Sharpening Garden Tools And Caring For Ailing Trees: Things To Do This Week

1. Bacon Photos of large brown spots on avocado leaves were sent to me by Charlene Moltan of Spring Valley. At first I thought sunburn was the problem, because avocado leaves can get spots like that when the temperature soared last September, the hottest month in 128 years. However, I took some photos of the underside of the leaf, showing a small colony of bugs under each brown spot, and realized that the tree was infested with avocado lace beetles. The beetles themselves are about half an inch in size and black, with numerous peppery black spots. These mites are lace-covered eggs (insect nettles) laid by adults. The treatment of this insect infestation, like many others, consists of contact with an insecticidal soap (M-Pede, Safe) or with some vegetable oils (SunSpray, Volck, Green Light) that do not interfere with the assessment of beneficial insects. Pests It is always important to pay attention to general rules for keeping avocados healthy, such as adequate watering when temperatures rise and leaf litter appears. It is also recommended to use the fertilizer recommended for avocado trees this year, which can be purchased at any nursery.

2. Virginia Finkbeiner of Glendora wrote about the ginkgo trees planted in her area in the 1950s and 60s . "We love our ginger, but when the trees fall, they bear very fragrant fruit," he said. "The whole area smells of milk. They put on everyone's shoes and check everywhere. Is there anything to reduce the amount of fruit I can remove? There are products such as Florel Fruit Eliminator that can be sprayed on trees to prevent harmful fruit, buds or acorns from forming on trees such as olive, carob, oak, lissambar, medlar, ginkgo and many others. However, the cost of spraying a large ginkgo tree is very high, the time to do this in April is short, and you will not be able to spray all the flowers that will eventually bear fruit. Otherwise, the trees can be cut, so there are many branches that do not bear fruit, and this is also expensive. I understand the problem because no one wants to remove a 70 year old tree, but maybe over the years, replacing each tree with barren male ginger would be an acceptable solution. forward

3. Wilmington gardener Joe Ortega offers a detailed care program for poinsettias planted in a south-facing flower bed . It is ten meters high, ten meters wide and about 20 years old: “When I cut it, it gives a beautiful lush bush. Prune in February and fertilize with a 5-10-10 fertilizer in April/May. Cut in September and use Vigoro 15-30-15 in September and October. The results are a beautiful display in December. It should be noted that the Ortega Poinsettia shares a bed with the Plumeria as they share the same habitat on the west coast of southern Mexico.

4. Winter is garden time, so it's time to oil and polish your tools to get ready for spring. Once you're done gardening, there are two rules you should follow to extend the life of your tools. The first is to take a container and fill it with garden sand and two quarts of motor oil. Run a hoe, spade, or shovel into the sand several times before placing any equipment. Sandpaper gives the wood some sharpness and prevents rust after light sanding. The second practice is to keep a packet of wet disinfectant on hand. Before disposing of your equipment, use these cleaners to remove dirt and fungal spores or plant sap laden with bacteria that can transmit disease.