Advice To Grow By

In the Spotlight

Bare root fruit trees are showing up in nurseries all over the County right about now, and if one of your New Year’s resolutions was to plant an apple tree, now is a great time to select the right one for your yard!

The ideal planting time for fruit or nut trees is during the dormancy period in the bare-root stage during winter or early spring. Plant as soon as possible after receiving them from the nursery, and do not let them dry out. The roots are very sensitive and must be kept wet and protected from harsh temperatures. Roots can be kept moist (not wet) in transit, and for short periods (48 hours) of time prior to planting using a variety of materials-burlap, cloth, tarps, plastic in shade to maintain humidity, shredded bark, etc.

Dig the hole wider than the roots spread out but not any deeper than the roots as purchased.

For more information on planting bare root fruit trees click here.

Featured Articles

Cold chilly nights in the valley can be devastating to frost sensitive plants. There are several things you can do to increase your plants survival:

Move potted plants to a warmer spot next to house or under patio cover, especially on south side.
Check that plants are well watered since dry plants are more susceptible to damage, and moist soil retains heat better than dry soil.
Wrap trunks of tender trees if hard freeze is expected, using towels, blankets, rags, or pipe insulation.
Add heat by using outdoor lights: hang 100 watt drop lights or Holiday string lights to interior of plant. Use the old C7 or C9 large bulbs, not new LED lights which do not give off heat.

As tempting as it may be to prune out damaged black branches, wait to prune out damage until after danger of frost is past, and new growth begins in spring.

Farmer Fred explains the different types of cold we can have here in the valley and what you need to do to be protected from the frost.

What is cold? Some definitions:

Frost: temperatures dip to 32 °F (0 °C) for short periods of time. Occurs with fair skies and light winds.

Freeze: temperatures at or below 32 °F

Hard Freeze: temperatures below 28 °F for several hours.

For more tips visit Farmer Fred Blog or the UC IPM web-site. If you have Citrus you can find information from Four Wind Growers on what temperature levels fruit are damaged at and general information on frost protection for citrus here.

In Our Community

Oriental Fruit Fly Found in Stockton

On September 8, 2011, San Joaquin County Pest Detection staff captured two Oriental fruit flies in an insect trap located in North Stockton.

As a result insect traps that are specifically designed to detect Oriental fruit fly will be deployed in an 81 square mile area around the detection site by pest surveyors from the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office and CDFA. The Oriental fruit fly is known to target over 230 different fruit, vegetable and plant commodities.

Your cooperation is needed to help prevent the spread of an Oriental fruit fly infestation!
To prevent the spread of fruit flies through homegrown fruits and vegetables, residents and people moving through fruit fly eradication areas are urged not to move any fruits or vegetables from their property. Fruits and vegetables may be eaten or processed (i.e. juiced, frozen, cooked, or ground in the garbage disposal) at the property where they are picked.

What you can do to help:

Do not bring or mail fresh fruit, vegetables, plants or soil into California unless agricultural inspectors have cleared the shipment beforehand, as fruit flies and other pests can hide in a variety of produce;
Never remove fresh produce from your property when your area is under an Oriental fruit fly quarantine;
Double-bag green waste such as garden fruits and vegetables. Place the double-bagged green waste in the trash.
It is important to cooperate with any quarantine restrictions or rules that might be imposed because of an Oriental fruit fly find in your area, and allow authorized agricultural workers access to your property to inspect fruit and Oriental fruit fly traps for signs of an infestation.

For more information if you are a homeowner click here. More information can be found at the San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioners site. If you have any questions please call 1-800-491-1899.

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Whats Growing On - Calendar of events

Event Name	Date
Fill Your Own Fruit Bowl	1/21/2012
Lodi HOme & Garden Show	2/3/2012
Roses – Pruning and Care	2/11/2012
Roses – Pruning and Care	2/18/2012
Eat what you grow	3/10/2012