This is the time of year when rains bring an abundance of weeds
Baby it’s cold outside and damp! I really would rather stay inside and look over seed catalogues but alas, there is lots to do outside.
This is the time of year when all the rain brings an abundance of winter weeds. Stay on top of them. Pull when you see them to keep them from setting seed. I am always amazed when I see people spraying weed killer this time of year or fertilizing lawns and flowers.
It is important to read the label to learn exactly when and what to use this time of year, if anything.
Spraying weeds with just about any herbicide will kill the plant but not the seeds the plant has worked so hard to produce. All those thousands of seeds are just waiting to germinate whether it be again this season or next year.
The only true fire way to eliminate those pesky weeds is to break the cycle — pull them out and put them in green waste or if you have a hot compost pile, toss them there. Either way, you want seeds to perish.
Most fertilizers need a minimum constant temperature above 55 degrees to be effective. Spending money on fertilizers this time of year is fruitless. Most of the product will wash away, usually down the drain and into our bay.
Another bug-a-boo is rototilling. Soil should not be worked when it is wet. If you can squeeze a handful of soil and it stays intact, it is too wet to work.
Besides, rototilling destroys the composition of your soil. Long time orchardists and farmers did not rototil their soil but used a round disc to cut into the land and create grooves that allowed air and nutrients to naturally fill in the space.
If you have a large area and you wish to incorporate a large amount of organic material, rototilling is surely easier than double digging, just bear in mind that it will also bring to the surface long dormant seeds that are eager to sprout once they receive some sunlight.
It is also time to prune fruit trees. Remember that apricot trees should never be pruned when there is moisture in the air. Typically, it is best to make sure that there will be at least four dry days after a cut. This is because apricots are more susceptible to fungal disease like Eutypa dieback during wet times.
This is also a good time to apply dormant spray, including copper and sulfur to help manage peach leaf curl and other fungal diseases. I used to believe that peach leaf curl would not damage the fruit but this past season, I learned otherwise. The contaminated leaves can be removed in spring to help manage the condition. Remember, the fungus lives on the plant as well as in the soil, so it is wise to spray the ground as well as the plant or apply mulch to act as a barrier.
Visit https:// ipm.ucanr.edu the website and link to “Pest Notes” for practical information for spraying and maintaining fruit trees. Be sure to bookmark this site as a valuable resource of all gardeners.
Finally, there has been a lot of news lately about the Prusch Farm Park Foundation, of which I am president. I want to assure you that we will continue our commitment to agriculture through advocating for better preservation of our resources along with supporting local programs like 4H and FFA as well as county fairs and through scholarships to those studying agriculture and related fields.
Thanks for a great year. Now go get your hands dirty.
Sharon McCray is a California native living in Santa Clara County since 1959. She became certified as a University of California cooperative extension master gardener in 1992 and a UCCE master naturalist in 2015. She hosts a radio show on KKUP public radio and is now retired.
