Advice for the Home Gardener from the
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener
Program of Contra Costa County
Client's Request: I have some sandbags that we filled at a City facility. A few of them have broken open, and I wonder if the sand is bad for the soil. I suspect if the sand is from an ocean beach, it is possible it could contain too much salt. How can I tell if it is OK for my garden? If it is OK, I may break open some remaining bags and set a few pavers in it.
Help Desk Response: Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk with your questions about using sand in your garden.
Presuming that you have clay soil like most of us do in Contra Costa County, the addition of sand to your soil will not be beneficial for soil health and in fact can harm your plants. The reason for this all relates to the soil texture. Soil texture is the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay particles. Sand particles are the largest (can be seen with the naked eye), silt particles are in between in size and clay particles are very small. The relative compositions of these three particles determines your soil texture class. If you wanted to determine your soil texture you can do a simple feel method to give you an idea. There is a link below on how to do this and an even more extensive link on soil texture from Colorado State.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/edu/?cid=nrcs142p2_054311
http://culter.colorado.edu/~kittel/SoilChar(&RibbonTest)_handout.pdf
Whether you have sand, silt or clay soil, will affect the size of the pores within the soil. Soil pores are the spaces between particles that hold water and oxygen. Sand, because it is a larger molecule, has large pores. Clay, because it is a smaller molecule, has tiny microscopic pores. The pores are where water or oxygen is available to the plants. Generally, sandy soils have larger pore size, hence they feel lighter when you are working with them. Larger pores hold less water and nutrients but have better aeration (more oxygen). This is typically appreciated as these soils usually have good drainage. Water that is applied rapidly moves through the topsoil and into the deeper layers. Clay soils, on the other hand, have very small microscopic pores. These pores hold water longer, hold onto nutrients but have limited aeration. This is why these soils are typically called heavy. Because these pores are very small, water cannot drain as well and clay soils typically have poor drainage.
The problem with mixing a small amount of sand into clay soil is that you create an even heavier soil than clay alone and it has even smaller pore sizes. This is because the large spaces between sand molecules are then filled with tiny clay particles. This results in a mixture that resembles concrete. In this mixture there is little to no water or oxygen available for plants to use and their roots may not be able to penetrate at all. You can avoid this problem by incorporating 50% sand into a clay soil, however that would mean removing half the topsoil in your garden and replacing it with sand, which is not recommended or practical. There is a great summary of the problem of adding sand to clay soils below. If you did need to improve your clay soil in some way, the recommendation would be to add organic material such as compost and mulch. The link below provides guidance on how to manage clay soil in the home garden.
https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/soil-amendments-2.pdf
https://vric.ucdavis.edu/pdf/soil_managingclay.pdf
So, given that information about adding sand to our native clay soils, you did ask about whether you could do that and put pavers in it. If you were creating a walking path, it might not matter to you if your soil underneath those pavers had poor texture and would not support the growth of plants. It is worth considering that development of this very heavy soil mixture, similar to concrete, under the pavers may lead to water runoff during heavy rain which then needs to be absorbed by adjacent areas. It also may limit the growth of larger perennial plants, such as trees and shrubs, in that vicinity depending on how much of their root zone would be affected.
In looking at the Contra Costa County Sandbag program website, there is no indication where the sand comes from. Therefore, I cannot be sure what its salt content is. Too much salt is not ideal for plants, but adding the sand to your native soil would already be detrimental to your garden. If you do choose to add the sand to your garden, you might call the city to see where they sourced the sand. Conversely, you could rinse the sand before using it and dispose of the water in an area separate from your garden in case it was excessively salty.
https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/5976/Sandbags
I hope this helps answer your questions. Happy Gardening!
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (SES)
Note: Contra Costa MG's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ignore.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Biog.
Advice for the Home Gardener from the
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program
of Contra Costa County
Subject: Best Tree for Fast Shade
Client's Request: I live in mid-County and am going to remove 9 dying Birch Trees due to beetles this fall. I need to plant a tree for shade in the afternoon and evening. I am debating between the Chinese Elm and the Raywood Ash. I am looking for a fast-growing shade tree so I would like a tree to be tall and have a large canopy. If you need to see a picture of my back yard please check Google Earth. Perhaps you have a better tree to suggest. I really do not want a very messy tree, if possible. Thank You,
Help Desk Response: Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk concerning the replacement of your birch trees. You asked about Chinese Elm or Raywood Ash - both of these could likely fit your requirements for growth rate and shade, but they also have some considerations to consider as well.
The Raywood ash is a very attractive tree and sometimes does very well in our area, but in recent years many trees have been affected by dieback of branches. This is caused by a fungus which does not seem to kill the tree but can make it look quite unattractive.
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/DISEASES/ashdieback.html
The Chinese elm could also fit the bill, but can be somewhat messy from dry fruit litter.
https://selectree.calpoly.edu/tree-detail/ulmus-parvifolia
A few other suggestions you might consider, all of which have a reasonable growth rate include:
Common Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
https://selectree.calpoly.edu/tree-detail/celtis-occidentalis
One issue with this tree is that it is often attacked by an aphid which can cause messy drips from honeydew.
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74111.html
Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis)
http://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Plant_of_the_Month/Chinese_Pistache/
Fruitless Mulberry (Morus alba)
https://ucanr.edu/sites/urbanhort/files/80182.pdf
This is the tree that is often pruned back to pollarded stubs that can look quite ugly to some in the winter. This is done to keep the tree small, but mulberries can also be pruned to retain good structure through normal growth.
I hope this helps in selecting your tree. For the long-term health of your new tree, it will be very important to select a good tree in the nursery, plant it properly and begin training the young tree for good structure. We do have some good information on these topics, so if you are interested please get back to us. You can also find this information on our UC website, http://cagardenweb.ucanr.edu/Landscape_Trees/
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (SMW)
Note: Contra Costa MG's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ignore.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Biog.
Advice for Home Gardeners from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Client's Request: We live in the south County currently and are moving 10 miles north into the center of the County in April 2020. We currently have tree roses that we planted 4years back and lots of fruits trees that we planted 10 years back. How can we move roses and fruit trees to our new home. Fruit trees that we are mainly looking to move are pluots, plums, pears, grapes, persimmon, pomegranates, apple and a few citrus plants. Would appreciate all your information on if and how to make the move for my favorite plants without giving them a shock.
Help Desk Response: Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk for information about moving several trees to your new home. Unfortunately, you can't move trees without causing them stress and while it is possible to successfully move a plant from one location to another, moving established fruit trees like yours, is very difficult and usually not advised. Unless the tree is uniquely special, buying new trees for the new location makes a lot more sense.
I have attached an article by Clemson University Cooperative Extension giving detailed instructions about moving established trees. I think you will find it helpful if you decide to try to move your trees despite the difficulty. They recommend pruning the tree roots in the fall and then moving the tree before bud break next year. The most important thing is to get as much of the root ball as possible and go at least a foot deep. The new hole should be 50 percent wider than the root ball and about the same depth. You do not need to amend the soil.
Moving the rose trees will probably be much easier as they are quite resilient and it may be possible to move them at any time if done correctly. I have attached an article called "Myths About Transplanting Roses" which won an award from the Northern California, Nevada and Hawaii Rose Society, which you might find helpful as it gives good instructions on how to transplant a rose during the growing season. In short, they advise to give the rose as much water as possible the day before transplanting, get as much of the root ball as possible and minimize the time out of the ground. You can also find the article at http://www.ncnhdistrict.org/aom/myths.html
Good luck and please let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (TDT)
Note: Contra Costa MG's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ignore.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Biog
Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
And can you please identify the green plant for me and what I should do with it? The ones I see in our neighborhood look more like a low ground covering but ours has a large trunk and is very woody and unattractive. I am open to pulling it out if it can't be pruned attractively.
Fuchsia: I suggest that you hold off pruning the fuchsia until next spring. Your fuchsia looks like it is struggling as it only has sparse stems, leaves and flowers and the leaves look rather pale. If you were to prune it most likely you would be removing many of the leaves and without those it would not be able to produce its food. Flowers appear on new wood so do any pruning before spring growth begin but after the last frost. During this part of the season focus on providing good cultural care.
Fuchsias like to be watered regularly; you want to maintain a moist but not waterlogged condition.
Fuchsias are heavy feeders so while blooming provide a monthly application of a balanced liquid fertilizer. A balanced fertilizer is one with 3 numbers about the same. You may see 5-5-5 or 10-10-10. The numbers represent the percentage of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus respectively in the product.
Unknown plant: Your unknown plant is a ceanothus. There many varieties of ceanothus both upright shrubs and ground covers as you see in your neighbor's yards. Regardless of the type you have, I can provide you with general information on pruning and care.
The part of the plant you are showing in the picture has nice green growth. Since I cannot see the whole plant I am unable to tell you if you will be able to make it more attractive. For pruning, wait until the blooms have faded and avoid cutting off any branches more than an inch in diameter. While most Ceanothus can be shaped by tip pruning and cleaning out interior or low dead growth, it resents serious hacking. Ceanothus will not produce shoots from old wood, so never prune back severely to old wood. Prune from the inside, lightly thinning and removing a few lower limbs.
Ceanothus typically requires little if any water during the summer months so caution here because your fuchsia that lives right next to it requires regular water.
Following is a link to a UC website that will provide more information on the history, pruning, and care of ceanothus: http://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Plant_of_the_Month/Ceanothus_796/
Help Desk of UC the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (EDC)
Note: Contra Costa MG's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ignore.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Biog
Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Gardener's Request: Can I plant mint and thyme together? Thank you for your response.
Help Desk Response: Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk.
Mint and thyme are wonderful herbs to have in the garden; both herbs have a lovely scent and their flowers are attractive to many beneficial insects.
Mint is considered a rather aggressive herb; therefore, it is best to plant mint by itself in a pot, not in the ground. You can try to plant both mint and thyme together in a pot; however, please realize over time the mint will probably take over the thyme. Mint and thyme also have different water requirements, thyme requires less water than mint.
Hope the above addresses your question. You can find further information regarding mint and thyme in the links below. Both links reference Sonoma County but the information should apply to Contra Costa County as well (we assumed you live in Contra Costa County).
Mint: http://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/The_Kitchen_Garden/Feature_Vegetables/Mint/
Thyme: http://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Food_Gardening/Feature_Vegetables/Thyme/
Please let us know if you need further assistance with this or other herb gardening.
Happy Gardening!
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (mlk)
Note: Contra Costa's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ignore.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Biog.
