Garden Help Desk: Spring really is here, and some crops can be started now
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- Peas can be planted from mid-March to late April because they do best in cool growing conditions.
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- Lettuce needs cool growing conditions to develop the best flavor. Once hot weather arrives, lettuce can develop bitter flavors.
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- Stressed fruit trees are more susceptible to Cytospora canker. Good tree care (deep watering not more than once a week in summer and less often in spring and fall, plus adequate nitrogen each spring) is an important part of reducing disease problems.
It feels like spring is here! What can I plant in my vegetable garden now and what seeds I can start indoors?
It may not have seemed like it earlier in the week, but spring really is here, soils are warming and there are several vegetables you can plant outside now. Garden peas, lettuce, radishes and spinach are a few of the most popular spring vegetables. Not only will these vegetables germinate in the spring, they will also be at their best quality when grown in cooler weather. Let the information on the seed packets be your guide about how to plant and care for your spring vegetables.
If you have the equipment to start your own transplants — well-drained soil mix, supplemental lighting (a bright window probably won’t give you healthy, sturdy transplants) and maybe a seedling heat mat, you can start peppers now and tomatoes in another couple of weeks.
I have a couple of fruit trees in Highland and have been having trouble with my Utah Giant Cherry. Specifically, something was eating the trunk and I wasn’t successful in getting rid of the pest. The infestation has significantly worsened yet I haven’t seen any insects in the “wound.” The wound area is large and is starting to make its way around the tree. The “cancer” growth-looking wood can be knocked off, but I still don’t see anything inside. I have tried dormant oil along with sevin insecticide powder during the summer.
This looks like a disease problem, not an insect problem. That explains why your insecticide applications didn’t help with the problem. Cytospora canker, caused by a fungus, is the most likely disease. It is common on fruit trees and can also affect some shade tree species. Weak or stressed trees are the most susceptible to this disease. During the winter, when there isn’t foliage on the tree, the cankers can be very noticeable. The fungus gets into trees through damage like southwest winter injury, pruning cuts, string trimmer or mower damage, broken branches and borer or other insect damage. It’s common to see oozing or gumminess with this disease or cracking, crusty areas where there is infected tissue. Unfortunately, there aren’t any fungicidal sprays that will control this disease, so prevention is important.
Home orchardists may be able to extend the life of an infected tree by taking steps to prevent further injury and maintain tree vigor with deep, infrequent watering (not more than once a week during the summer and less often in the spring and fall) and nitrogen fertilizer in the spring. Use tree wrap to protect the trunk from southwest winter injury; protect the trunk from other injury and borer damage by keeping grass and other vegetation at least 2 feet away from the trunk of the tree; make clean pruning cuts; and promptly clean up broken branch stubs when they occur. These preventive steps are also important for all the other fruit trees in your landscape.
If the canker was on a branch instead of where it is on the trunk, you might have been able to successfully prune out the infection. That isn’t an option when the canker is on the trunk. Over time, the canker may expand and girdle the tree.
Most trees infected with Cytospora canker decline and eventually die. If your tree was still vigorous and productive last season, you could monitor the problem and do what you can to maintain the tree’s vigor this season, hoping for another crop. However, you might also want to consider removing and replacing the tree to get started on future healthy harvests.
