Discount From My Publisher and What to plant and do in the Garden in December.

[Catherine, The Herb Lady]

Dear Folks,

If you missed the discount offered by my publisher they have another one.

Enter promo code PRESALE20 at checkout and save 20% on orders of print books, photo books, and calendars. Offer expires 19 November. 

My Gardening Calendar and Books

I will be at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum this Saturday (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.) along with other regional and local authors for an Author/Book Festival.   It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day.


DECEMBER Planting Tips

While we get busy with all the holiday activities, don't forget the garden :-)

GARDEN TIPS for December
    Holiday time can be stressful. Your edible garden can be an oasis from stress.  With citrus fruit ripening like yellow and orange ornaments, pansies blooming, and dill waving in the breeze, winter is only a state of mind here in the Desert Southwest.
    November through January can be a ‘rainy’ season for the desert. You can usually hold off on regular watering if you have received a half inch or more of rain within 2 days of normal watering days.  Make good use of your water meter to determine soil moisture.  
    If rains are heavy this month, in addition to foregoing some water days, you may need to put down Ironite (or Green Sand) to compensate for mineral bonding (which makes iron unavailable to the plants) due to both the excess water and the cold soil.  Ironite nor Green Sand are a fertilizer so it will not burn plants -- apply to the drip line (edge) of tree canopy.

PRUNING:

Prune citrus and deciduous fruit trees in December, or no later than early January before flowering starts.

Occasionally our crazy peach trees drive Deane nuts because they still have leaves on them when they start to flower in late December or early January.

The idea with pruning deciduous trees is to get it done before the 'sap starts running' in the warming spring weather.  Because we do not usually have extended cold spells some of the stone fruit trees may not actually go into full dormancy.

The commercial growers like Schnepf Farms have simply adopted the practice of pruning their peach etc. trees after December 15th. This ensures that flower buds will not be pruned off later on.

FRUIT TREE PESTS

Peach tree borers are a problem here in the valley as the special hybrid stone fruit trees are more vulnerable to borers because the pests are not killed off as readily as in very cold areas of the country.

Winter 'dormancy' of the trees is the time to consider treating the trees to an oil spray to discourage the darn pests

Generally called "dormant oil" or "horticulture oil" this is a heavy oil based control which is designed to smother the pests, and therefore can't be applied to the active growing parts of any plants.  It is sprayed on the trunks of stone fruit (not evergreen like citrus) from the soil-base line up.  Make sure you read the instructions carefully.

If peach and other stone fruit trees are new to you and your garden, look for swelling on the buds/edges of each branch which indicates the tree is going into active growth and DO NOT use the spray on those areas.



December PLANTING:

Anise
Asparagus
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Cabbage
Caraway
Carrots
Cauliflower
Chervil
Cilantro
Dill
Fennel, Leaf
Fruit, Bare Root
Fruit Trees
Greens
Kohlrabi
Lavender
Lettuce
Marjoram
Mustard
Myrtle
Onions, Green
Oregano, Greek
Ornamental Cabbage/Kale (Brassica Oleracea)
Parsley
Peppers (seed)
Radishes
Sage
Savory
Spinach
Strawberry
Thyme
Turnips
Watermelon (by seed December 15 and after)

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:
Carnation (Dianthus)
Chamomile
English Daisy
Jasmine Sambac (Arabian)
Nasturtiums
Pansies
Primrose
Scented Geraniums
Snapdragons                
Stocks (Matthiola)
Sweet William (Dianthus)
Sweet Alyssum

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday, enjoy and be safe,

Catherine
The Herb Lady

www.herbs2u.net