THINGS TO DO       JANUARY- FEBRUARY 2012

1. We still have Frost cloth available in 6' and 12' wide and cut to any length. It also comes in handy when protecting spring crops like tomatoes, peppers, etc.

2. Prune your fruit trees. Cherries and Apricots are best pruned at the end of winter or during the growing season to prevent canker fungus. Pruning helps force lateral branches for more fruit production and reduces the size of the tree so it is easier to pick. Come to our Fruit Tree class!

3. Spray Peaches and Nectarines for Peach Leaf Curl. We carry Liqui-cop, which is a copper based fungicide good for many diseases. UC Davis now recommends using a 1% (11/4+ ounces) addition of oil (Volk, Neem) per gallon to make Liquicop more effective. Spray the ground around the trees too. Spray in February before the buds start to break. Once the leaves start to come out, it is too late to spray. We also carry Fruit Tree Vegetable and Ornamental Fungicide. This is more effective on Peach Leaf Curl but you have to be more careful. Protective gear must be worn! Please read the label. Since there is no fruit, fungicides sprayed now will not be in the fruit.

4. Start seeds indoor to get a jump on spring. Tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and other veggies can be started now and transplanted into larger pots until they are ready to place outside.
5. Whitewash fruit trees to prevent sun burn. If you have a lot of exposed trunk, it is beneficial to whitewash the trunk which keeps it cool. Just dilute interior white latex paint 50% with water.

6. Plant bareroot fruit trees: Apples, Apricots, Apriums, Cherries, Nectarines, Nectaplums, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Pluots, Almonds, & Walnuts. We also have 10 varieties of grapes and 6 varieties of Blueberries, which do very well in pots. Just mix some peat moss into your potting soil because they like it more acidic. Soil sulfur also works well to make the soil acidic.

7. Gophers are getting active. They start having litters in early spring. They reach maturity in 3 months and then those start having litters. Concentrate on the gophers BEFORE spring. If you wait it will be a constant battle. We have smoke bombs, traps, bait and repellents.

8. Still have some winter vegetables available in six packs. Chard, lettuce, onions, peas, etc.

9. Plant seed Potatoes. Gopher cages work well - protect from gophers and mound soil on top as they grow. You can get creative using old garbage cans, tires, hoops of chicken wire, etc.

10. Pre-emergents like granular Amaze or liquid Weed Impede are very effective stopping weeds from sprouting in the first place. Not a bad idea since we haven't had much rain yet to get the weeds growing. Weed Impede can be mixed with Remuda or Roundup in areas that are not planted.

11. It's finally starting to rain again. That means it's time for weed control Get the weeds while they are still small and easy to kill with Roundup or Remuda.

12. It's not too late to prune your roses. Some of ours are practically evergreen but we will still prune them. If you are going to spray them with dormant spray, it's best to remove all the leaves so there is less chance of any diseases lingering around.