2010 Southwest Yard & Garden Archives
January
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January 2, 20101 - Some warm season vegetable seed need a little extra warmth to germinate early in a cool home.
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January 9, 20101 - You can purchase potting soils for different kinds of plants with different needs.
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January 16, 20101 - Gophers can be trapped, but releasing them elsewhere can be cruel.
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January 23, 20101 - Too much manure can reduce garden's yield.
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January 30, 20101 - Those wood ashes from winter are not good for New Mexico gardens.
February
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February 6, 20101 - Snails can be a problem even with reduced irrigation.
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February 20, 20101 - Now is a good time to prune deciduous trees and pruning sealer will not help and will not stop slime flux.
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February 13, 20101 - It is still not recommended to top trees.
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February 28, 20101 - Pomegranate plants need water in the winter and they will do better if in the ground.
March
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March 6, 20101 - Prune lilacs after they flower.
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March 13, 20101 - Fertigation, applying fertilizer with drip irrigation, can work for you.
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March 20, 20101 - The native New Mexico datura (sacred thorn-apple) is not moonflower.
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March 27, 20101 - Hackberry and service berry trees are safe for livestock and you can even eat the fruit from service berry tree.
April
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April 1, 20101 - Yes, there are mild chiles in addition to hot chiles.
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April 10, 20101 - NMSU Extension Service, nurseries, garden clubs, and Master Gardeners are good sources of gardening information for new residents.
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April 17, 20101 - Mistletoe can infest landscape trees.
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April 24, 20101 - Vinca and other plants may have diseases, but good samples are needed to properly diagnose problems.
May
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May 1, 20101 - You can grow a new aspen tree from a broken branch.
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May 8, 20101 - Trees may need nitrogen fertilizer.
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May 15, 20101 - Straw mulch can be helpful or harmful when starting garden seeds.
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May 22, 20101 - Osage orange can be propagated by stem cuttings, root cuttings, layering, and seeds.
June
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June 5, 20101 - Plants can be sun burned, but you can help avoid the problem.
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June 12, 20101 - Heat of summer is a good time for planting, but difficult for the planter.
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June 19, 20101 - Saving vegetable seeds can be interesting, but must be done properly.
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June 26, 20101 - Peach tree borers can injure any of the stone fruit trees.
July
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July 3, 20101 - Slime mold is a strange landscape invader, but beneficial.
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July 10, 20101 - Grafting a broken branch back is not impossible, but very difficult.
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July 17, 20101 - Squash Bugs are baaack.
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July 24, 20101 - Foxtail grass and rabbits can be problems in lawns.
August
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August 7, 20101 - Several problems can cause a tree to die after only a few years.
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August 14, 20101 - Mushrooms are a necessary part of the landscape environment.
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August 28, 20101 - Some New Mexico homeowners can grow pomegranates.
September
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September 4, 20101 - 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.
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September 11, 20101 - Seedless grapes may make seeds.
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September 18, 20101 - It is difficult, but not impossible, to start new peach trees from cuttings.
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September 25, 20101 - You can rototill lawn clippings into the garden in the fall to decompose through the winter if they are herbicide free.
October
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October 2, 20101 - Exotic loquat fruit may, perhaps, be grown in protected areas of Southern New Mexico.
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October 9, 20101 - Science says that it is very unlikely for melons and cucumbers to hybridize, but maybe not impossible.
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October 16, 20101 - Pine needles are not toxic and make excellent mulch.
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October 30, 20101 - The first frost may not kill all garden plants.
November
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November 6, 20101 - Western cherry fruit flies are a problem in cherries in some regions of New Mexico.
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November 13, 20101 - Don't eat bitter almonds that may have come from rootstocks.
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November 20, 20101 - You can move roses and other plants late in the dormant season, or pot them now to plant later.
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November 27, 20101 - 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
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December 4, 20101 - Conifer aphids may persist through winter, but other aphids will disappear until spring.
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December 11, 20101 - Yellow-bellied sapsuckers can make holes in the trunks of trees.
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December 18, 20101 - Daffodil are very hardy, so do not worry if they start growing early.
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December 25, 20101 - You can prune evergreens now for a little holiday greenery, but do major pruning in late winter.
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!