Gardening Calendar for February

Gardening Calendar for February: Gardening calendar for January and February click here Gardening calendar for March will be posted here in late February Viragrow...

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Desert Horticulture Meetup Moving to Yahoo Discussion Group

I will be moving the Desert Horticulture meetup I began to the Yahoo Discussion Group on Desert Horticulture instead. There was a charge for starting the meetup group which I didnt mind paying for six months. But when this meetup group grew to more than 50 tthen meetup wanted additional payments. 

The Yahoo Discussion group called Desert Horticulture has been in existence for quite awhile but somewhat dormant. Hopefully this will get it moving. Everyone who joins can post on it and discussion can be free flowing.

We will be working on an organizational structure for a Desert Horticulture group and new information on this group will be posted at this link.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/gro...­ and just ask to join. You must be approved to join which is a simple process of just asking. It helps to minimize people selling things.

Xtremehorticulture
Bob Morris

Fig Fruit Falling from the Trees

Q. I am in Kingman, Arizona, a transplant from Los Angeles. I brought cuttings with me from my fig trees there. Here these figs grow to the size of a 50 cent piece or larger, and then they ALL fall off. Or they mature to the size of a quarter and the birds get those. I get an over-abundance of figs but I never enjoy any of them because of they fall off. I open the figs up and discover that they are totally dried and brown in the inside although they are a beautiful green or black or brown depending on the species.

A. The type of fig should not make any difference. I have grown many varieties of figs here and have never had a problem with anyone of them. This is actually a good climate for figs. Kingman is a little bit on the cold side for figs and you may have some freezing weather at times that may cause some die back. This past winter was fairly mild and that should not have happened.

The major reason for having figs that never mature, dry up on the branches and fall off, is not enough water when the fruits are developing. Figs should really be considered an oasis plant like palms. They will be best irrigated if a basin surrounding the trunk is filled with water each time.

They will also benefit from a layer of wood mulch at least 3 to 4 inches deep covering their roots out to a distance equal to the spread of the tree. Drip irrigation will work but there has to be enough emitters around the tree and they must be left on long enough to thoroughly wet the roots to a depth of 2 to 3 feet.

Another possible reason is the dried fruit beetle which can attack the fruit. These insects come from old fruit that's left on the tree or that has fallen on the ground. It can come from any fruit remaining so sanitation of your Orchard area is extremely important.

If you are composting with fruit it is important to make sure the compost totally covers the fruit or is buried in the compost. Otherwise put any fallen fruit or fruit remaining on the tree in a container with a lid to prevent this insect from infesting your fruit.

Generally speaking however I think it is most likely because the tree is not getting enough water when the fruit is being produced. You can look at my blog and see if this fits your problem.

http://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2014/02/figs-dropping-from-tree.html

http://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2014/05/fig-fruits-drying-usually-lack-of-water.html

http://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2014/10/fig-fruit-drop-may-be-lack-of-water.html

Presentations to Arizona Master Gardeners on Landscape Design and Irrigation

I recently presented a short overview of Desert Landscape Design to Save Water and Energy and a very short presentation on Irrigation and Plant Water Use to the Arizona Master Gardeners in Mohave County. The emphasis was on the basics of landscape design that were covered in my 10 week class in Las Vegas.

My presentation in Arizona for the Master Gardeners can be safely viewed and downloaded at the sites below.

Landscape Water Management

https://arizona.box.com/Landscape-wtr-mgmt-Bmorris

and

Transitioning your landscape

https://arizona.box.com/Trans-your-landscape-BMorris

Vegetable and Herb Presentation to Arizona Master Gardeners

I recently presented a short overview of vegetable and herb production under desert horticultural conditions. The emphasis was on overcoming some of the problems when growing vegetable and herbs under desert conditions. Specifically I addressed the topics of high light intensities, wind, low organic content in our soils, salts and salinity problems, irrigation, varietal selection and planting calendar.

My presentation in Arizona for the Master Gardeners can be safely viewed and downloaded at the site below

https://arizona.box.com/HerbsVeggies-BMorris