Not watering wide, deep enough can lead to fruit falling off tree
Q: I have had a Saturn peach tree for five years. The first two years I got fruit. Every time when fruit gets as big as a nickel or quarter, it stops growing, starts shrinking, dries out and falls off the tree. Three years in a row.
A: I have been working with the so-called “donut peaches” since
1995 and never had this problem. This makes me think it is something you are doing and not the tree.
What you are talking about results frequently from not watering wide and deep enough particularly as it gets bigger. If the tree does not get enough water, it focuses on its survival and aborts the fruit. Producing fruit takes extra energy over just survival. The fruit trees I grow are either pruned smaller (8 feet tall and they grow back to about 9 to 10 feet) or they are grown on semi-dwarfing rootstocks and still pruned smaller.
You should be watering three to four times a week during the summer. An 8- to 10-foot-tall tree
(it should also have a canopy 8 feet wide as well) should be getting about 30 gallons each time it’s watered. Avoid giving fruit trees little sips of water daily. Make sure the tree has at least a day between each watering, so the soil dries in between and the tree doesn’t get root rot.
In my experience, having a 3-inch layer of woodchips covering the soil gives you one to two water-free days extra during the summer months. So make sure you have some woodchips (not bark chips) covering the soil under the tree, but not touching the trunk when it is young. The tree needs at least 2 inches of woodchips covering the roots to keep it cool and reduce evaporation.
You can get the best woodchip mulch free at the UNCE Orchard in North Las Vegas (call 702-257-5555 for times) if it is loaded and picked up by an individual.
I would warn you this is not a fertilizer or nutrient problem since these problems will not cause the fruit to abort like an on-and-off switch. But a water problem during the heat of summer will do that.
There is a remote problem that this could be caused by borers (insects) in the trunk, but I doubt it. This is because the borers’ damage will restrict water, and it will act like it isn’t getting enough. But I think giving the tree enough water each time you irrigate is the “root” of your problem.
Q: I have been growing grapes for seven years. Last year, and this year, I had problems with the leaf color. Can you please tell me what is wrong with my vines? They are still producing grapes.
A: The pictures you sent to me were a bit hard to see. I think I am seeing two things. One is some strong yellowing between the veins, almost white. The other is some dark speckling all over the leaves. This dark speckling will start about June and lasts the rest of the year.
If I am seeing this correctly, I think you have some leafhopper damage (speckling) which would be tiny bugs that are jumping all over the place when you are handling the leaves in midsummer. The other, I think, is an iron problem.
With the jumping bugs you could have sprayed a natural product called Spinosad in about May (it also controls the grape leaf skeletonizer) when they were first becoming a problem. This spray application would have knocked the population of leafhoppers back. That would have been the same time for controlling skeletonizer and hornworms so you would have hit three pests with several applications of this product starting in about May.
The leaf yellowing is controlled with an iron chelate (preferably EDDHA iron chelate) applied where the irrigation system waters the grape plant. Apply it in about March
(follow the label amount), just before new growth occurs. It would be watered in as soon as you applied it because it is destroyed by strong light. The preferred iron chelate to use contains EDDHA as the chelate.
Q: I purchased a Flavor Queen pluot tree from a local nursery at the beginning of May. I’ve been watering it and give it 8 gallons of water each time. The soil is native with roughly 25 percent compost mixed in. The drainage is very good. The leaves started turning brown soon after planting. Do you have any advice on what the problem could be?
A: It sure looks like a lack of water to me. I think I see wood mulch at the bottom of the tree and in one picture it looks like it is pulled away from the trunk which it should be. Wood mulch around the trees makes a huge difference in plant quality and growth in the first couple of years.
I would bump how many gallons you apply up a bit more but not how often. Instead of 8 gallons, I would give it ten or 12. Add drip emitters to do that, not up the minutes.
Insect problems like borers also can cause the leaves to turn brown. Usually this type of brown leaves is oftentimes on one branch. Be careful when first pruning and exposing the limbs or trunk to the hot sun.
Hopefully, you bought a tree without much trunk to expose to strong sunlight. If you bought the tree in a container, then I would not prune it for the first two years in the ground.
Watering the tree daily can also cause leaves to turn brown. There are two ways to overwater: watering with too many gallons or watering too often. Watering too often is far more damaging to our soils than watering with too many gallons.
Your three-times-a-week watering is good when temperatures are hot if you have mulch on the surface of the soil. Without mulch, you may need to increase it one more time each week until the temperatures drop closer to 100 degrees.
Hand-water with a hose and put a basin around the tree for the first few months until strong growth is seen. Do not rely on drip irrigation alone when it is first planted unless it was planted in sopping wet soil.
Another option is to hand-water a dry planting hole for a few weeks in addition to drip irrigation until you see some changes. You should be fine watering more often in a basin like every other day for a couple of weeks. Then drop back down to your normal watering program.
Q: Nothing was done over the winter to control that terrible squash bug that invaded our pomegranate tree and fruit last year for the first time. What can be done now to prevent the reoccurrence of that new pomegranate-destroying bug?
A: The squash bug and the pomegranate bug look similar, but they feed on different plants. They are somewhat related, but the occurrence of the squash bug has nothing to do with this pomegranate bug, which we call the leaf-footed plant bug.
Squash bugs like squash, watermelon, zucchini and the like. The leaffooted plant bug likes pomegranates, pistachios and almonds.
Both the squash bug and leaf-footed plant bug can fly. They can fly in from trees and shrubs of yours and your neighbors. Both bugs find a place that is a bit warmer and where they can get water and nutrients. They need both to survive.
Evergreen trees and shrubs as well as weeds provide this kind of habitat and make a great place to winter over. It is like a Florida vacation As soon as squash plants emerge — and suitable trees begin to grow — is the time they fly and start laying eggs.
Unfortunately, I do not know of a soft pesticide (organic) that works against these critters. Hand vacuums will suck them up if started early, repeated regularly and focus on the egg-laying adults.
The old-fashioned insecticide called Sevin does a decent job of controlling them as well as some of these synthetic pyrethrins labeled for fruit trees or landscape trees, depending on what you are spraying. I would make these hard pesticide applications around May but avoid spraying anything that is blooming. It is best to spray these pesticides at dusk when bees have returned to their homes.
Spring cleaning time is almost here. From getting behind heavy bookshelves to crawling under narrow tables, it’s a lot of hard work that can make a big impact on your living space. Here are a number of tips from cleaning experts on how you can make the most of your spring cleaning in 2023.
Fix air leaks
Poor insulation can send your home’s air and heat bills soaring. Take a moment to inspect every windowpane and door for cracks and other openings. Most hardware stores sell epoxy solutions to fill cracks and gaps.
“As tempting as it may be, don’t skip out on a quick walk around your home to make sure there are no faulty cracks or openings within windowpanes and doors,” Leanne Stapf, of The Cleaning Authority, told The Spruce. “Any air leaks, no matter how small, could lead to a larger issue, resulting in poor insulation.”
Wash windows on a cloudy day
One of the most frustrating parts of cleaning glass is the streaks left behind. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Waiting for a cloudy day is an easy way to ensure that cleaning your windows goes smoothly.
“If it’s too sunny, the cleaning solution will dry too fast and you’ll have streaks,” cleaning expert Donna Smallin Kuper told Better Homes & Gardens.
Wash sconces and all other light fixtures
An important activity to add to your spring cleaning to-do list is to wash all sconces, chandeliers and any other light fixtures within the home.
“At first glance, these may not seem dusty, but once you wipe one, you will see a noticeable difference,” professional organizer Jamie Novak, author of “Keep This, Toss That,” told Reader’s Digest.
Don’t forget to stretch
Spring cleaning can be more than tiring. Bending down to clean under tables, crouching in awkward positions to get behind bookshelves and most other cleaning activities in those hard-to-reach areas can be hard on the joints and back. Moreover, scrubbing can wear down muscles and cause soreness the next day.
Make sure to stretch before beginning any spring cleaning, and don’t be afraid to incorporate kneepads or other pieces of protective gear.
“Cleaning can often strain and pull lesser-used muscles, even on a fit person, as we crouch, lift, reach and kneel in ways our body is not used to,” chief cleaning officer of Maidpro Melissa Homer told Today.