<p>Didn’t know that. Good thing I only grow flowers.</p>
<p>I bought some of these Miracle Gro moisture soil bags from HD and discovered they have cow manure in them. I would not want to use them to plan my lettuce, I had to purchase different soil.</p>
<p>Cow manure is the best- won’t burn your plants like chicken manure can
[Manure</a> Matters: How Manures Measure Up](<a href=“http://www.plantea.com/manure.htm]Manure”>Manure Matters: How Manures Measure Up)
</p>
<p>It stinks to high heaven too!</p>
<p>if the manure smells then it isn’t aged, you want it aged before you spread it.
( I like fish emulsion- that * smells* but it goes away)</p>
<p>Alas, the best doo is not to be had this spring.
[The Professor of Poo will be back in the fall](<a href=“The zoo's Dr. Doo”>A Beehive State Brewer Shares Where to Get a Good Drink and More in Salt Lake City - Sunset Magazine)</p>
<p>My son sent me this link and of course I want to build one of my own…</p>
<p>It’s a tiny little device that allows your plants to send a Twitter message if they need water.</p>
<p>[Device</a> allows plants to Twitter | Small Business | Reuters](<a href=“http://www.reuters.com/article/smallBusinessNews/idUSTRE52U42B20090331?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0]Device”>http://www.reuters.com/article/smallBusinessNews/idUSTRE52U42B20090331?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0)</p>
<p>
Sure you can put then out earlier if you have the right set up. A south facing insulated cold frame with a soil warming cable below the pots and a night cover can be adequate some years as early as March. Sometime in April we used to begin transferring them to the garden raised bed with the same heated cable and a night time/chilly day cover. Never all of them the same week in case of a hard freeze. Keeping the blossoms plucked until June and doing everything to develop thick stout vines and heavy rooting helps once fruit production begins.</p>
<p>I seriously want to get my vegetable garden going. My spouse thinks I am fighting a battle that I am sure to lose. I use raised beds that have gotten to the point that they need new chicken wire to keep out the gophers. The beds have settled into the ground so will not be easy to pull them up. Also we have a 5 month old lab puppy that he probably going to destroy any plants I try to grow.
Any one know anything about fruit trees?
I have a tree that I think might be peach. It has never done well. This year it seems to be growing on one half and the other half seems to be dead. The trunk V’s off and one side is good with blossoms and leaves, the other side nothing. When I break a branch on that side it seems dead. Anyone have any clues?</p>
<p>mom60, many fruit trees need pruning to produce fruit and be healthy. Pruning is not exactly rocket science, but it takes some practice:</p>
<p>[Pruning</a> Peach Trees](<a href=“http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/treefruit/422-020/422-020.html]Pruning”>http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/treefruit/422-020/422-020.html)</p>
<p><a href=“http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/HG_363.pdf[/url]”>http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/HG_363.pdf</a></p>
<p>You local U Cooperative Extension might have some materials on pruning, too.</p>
<p>I can’t wait for this spring to finally become spring! My February-blooming forsythia just started to bloom, and my daffodils are just starting to come out. :(</p>
<p>Mom60:</p>
<p>Since you are going to have to pull up the raised beds anyway to replace the chicken wire, great time to replenish the soil. </p>
<p>I did mine last fall - emptied out the raised bed entirely, using the old soil to serve as the base of a berm I was adding. Refilled the beds with 1 part chicken manure, two parts redwood compost, three parts soil (from another part of the yard) and then added probably 1/4 part coffee grounds from starbucks… Rototilled it all together and then I let it ferment all winter. This weekend is time to weed it and then hopefully plant (assuming the rain holds off).</p>
<p>
Why it died back is difficult to diagnose without seeing the situation.
What you should do is prune off the dead limb. First cut most of it off leaving a stub so it doesn’t tear or split back into the healthy part while you’re cutting it off. Then carefully cut the stub off as close to the crotch as practical. The cut will eventually close over if the remainder of the tree stays healthy, and it’s nature’s way for the tree to eventually fill in the missing area of the tree.</p>
<p>
Would it be practical to just create a new raised bed on top of the old? Sure would save a ton of work.</p>
<p>scualum- that is what I would like to do. My husband feels it is a waste of time since the dog is going to end up digging up most of the garden. I don’t know yet about this dog but our old dog loved chicken manure! He also loved bone meal which I used to put in with my bulbs. I would love to fence in the garden bed area but that would be a huge job. I have an empty horse corral that would be great for the garden boxes but it doesn’t get enough sun. I live very close to the ocean and in the summer the garden doesn’t see the sun till 4 pm on some days.
4trees- thank you. I will give it a try.The V off is only about 18 inches from the base of the trunk. If I trim the whole dead side the tree will be slanted to one side. But I really have nothing to lose. At it’s present rate we are not getting any fruit from it as is. Bunsenburner- the trees have been pruned. Though this specific tree has never grown much to need pruning. It is barely 5 ft tall. The other fruit trees in the same area have done fine. Tall and with plenty of fruit.</p>
<p>
Isn’t it odd that in this land of little rain, CA, where we need every precious drop, that when it does rain it so annoyingly gets in the way. --Said as I sit here trying to recover from bouncing and vibrating all day on a tractor while mowing 16 acres of hillside invasive non-native grass in a (thankfully successful) attempt to get it done before the potential rainfall, (so it won’t make it to seed giving the native grass and meadow plants a fighting chance next fall).</p>
<p>" I have an empty horse corral that would be great for the garden boxes but it doesn’t get enough sun."</p>
<p>Maybe the dog can go in the horse corral? Okay, so I’m not a dog person…</p>
<p>"The V off is only about 18 inches from the base of the trunk. "</p>
<p>Is this a grafted tree? Could the healthy part be growing from the rootstock, and the graft is dead?</p>
<p>
Don’t worry, just do a small amount of “directional pruning” over the course of the next few summers. By that I mean prune back the unbalanced side while encouraging the empty side. Mother nature will do it on her own, but she doesn’t mind assistance. </p>
<p>*General rule of thumb for fruit tree pruning; Prune shortly after harvest!</p>
<p>To keep the dog out, put another layer of chicken wire over the top of the bed for a week or two until you are ready to plant. The smell will go away in a few days and he won’t be able to dig while the wire is there. Plus when you pull the wire away, any weeds that have sprouted will get pulled out too :)</p>
<p>4Trees: I always prune my fruit trees in December - on my brother’s birthday or thereabouts (19th) and then my Roses in January. Are you saying pruning while not dormant is better? That is new info for me…</p>
<p>mom60 it sounds like possibly your peach is a combo graft?</p>
<p>Cass Turnbull is the goddess of pruning</p>
<p>
[PlantAmnesty</a> - Cass’ Book: Fruit Trees](<a href=“http://www.plantamnesty.org/6024_pages/old_gold_archives/xtyui/bkFruitTrees.html]PlantAmnesty”>http://www.plantamnesty.org/6024_pages/old_gold_archives/xtyui/bkFruitTrees.html)</p>
<p>
Dormant season pruning is depletive pruning, it eliminates the energy the tree stored in branches and buds, not what you want if you’re trying to develop a vigorous tree. It is easier to see what you’re doing, and historically orchardist had lots of free time in winter months. For fruiting trees pruning is best done right after harvest, a time of low stored energy in the tree, and gives the tree the longest possible time to recover and prepare for next years crop. -Kinda like the “best” time for a bank robbery (for the bank owner) would be right after most of the deposits had been withdrawn.</p>
<p>Roses are dormant pruned for several different reasons. They bloom on new growth, they’re pretty good at storing energy in the roots, crown and stem bases, protection from severe freezing, and typically planted so close together they need to be contained. Also it’s an opportunity to collect all the leaves and twigs that in spring are sources of diseases like leaf spot and rust.</p>
<p>Interesting - thanks… makes sense - but contrary to what I learned growing up… as they say, learn something new everyday.</p>
<p>
I agree.
When you get to step 6 try thinning by working from the outermost tip back towards the trunk. Most people thin from the trunk out and end up gutting the interior and getting a “lion’s tail’” look, -visualize a long skinny limb with a puff of branches at the end like a lion’s tail… not good for a tree.</p>