I didn't realize it until just recently that the local farmers' markets are just starting up for the season. I hope all of you who enjoy gardening and fresh fruits and vegetables will support your local farmers' markets. Las Vegas doesn't yet have the selection that other farmers' markets are famous for, but if we don't support them, they never will.
One farmers' market is open from 2 to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays at Garden's Park in Summerlin, located at Town Center Drive, two blocks north of the Las Vegas Beltway. Another is open from 2 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays at Bruce Trent Park, 1600 N. Rampart Blvd. Call 562-2676, or visit www.lasvegasfarmersmarket.com for more information. If anyone knows of other markets opening, please let me know.
Question: I have a small pomegranate bush that I planted about five years ago. It is currently about 4 feet high. It got a couple of blossoms on it the second year, and the last two years it had quite a few on it, but it does not develop any fruit. How do I get it to produce fruit?
Answer: Be patient. This is a wonderful climate for pomegranates. As your pomegranate bush becomes more mature, it will produce more and more flowers and eventually fruit. There is nothing you have to do but wait.
I would not do any pruning until it starts to produce fruit. Or, if you do any at all, just limited amounts to remove problems. This will help to encourage earlier maturity of the plant and flowering. Pruning and fertilizing slows maturity. Apply small amounts of fertilizer at this time of year. Applying too much fertilizer will slow down its fruit production.
I am guessing this year you will see more flowers than last year provided you didn't prune it heavily. Pomegranates do well in the desert, but they require regular applications of water -- similar to what you might apply to an apple tree or nondesert landscape shrub.
Q: I have a large ash tree in front of my home. It's about 20 feet tall or so. When I walked across the lawn last year, I noticed a very large root was just under the surface of the grass. It's lifting the concrete ring that's around it. Can I cut that root out, or will the part of the tree the root feeds die when I cut it?
A: You can cut it. Leave the cut end exposed for a few weeks before you cover it again with soil. This will give the tree a chance to seal off the cut end. Try to keep the cut as clean as possible. Cutting one root will not dramatically affect water going to a certain part of the tree.
Q: I've been mulching our shrubs and trees for some years now and found that generally the mulched ground has become much softer. This year, when planning to mulch again, I noticed that the previously applied mulch on virtually all the shrubs has not dissolved into the ground as before, yet the shrubs appear to be thriving and are now starting to bud out. I have not changed mulch or fertilizer products, watering approach or maintenance procedures. I am assuming that the ground is now "mulched out," so I am now foregoing that application and just fertilizing them. Can the ground get too much mulch?
A: Once a soil starts breaking down mulch, it can only handle so much at a time. So initially, a soil with little organic matter will break down mulch rapidly. Over time, it still breaks down this mulch, but it will do so at a slower but more constant rate, so the additions of mulch or organic material will still be smaller but consistent. I think if you skip the year of mulch you will see the existing mulch decrease dramatically.
You might elect to not apply any mulch this season or even the next and then mulch again the following season. Generally speaking, we want to maintain a mulch depth of about 4 inches. Mulch layers deeper than this can cause some problems, particularly on smaller and younger plants.
Bob Morris is an associate professor with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.
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