The use of beneficial insects and crop rotations help manage weeds, insects, and diseases.
Other eco-friendly production systems accept the basic assumptions of organic production, but are different in that they add other ideas to the production system. Three of the most prevalent include biodynamic, biointensive, and permaculture gardening.
A biointensive system focuses on producing maximum yields from a minimum area of land. At the same time it strives to simultaneously improve the soil. The goal of the method is long term sustainability on a closed system basis. The system has also been used successfully on small scale commercial farms.
The biointensive method is rooted deep in human history. Elements of biointensive farming can be found in the ancient Mayan and Aztec farming systems of Central America and the Chinese systems in Asia. The Greeks in the Mediterranean area and early feudal Europe also practiced biointensive farming. In each case, these systems supported large and growing populations. It is important to note that these civilizations flourished when the stability of the soil was maintained but declined when for one reason or another the soil became impoverished.
Key elements of some biointensive systems include double digging, companion planting, and intensive planting. The soil is often spaded or tilled deeply by loosening the upper layer of soil to the depth of a spade and then setting it aside. The lower level of soil is then tilled or spaded and the original soil either replaced or, more commonly, spaded into from the next slice of ground to be tilled. The soil is often heaped up into raised beds that are never walked on and are carefully maintained with compost and other natural materials.
Companion planting places multiple crops at the same time in the same place. The ancient American technique of planting corn, beans, and squash intermingled into the same bed is a good example. These crops helped each other by providing support and nutrients for each other.
A form of companion planting also occurs as crops are rotated from season to season. In this system, a different crop is planted in a given location each growing season. Three field crop rotation became a staple of feudal Europe agriculture. We still use crop rotation today in our mainstay agricultural systems.
Intensive planting places crops in close proximity together either in rows or beds, or in clearly defined areas, such as in the waffle gardens of the Pueblo tribes of northern Arizona and New Mexico. We often practice intensive planting today when we use the square foot garden technique.
Biodynamic gardening was developed in Germany by Rudolf Steiner. It emphasizes the holistic growing system and maximizes the interrelationship of the soil, plants, and animals as a closed, self-nourishing system. It values manures and composts as sources of nitrogen and other nutrients and, like organic gardening, excludes the use of artificial fertilizers and other chemicals. Among its techniques are the use of fermented herbal and mineral preparations as compost additives. Those who practice biodynamic gardening feel that they are producing food that augurs well with the production cycles of the earth itself.
Permaculture gardening is a system that was originally created in Australia by David Mollison and David Holmgren. The word permaculture is a hybrid of two common words, permanent and agriculture. The systems strives to integrate the use of plants, soil, climate, and animals into a unified whole where each supports the development of a system that resembles and mimics natural ecosystems.
Today, there is currently much interest in eating foods and wearing clothes that have been grown and processed in an earth-friendly manner. Food safety, reducing the carbon footprint, and protecting the environment are just a few of the goals that have become important to us all. We all recognize that the earth is the home in which we live our lives. Sustainable living is the practice of living in harmony with the natural processes of the earth so that we can enjoy a healthy lifestyle and, at the same time, preserve our planet as best we can for future generations.
There are many gardening systems that help lend sustainability to our life styles. Many of these systems are becoming more and more popular as people strive to become more earth-friendly. These techniques are equally at home in food systems as small as container gardens as well as in large farming operations. As we begin to appreciate the wide variety of options available to help us choose and select the appropriate gardening system for us, we begin to appreciate the diversity and the resilience of nature itself.
No matter what production systems you decide to use, I feel that it is important in today’s economic climate for everyone to know how to produce at least part of their food for themselves. No matter how you choose to manage your garden, the end result should always be the same: fresh, wholesome food for our tables!
If you have questions, you can reach our Cooperative Extension office at 820 E. Cottonwood Lane in Casa Grande. The telephone is (520) 836-5221, extension 204. The author’s email address is gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
Rick Gibson
Extension Agent, Agriculture
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C
Casa Grande, Arizona 85122
Voice: (520) 836-5221
Fax: (520) 836-1750
email: gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Jujube - The Less Well known Fruit
Amid questions about citrus, peaches and apricots, occasionally I get asked about a lesser known, but equally useful fruit: the Chinese date or jujube.
Ziziphus jujuba is the scientific name of this wonderful tree, but most people simply call it by its common name, the jujube. A member of the buckthorn family, it brings an interesting shape, deep green leaves and tasty fruit to a landscape. It is widely grown in hot, dry climates around the world.
The jujube makes an excellent landscape plant. It provides shade and has a canopy of leaves thick enough to make a good screen. It produces lush fruit that can be eaten fresh, dried like a date or candied. If you are into wood carving, you will just love the opportunities the wood provides. The wood from the jujube is reddish, close-grained, fine-textured, hard, tough, durable and polishes well. The wood can also be used to make furniture and other useful items. For the less artistically inclined, it makes great charcoal.
The jujube tree mixes well with lawns, shrubs and bedding plants but it strikes an especially attractive silhouette when planted all by itself. Over time it develops a graceful, gnarled shape that gives it character and individuality.
The tree grows at a slow to moderate rate until it reaches a mature size of fifteen to twenty feet tall and about ten to fifteen feet wide. These dimensions make this tree a little smaller than other trees commonly available for planting in local landscapes. Thus, the jujube is an ideal candidate for planting in smaller yards.
The tree is best identified from the structure of the leaves. Each glossy, bright green leaf has three prominent veins that run lengthwise along the leaf. Most leaves are about one to two inches long. In the fall, these same leaves turn a bright yellow color in anticipation of the winter season.
The flowers of the jujube appear in late spring and early summer. The many clusters of small, yellowish flowers produce the fruit that will ripen in the fall. The fruit is harvested for eating fresh off the tree when it begins to turn from yellow-green to reddish brown. The fruit will have a crisp texture and taste like a sweet apple. Once the fruit reaches the stage where it is completely brown and mushy, it is better for drying.
The fruit from seedling trees are generally smaller than the regular fruiting varieties. What are seedling trees, you ask? Seedling trees are trees that are still on their own roots. It is quite common in horticulture circles to graft fruit varieties, like peaches, apples and citrus, onto the trunk and roots of a different variety. This management step usually yields larger fruit and a more vigorous tree.
In the jujube, seedling fruit are usually about one-half to one inch long. Fruiting varieties that are grafted usually produce fruit from one and one-half inch to two inches long. So, if you choose to plant a jujube from seed, just remember that you may get smaller fruit. The two most common cultivated varieties are ‘Lang’ with one and one-half to two-inch, oblong fruit and ‘Li” which produces two-inch, round fruit. Both varieties produce better if both are planted next to each other for cross pollination, but ‘Li” will produce some fruit if planted alone.
The jujube tree has roots that penetrate deep into the soil. Because of this, it can access water that is normally unavailable to other, more shallow-rooted plants. When we irrigate the jujube tree, it is best to let the water run slowly over the ground so that it can fill the entire root zone. The tree will, however, tolerate drought and the hot, dry environment of the desert. It grows better in well-drained, fertile soils than it does in shallow, hard soils, but it does just fine in our salty, alkaline soils.
Unlike many of our frost sensitive fruit trees, like citrus, the jujube is rarely bothered by the cold weather found here in our warm deserts. Because the plant loses its leaves during the winter and flowers relatively late in the spring, frost doesn’t bother it. However, in higher elevations, the tree will not produce much fruit where the summer growing season is short.
The jujube tree needs only a minimal amount of fertilizer each year to be happy. I would give it no more than one pound of actual nitrogen each year. If you use ammonium sulfate, 21-0-0, the year’s total would come out to only five pounds of fertilizer for the entire year. This total should not be applied in anything less than three applications during the year. A good approach would be to apply one-third of the fertilizer in each of the months of February, May and August. Sprinkle the fertilizer onto the surface of the soil and then let the irrigation water slowly trickle onto the surface of the soil until it wets the entire area beneath the canopy of the tree. The water will move the nitrogen into the soil profile.
One drawback of the jujube is its tendency to produce sucker growth from the roots. These individual sprouts of little trees will eventually play havoc with lawn mover blades when they begin to be thick enough to cause problems. The tree is also quite susceptible to cotton root rot, otherwise known sometimes as Texas root rot. The sucker growth can be kept trimmed, of course, but there really is nothing to be done if root rot organisms are present in the soil. Root rot kills quickly and silently.
It is not necessary to do a lot of pruning to maintain the tree. The best time to prune is in winter during the months of late December, January and early February while the tree is dormant, that is, when the leaves are off the tree. Other than the need to cut out the occasional rubbing branch, to slightly shape the tree, to encourage the weeping habit or to reduce size, very little pruning is actually needed.
If you haven’t guessed by now, I really think the jujube is a good fit for desert landscapes. Yes it has a few spines, but the shade, desert hardiness and fruit make up for that and the other few problems inherent to the jujube.
If you have questions, you can reach one of the Master Gardeners at the Cooperative Extension office, 820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C, in Casa Grande. The telephone is (520) 836-5221, extension 204. The author’s email address is gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
Rick Gibson
Extension Agent, Agriculture
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C
Casa Grande, Arizona 85122
Voice: (520) 836-5221
Fax: (520) 836-1750
email: gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu
Ziziphus jujuba is the scientific name of this wonderful tree, but most people simply call it by its common name, the jujube. A member of the buckthorn family, it brings an interesting shape, deep green leaves and tasty fruit to a landscape. It is widely grown in hot, dry climates around the world.
The jujube makes an excellent landscape plant. It provides shade and has a canopy of leaves thick enough to make a good screen. It produces lush fruit that can be eaten fresh, dried like a date or candied. If you are into wood carving, you will just love the opportunities the wood provides. The wood from the jujube is reddish, close-grained, fine-textured, hard, tough, durable and polishes well. The wood can also be used to make furniture and other useful items. For the less artistically inclined, it makes great charcoal.
The jujube tree mixes well with lawns, shrubs and bedding plants but it strikes an especially attractive silhouette when planted all by itself. Over time it develops a graceful, gnarled shape that gives it character and individuality.
The tree grows at a slow to moderate rate until it reaches a mature size of fifteen to twenty feet tall and about ten to fifteen feet wide. These dimensions make this tree a little smaller than other trees commonly available for planting in local landscapes. Thus, the jujube is an ideal candidate for planting in smaller yards.
The tree is best identified from the structure of the leaves. Each glossy, bright green leaf has three prominent veins that run lengthwise along the leaf. Most leaves are about one to two inches long. In the fall, these same leaves turn a bright yellow color in anticipation of the winter season.
The flowers of the jujube appear in late spring and early summer. The many clusters of small, yellowish flowers produce the fruit that will ripen in the fall. The fruit is harvested for eating fresh off the tree when it begins to turn from yellow-green to reddish brown. The fruit will have a crisp texture and taste like a sweet apple. Once the fruit reaches the stage where it is completely brown and mushy, it is better for drying.
The fruit from seedling trees are generally smaller than the regular fruiting varieties. What are seedling trees, you ask? Seedling trees are trees that are still on their own roots. It is quite common in horticulture circles to graft fruit varieties, like peaches, apples and citrus, onto the trunk and roots of a different variety. This management step usually yields larger fruit and a more vigorous tree.
In the jujube, seedling fruit are usually about one-half to one inch long. Fruiting varieties that are grafted usually produce fruit from one and one-half inch to two inches long. So, if you choose to plant a jujube from seed, just remember that you may get smaller fruit. The two most common cultivated varieties are ‘Lang’ with one and one-half to two-inch, oblong fruit and ‘Li” which produces two-inch, round fruit. Both varieties produce better if both are planted next to each other for cross pollination, but ‘Li” will produce some fruit if planted alone.
The jujube tree has roots that penetrate deep into the soil. Because of this, it can access water that is normally unavailable to other, more shallow-rooted plants. When we irrigate the jujube tree, it is best to let the water run slowly over the ground so that it can fill the entire root zone. The tree will, however, tolerate drought and the hot, dry environment of the desert. It grows better in well-drained, fertile soils than it does in shallow, hard soils, but it does just fine in our salty, alkaline soils.
Unlike many of our frost sensitive fruit trees, like citrus, the jujube is rarely bothered by the cold weather found here in our warm deserts. Because the plant loses its leaves during the winter and flowers relatively late in the spring, frost doesn’t bother it. However, in higher elevations, the tree will not produce much fruit where the summer growing season is short.
The jujube tree needs only a minimal amount of fertilizer each year to be happy. I would give it no more than one pound of actual nitrogen each year. If you use ammonium sulfate, 21-0-0, the year’s total would come out to only five pounds of fertilizer for the entire year. This total should not be applied in anything less than three applications during the year. A good approach would be to apply one-third of the fertilizer in each of the months of February, May and August. Sprinkle the fertilizer onto the surface of the soil and then let the irrigation water slowly trickle onto the surface of the soil until it wets the entire area beneath the canopy of the tree. The water will move the nitrogen into the soil profile.
One drawback of the jujube is its tendency to produce sucker growth from the roots. These individual sprouts of little trees will eventually play havoc with lawn mover blades when they begin to be thick enough to cause problems. The tree is also quite susceptible to cotton root rot, otherwise known sometimes as Texas root rot. The sucker growth can be kept trimmed, of course, but there really is nothing to be done if root rot organisms are present in the soil. Root rot kills quickly and silently.
It is not necessary to do a lot of pruning to maintain the tree. The best time to prune is in winter during the months of late December, January and early February while the tree is dormant, that is, when the leaves are off the tree. Other than the need to cut out the occasional rubbing branch, to slightly shape the tree, to encourage the weeping habit or to reduce size, very little pruning is actually needed.
If you haven’t guessed by now, I really think the jujube is a good fit for desert landscapes. Yes it has a few spines, but the shade, desert hardiness and fruit make up for that and the other few problems inherent to the jujube.
If you have questions, you can reach one of the Master Gardeners at the Cooperative Extension office, 820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C, in Casa Grande. The telephone is (520) 836-5221, extension 204. The author’s email address is gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
Rick Gibson
Extension Agent, Agriculture
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C
Casa Grande, Arizona 85122
Voice: (520) 836-5221
Fax: (520) 836-1750
email: gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu
Thursday, August 1, 2013
When to Remove Landscape Trees
Sometimes, when a tree is diseased or damaged, there really is no other choice but to take it out, but for those who appreciate the many benefits of trees, deciding to remove can be one of the most difficult, even agonizing, landscaping decisions that they ever have to make.
It is well known that trees add value to any property. That, coupled with their overall beauty and graceful attractiveness, makes it easy to understand why we become so attached to our trees. Who has not enjoyed the shade of a friendly, well-located tree on a hot summer day?
Most of the time, damaged or even diseased trees can be nurtured along and brought back to health. Good irrigation and fertility practices often enough will stimulate new, healthy growth that will allow the tree to overcome most problems.
Sometimes, however, good care is not enough. A tree may be overly damaged from a storm or ravaged by disease. It may be growing in a place where it can cause damage to a home or commercial building. It may be sitting underneath a power line or interfering with the delivery of utilities. In these situations arise, something drastic needs to be done.
It can be difficult, even in the best of situations, to know when to nurture and when to remove a tree. However, there are ways to approach these types of decisions, and one of the best is that used by trained tree professionals. In making a decision to keep or remove a tree, most arborists cooly consider two offsetting factors. These factors help them put the problem into perspective and reach a final conclusion.
The first factor is the value of the target. The second is the potential for plant failure.
The value of the target, in simple terms, is what, or who could be damaged or hurt by the failure of the tree. Professional arborists look first at the value of any structure or possession and how the loss of that value may affect a specific landscape. Having done that, they also look at the tree itself to determine if there is eminent danger of a branch breaking and falling, or if there is any reason the tree might be weak enough to completely fail in a heavy wind. Armed with this information, most decisions become quite easy.
The single most important reason for removing a tree is, quite simply, safety. Safety for the people closest to the tree, safety for the general public and safety for buildings or automobiles. If there is any chance that people might be hurt from a dangerous tree, in today’s world of liability, removal is probably the best choice.
There are good examples of how safety can play a big role in landscape decisions. Large, sick or declining trees growing near buildings, parks where children play or in planters next to high traffic areas in town often create a risk that far outweighs the benefits of those trees.
In other situations, a tree may be perfectly fine; that is, not damaged or diseased in any way. Nevertheless, the same type of thinking has to apply. If there is danger that a high value loss, injury or death could occur, the tree should come out. Healthy trees under power lines, saguaros growing under the eaves of a home and trees in a position where roots could heave up a sidewalk or damage structures are good examples.
Stated a little differently, if a dangerous tree sits over a driveway or sidewalk, overhangs the roof of a house or shelters the outdoor toys of a children’s play area, it is really an easy choice to make. They should come out as soon as possible.
On the other hand, if the tree is in a spot where little or no damage could occur, it is probably alright to let it remain for as long as the tree can survive. A tree in a relatively unfrequented area may have a low hazard rating and can probably be left untouched.
Once a tree is determined to be dangerous, however, there still may be other choices besides removal. The addition of bolts and guy wires may simply be all that is needed to solve the problem. This process is slow and often expensive, but in some cases, it can actually save a tree.
Sometimes simple pruning to lighten the load on a tree trunk may be all that is needed to correct a problem. This works best on younger trees where selective pruning can force growth back into vacant areas and save the life of the tree. Older trees are generally not in an active growth phase and may not be able to respond with new growth quickly enough to fill unsightly gaps in the tree canopy or prevent possible sunburn damage to the tree.
Unfortunately, in some cases, the dangers of leaving a tree or branch in position outweigh the potential benefits that the tree provides. Whether this is caused by a high potential for failure in a busy location, or a limb in a bad position, there really is no other recourse. In these cases, it is time to take it out.
If the decision is made to remove a tree, make sure that it is done correctly. Because trees needing removal are often dangerous, it is generally well worth the money to pay a certified professional who is trained and experienced to do the job. Many people each year are injured or killed by following improper procedures while removing large, dangerous trees.
Mature trees represent a large investment of time, fertilizer, water and tender loving care over many years in order for them to reach mature heights. When they do not do well, we are rightfully concerned. The decision to remove a tree is often difficult, but in the interest of safety and common sense, sometimes they just have to come out.
If you have questions, you can reach one of our Master Gardeners at the Cooperative Extension office, 820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C, in Casa Grande. The telephone is (520) 836-5221, extension 204. The author’s email address is gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
Rick Gibson
Extension Agent, Agriculture
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C
Casa Grande, Arizona 85122
Voice: (520) 836-5221
Fax: (520) 836-1750
email: gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu
It is well known that trees add value to any property. That, coupled with their overall beauty and graceful attractiveness, makes it easy to understand why we become so attached to our trees. Who has not enjoyed the shade of a friendly, well-located tree on a hot summer day?
Most of the time, damaged or even diseased trees can be nurtured along and brought back to health. Good irrigation and fertility practices often enough will stimulate new, healthy growth that will allow the tree to overcome most problems.
Sometimes, however, good care is not enough. A tree may be overly damaged from a storm or ravaged by disease. It may be growing in a place where it can cause damage to a home or commercial building. It may be sitting underneath a power line or interfering with the delivery of utilities. In these situations arise, something drastic needs to be done.
It can be difficult, even in the best of situations, to know when to nurture and when to remove a tree. However, there are ways to approach these types of decisions, and one of the best is that used by trained tree professionals. In making a decision to keep or remove a tree, most arborists cooly consider two offsetting factors. These factors help them put the problem into perspective and reach a final conclusion.
The first factor is the value of the target. The second is the potential for plant failure.
The value of the target, in simple terms, is what, or who could be damaged or hurt by the failure of the tree. Professional arborists look first at the value of any structure or possession and how the loss of that value may affect a specific landscape. Having done that, they also look at the tree itself to determine if there is eminent danger of a branch breaking and falling, or if there is any reason the tree might be weak enough to completely fail in a heavy wind. Armed with this information, most decisions become quite easy.
The single most important reason for removing a tree is, quite simply, safety. Safety for the people closest to the tree, safety for the general public and safety for buildings or automobiles. If there is any chance that people might be hurt from a dangerous tree, in today’s world of liability, removal is probably the best choice.
There are good examples of how safety can play a big role in landscape decisions. Large, sick or declining trees growing near buildings, parks where children play or in planters next to high traffic areas in town often create a risk that far outweighs the benefits of those trees.
In other situations, a tree may be perfectly fine; that is, not damaged or diseased in any way. Nevertheless, the same type of thinking has to apply. If there is danger that a high value loss, injury or death could occur, the tree should come out. Healthy trees under power lines, saguaros growing under the eaves of a home and trees in a position where roots could heave up a sidewalk or damage structures are good examples.
Stated a little differently, if a dangerous tree sits over a driveway or sidewalk, overhangs the roof of a house or shelters the outdoor toys of a children’s play area, it is really an easy choice to make. They should come out as soon as possible.
On the other hand, if the tree is in a spot where little or no damage could occur, it is probably alright to let it remain for as long as the tree can survive. A tree in a relatively unfrequented area may have a low hazard rating and can probably be left untouched.
Once a tree is determined to be dangerous, however, there still may be other choices besides removal. The addition of bolts and guy wires may simply be all that is needed to solve the problem. This process is slow and often expensive, but in some cases, it can actually save a tree.
Sometimes simple pruning to lighten the load on a tree trunk may be all that is needed to correct a problem. This works best on younger trees where selective pruning can force growth back into vacant areas and save the life of the tree. Older trees are generally not in an active growth phase and may not be able to respond with new growth quickly enough to fill unsightly gaps in the tree canopy or prevent possible sunburn damage to the tree.
Unfortunately, in some cases, the dangers of leaving a tree or branch in position outweigh the potential benefits that the tree provides. Whether this is caused by a high potential for failure in a busy location, or a limb in a bad position, there really is no other recourse. In these cases, it is time to take it out.
If the decision is made to remove a tree, make sure that it is done correctly. Because trees needing removal are often dangerous, it is generally well worth the money to pay a certified professional who is trained and experienced to do the job. Many people each year are injured or killed by following improper procedures while removing large, dangerous trees.
Mature trees represent a large investment of time, fertilizer, water and tender loving care over many years in order for them to reach mature heights. When they do not do well, we are rightfully concerned. The decision to remove a tree is often difficult, but in the interest of safety and common sense, sometimes they just have to come out.
If you have questions, you can reach one of our Master Gardeners at the Cooperative Extension office, 820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C, in Casa Grande. The telephone is (520) 836-5221, extension 204. The author’s email address is gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
Rick Gibson
Extension Agent, Agriculture
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Building C
Casa Grande, Arizona 85122
Voice: (520) 836-5221
Fax: (520) 836-1750
email: gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu
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