Seasonal vegetables must be planted soon

     By Bob Morris
     View columnist
      The following are issues our Master Gardeners deal with daily at the Nevada Cooperative Extension. If you have gardening questions, call the Master Gardeners' hot line at 257-5555 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
     
      February is our first month of spring. If you haven't planted your cool-season vegetables such as radishes, spinach, lettuce and the like, it's not too late. But you don't want to wait any longer to get them in. This is the month when our last freezes usually occur, and that means we can start putting in our frost-tender vegetables like tomatoes toward mid-March.
      Many of the warm season vegetables don't like cold soil, particularly if they are started from seed. So it might be best to warm the soil before planting. You can do this by covering the tilled and amended soil with clear plastic for one week before planting, then cut a slit in the plastic and plant directly in the soil.
      n Your landscape plants and lawns should be fertilized by now. If they have been, then you are probably seeing the results now because of the warmer weather. Some fruit trees have started to bloom and leaf out. This is early, so hold your breath and hope we don't get a late freeze.
      If we do, we could see fruit losses in almonds, peaches, pears and others. There have been calls on how to stop them from flowering until the weather is safer. There isn't any reliable way that will protect them more than a couple of degrees. If there is imminent danger of freezing, then call our office and we will have information to help you.
      Question: Last year I had bugs in my peaches. Do I do something about this now?
      Answer: You can start doing something in a couple of weeks. You may need to start a cover spray program on your peach trees to protect them from insects. Since you don't have a sample of the infested peaches I can only guess what the insect might be. We do get occasional calls about peach twig borer, so I'm guessing that's the culprit.
      The peach twig borer overwinters on the bark of the tree in crevices on the trunk. The larvae gets to be no bigger than about one-half inch long when mature but are very small early in the season. As the weather warms, they emerge as very small caterpillars from protected cells and migrate toward the succulent new shoots growing. Normally, this insect attacks these small branches of the tree and causes the twigs to dieback.
      Later in the season, they may tunnel into the fruit of peaches, apricots, almonds, plums or other stone fruit.
      Homeowners can get some measure of control with a combination of oil and Bt sprays. The oil is applied just before bloom and the Bt spray is applied during bloom. Bt, a spray made up of bacteria very specific for controlling caterpillars, is one spray that can be applied during bloom and will have no effect on bees. Bt can be purchased as Dipel or Thuricide. If the problem persists after you have applied your oil and Bt sprays then you may have to resort to diazinon or sevin later in the summer to protect the fruit from this insect.
      Q: I have had pigeon and rabbit problems in my yard. Is there anything I can do about keeping these animals out of my yard?
      A: Rabbits are particularly bothersome if you live close to the desert. We have rabbit problems at our research site in North Las Vegas as well. The only thing we have really used successfully is excluding them with wire mesh.
      There are deterrents that can be made with Tabasco sauce and spray adjuvants, called "stickers," that help keep the spray "stuck" to the tree or plants and make the plants less palatable.
      There are repellents made from the urine of wild animals that are also commercially available from mail-order catalogs but I haven't tried them. I have heard some of the repellents have been very effective for short periods of time against deer that like to come into orchards and munch on apple trees during the winter. But once animals determine that the smell is not a threat, they don't really pay much attention to it anymore.
      You can always reduce the damage from foragers like rabbits by giving them food that they would prefer, but then you run the risk of making your yard a restaurant and increasing your problems.
      I still think exclusion by using wire mesh is your best alternative. As development increases, rabbit problems will decrease, but pigeon problems will increase. Outside of netting and removing nesting spots, I'm not so sure that anything is going to be very effective.
      Pigeons like to gather where there is food. If there is garbage available or pet food left outside, this will attract pigeons. So sanitation will help. You can try visual repellents like some of the balloons with moveable eyes that are used.
      I have heard testimonials from some university campuses that they have reduced the number of pigeons in food areas. I have also heard that the ultrasonic repellents have not worked in some cases, but I've also heard they have worked. Most of the university extension offices claim they don't work. Have you thought of falconry? Good luck.
      Q: I want to transplant a 25-year-old rose bush. How can I do that successfully?
      A: Your chances of success with a plant that old and established is very limited. To move that plant successfully I would suggest you might want to move a soil ball with the plant equal to the size of the spread of the plant and 18 inches deep. You must move the plant with the soil ball without cracking the soil ball when the move is made.
      This would mean trenching one side of the plant at an angle toward the plant, down to a depth of 18 inches, and lining the soil ball with thick plywood or reinforced lumber. Repeat this procedure on all four sides. Band the wood sides together tightly. This will keep the root ball from breaking. Next, undercut the root ball and free it from the soil on the bottom of the ball.
      Remove the plant with the protected root ball from the hole and you can replant it in a new location.
      Q: I want to plant tomatoes this spring. When should I plant them and how?
      A: We have talked about this before and everyone has there own special way of planting them. I would try to find good-sized transplants available right around March 15. Make sure these large transplants have their root systems disturbed and slightly broken when they are planted. If the rootballs are left in the shape of the container, they may never break out of that shape and into the surrounding soil.
      The soil surrounding the rootball should be amended with compost and a starter fertilizer. Many people tell you to stay away from manures, but I think they are great when used with vegetables that are not salt-sensitive and used in quantities no more than 20 percent of the volume of the soil you are amending.
      This would be about four or five quarts for every 2-foot by 2-foot area and incorporated to a depth of 18 inches. Manures should be well rotted and not fresh.
      n WORKSHOP SCHEDULED -- Our very successful Home Horticulture workshop series will be meeting March 1 in UNLV's White Auditorium from 7 to 9 p.m. The topics include the current problems in the landscape, planting woodies the right way and fixing our landscape soil so things can grow. Those interested can call our Master Gardeners at 257-5555.
     
     Bob Morris is a horticulture specialist with Nevada Cooperative Extension.