2010 Southwest Yard & Garden Archives

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January

• January 2, 2010
  1 - Some warm season vegetable seed need a little extra warmth to germinate early in a cool home.

• January 9, 2010
  1 - You can purchase potting soils for different kinds of plants with different needs.

• January 16, 2010
  1 - Gophers can be trapped, but releasing them elsewhere can be cruel.

• January 23, 2010
  1 - Too much manure can reduce garden's yield.

• January 30, 2010
  1 - Those wood ashes from winter are not good for New Mexico gardens.

February

• February 6, 2010
  1 - Snails can be a problem even with reduced irrigation.

• February 20, 2010
  1 - Now is a good time to prune deciduous trees and pruning sealer will not help and will not stop slime flux.

• February 13, 2010
  1 - It is still not recommended to top trees.

• February 28, 2010
  1 - Pomegranate plants need water in the winter and they will do better if in the ground.

March

• March 6, 2010
  1 - Prune lilacs after they flower.

• March 13, 2010
  1 - Fertigation, applying fertilizer with drip irrigation, can work for you.

• March 20, 2010
  1 - The native New Mexico datura (sacred thorn-apple) is not moonflower.

• March 27, 2010
  1 - Hackberry and service berry trees are safe for livestock and you can even eat the fruit from service berry tree.

April

• April 1, 2010
  1 - Yes, there are mild chiles in addition to hot chiles.

• April 10, 2010
  1 - NMSU Extension Service, nurseries, garden clubs, and Master Gardeners are good sources of gardening information for new residents.

• April 17, 2010
  1 - Mistletoe can infest landscape trees.

• April 24, 2010
  1 - Vinca and other plants may have diseases, but good samples are needed to properly diagnose problems.

May

• May 1, 2010
  1 - You can grow a new aspen tree from a broken branch.

• May 8, 2010
  1 - Trees may need nitrogen fertilizer.

• May 15, 2010
  1 - Straw mulch can be helpful or harmful when starting garden seeds.

• May 22, 2010
  1 - Osage orange can be propagated by stem cuttings, root cuttings, layering, and seeds.

June

• June 5, 2010
  1 - Plants can be sun burned, but you can help avoid the problem.

• June 12, 2010
  1 - Heat of summer is a good time for planting, but difficult for the planter.

• June 19, 2010
  1 - Saving vegetable seeds can be interesting, but must be done properly.

• June 26, 2010
  1 - Peach tree borers can injure any of the stone fruit trees.

July

• July 3, 2010
  1 - Slime mold is a strange landscape invader, but beneficial.

• July 10, 2010
  1 - Grafting a broken branch back is not impossible, but very difficult.

• July 17, 2010
  1 - Squash Bugs are baaack.

• July 24, 2010
  1 - Foxtail grass and rabbits can be problems in lawns.

August

• August 7, 2010
  1 - Several problems can cause a tree to die after only a few years.

• August 14, 2010
  1 - Mushrooms are a necessary part of the landscape environment.

• August 28, 2010
  1 - Some New Mexico homeowners can grow pomegranates.

September

• September 4, 2010
  1 - Identify the cause of death of a plant before replacing the same kind of plant at the same site, or choose other plants to use.

• September 11, 2010
  1 - Seedless grapes may make seeds.

• September 18, 2010
  1 - It is difficult, but not impossible, to start new peach trees from cuttings.

• September 25, 2010
  1 - You can rototill lawn clippings into the garden in the fall to decompose through the winter if they are herbicide free.

October

• October 2, 2010
  1 - Exotic loquat fruit may, perhaps, be grown in protected areas of Southern New Mexico.

• October 9, 2010
  1 - Science says that it is very unlikely for melons and cucumbers to hybridize, but maybe not impossible.

• October 16, 2010
  1 - Pine needles are not toxic and make excellent mulch.

• October 30, 2010
  1 - The first frost may not kill all garden plants.

November

• November 6, 2010
  1 - Western cherry fruit flies are a problem in cherries in some regions of New Mexico.

• November 13, 2010
  1 - Don't eat bitter almonds that may have come from rootstocks.

• November 20, 2010
  1 - You can move roses and other plants late in the dormant season, or pot them now to plant later.

• November 27, 2010
  1 - Pine tree needles turn brown and fall off this doesn't necessarily mean your tree is unhealthy, and they can be used as beneficial mulch.

December

• December 4, 2010
  1 - Conifer aphids may persist through winter, but other aphids will disappear until spring.

• December 11, 2010
  1 - Yellow-bellied sapsuckers can make holes in the trunks of trees.

• December 18, 2010
  1 - Daffodil are very hardy, so do not worry if they start growing early.

• December 25, 2010
  1 - You can prune evergreens now for a little holiday greenery, but do major pruning in late winter.

Desert Blooms Website

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Marisa Y. Thompson, PhD, is the Extension Horticulture Specialist, in the Department of Extension Plant Sciences at the New Mexico State University Los Lunas Agricultural Science Center, email: desertblooms@nmsu.edu, office: 505-865-7340, ext. 113.

Links:

For more gardening information, visit the NMSU Extension Horticulture page at Desert Blooms.

Send gardening questions to Southwest Yard and Garden - Attn: Dr. Marisa Thompson at desertblooms@nmsu.edu, or at the Desert Blooms Facebook page.

Please copy your County Extension Agent and indicate your county of residence when you submit your question!