Advice From the Help Desk
of the UC Master Gardener Program
Help Desk Response: Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardeners about your apricot trees and their problems fruiting this year when your other fruit trees are fruiting well. You also asked for advice on growing vegetables in your home orchard.
There are many reasons why fruit trees will fail to produce with only a light crop. The main problems in our area tend to be weather related, either too warm in the winter or rains or frost at the incorrect time. Other problems may be related to pruning, either timing and/or amount of pruning. Based on the research that we have done on temperatures last winter and the moderate pruning that your trees received, I don't believe that those would have been problems for your trees. Although there were some cool temperatures in February that may have impacted pollination. The more likely cause of your problem was the March rains that we experienced. Apricots bloom in February and early March and spring rains leave them at particular risk for pollination and fruit set problems.
There is one other factor that may have contributed to the problems with your apricot production. You had mentioned that your trees received little water last summer due to the drought. Apricot trees initiate fruiting in early August of the prior year. This is a bit later than for other fruit trees. It is possible that stress due to the lack of water last summer may have impacted your apricots selectively.
Below are some links to more information that you might find useful.
http://homeorchard.ucanr.edu/Fruits_&_Nuts/Apricot_Prunus_armeniaca_L/
The above link provides a useful calendar for apricot management. It also mentions the spring rain problems encountered by apricots:
http://ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/apricots.html.
This link provides cultural tips as well as guidance on pest control.
Veggies and Fruit Trees: You had also asked about planting vegetables in your orchard. You do need to be careful planting vegetables with fruit trees. While not recommended for the several reasons below, with very careful planning, you might have success. In this case, success (e.g., quantity, quality, type, etc.) would be in the eye of the garden owner, you. For example, one problem is shade. Most summer vegetables need 6-8 hours full sun. If you are going to plant, you would need to make sure that the vegetables are on the south side of the fruit trees to avoid shade on the vegetable plants. Another problem is water. Trees do best with relatively infrequent and deep watering. Vegetables typically need more frequent watering. If you are setting up new irrigation, you should separate the vegetable irrigation system from the orchard system. Here is some information on irrigation: http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/files/221116.pdf.
I thought you might also be interested in some general information on setting up and managing a vegetable garden: http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8059.pdf.
Good luck with your trees and your vegetables. Please let us know if you have further questions.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County (ECS)
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Generally, used appropriately, coffee grounds can be beneficial to your garden. And if you search the internet you can find lots of information on their use. As in all things “internet”, the question is “what is appropriate”.
The Master Gardener program attempts to provide the gardener with scientifically based advice on gardening. The use of coffee grounds is no exception. Recently, Washington State University's Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott (Extension Urban Horticulturist and Associate Professor, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University) updated her earlier 2009 review of gardening use of coffee grounds with the publishing of her latest review of the scientific literature: “Use Of Coffee Grounds In Gardens And Landscapes” (http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/FS207E/FS207E.pdf). This latest review has been peer-reviewed.
While it is strongly recommended that you read for yourself the short 6-page paper, below are the edited excerpts from her findings:
Action list for using coffee grounds in compost
- Use no more than 20 percent by volume of coffee grounds in a compost pile. A diverse feedstock will ensure a healthy diversity of microorganisms.
- Don't assume coffee grounds will make an acidic compost; pH levels will change over time.
- Be sure to allow coffee grounds to cool before adding them to your compost; heat can kill your beneficial microbes.
- Avoid adding coffee grounds to vermicomposting bins; they can injure or kill earthworms in these confined areas.
- Understand that disease suppression from nonpathogenic organisms found in decomposing coffee grounds has only been demonstrated under controlled conditions on a handful of crops, including bean, melon, spinach, and tomato. Their efficacy in gardens and landscapes is unknown.
Action list for using coffee grounds directly as a mulch
- Apply a thin layer (no more than half an inch) of coffee grounds. Cover with a thicker layer (four inches) of coarse organic mulch like wood chips. This will protect the coffee grounds from compaction.
- Don't apply thick layers of coffee grounds as a standalone mulch. Because they are finely textured and easily compacted, coffee grounds can interfere with moisture and air movement in soils.
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BLOG editor's addendum: Most of the comments on Dr. Chalker-Scott's latest review center around “avoid adding coffee grounds to vermicomposting bins…” with more than a few anecdotal comments that it is common practice to use coffee grounds in compost bins. I think there is some clarification needed between compost bins and vermicompost bins… Her response so far is that she is reporting what is in the scientific literature. Vermicomposters should take special notice of this finding and manage their composting accordingly. You might search for further updates and discussion on Dr. Chalker-Scott's Facebook page “The Garden Professors”
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Help Desk of the UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
/span>/span>
Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
i confess ... I'm a garden blog junkie.
As an avid gardener, I'm also looking to the (many) blogs I subscribe to for ideas on how to enjoy my gardening even more. While I hope you find this blog interesting, there are many other UCANR blogs that you might be interested in as well. Many of the most informative are posted quite frequently, while most are only posted occasionally. You can find the full list of UCANR blogs at http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/blogroll.cfm?sort=a. You will probably have to do some looking around to find blogs you will be interested in… but you can easily change your subscriptions at any time.
A recent blog I subscribe to -- UC WEED SCIENCE had some great advice on getting rid of garden weeds:
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Control garden weeds in early spring
Posted by: Gale Perez
Published on: April 14, 2016....From the UCANR News Blog...
UC Cooperative Extension IPM advisor Cheryl Wilen recommends swivel hoes over herbicides for weed control.
Wilen recommends home gardeners use a swivel (or hula) hoe to scrape the surface and decapitate weeds. “It's a bit of exercise,” she said, "but you can do it so quickly, it's not a problem.”
Another weed control strategy is a thick layer of mulch, with does double-duty by reducing water evaporation from the soil surface, thereby conserving water.
Wilen suggests a three- to four-inch layer of mulch be spread in garden beds and landscape borders before the weed seeds have a chance to germinate. Mulch blocks the sunlight weeds need to push through the ground.
Fabric weed barriers are useful for controlling particularly challenging weeds, like nutsedge. Wilen suggests covering the fabric with mulch for an esthetically pleasing weed-free garden.
Though the common herbicide glyphosate (such as Roundup) kills weeds and is safe if used correctly, Wilen prefers using the swivel hoe. "It's just quicker and easier than pulling out the spray equipment," she said.
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No use re-inventing the wheel for this blog with this advice… time to get out my hula hoe… and I found the link to the LA Times article informative as well.
So… for all you garden junkies out there… you might consider perusing and subscribing to some UCANR blogs to get your full daily “garden fix”.
UC Master Gardener Program's Help Desk
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
/span>/span>Information from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
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For the past several years, the UC MGCC Program has conducted the FREE Our Garden Speaker Series (almost) every Wednesday morning at Our Garden (map) April through October. In addition, last year we've added some Saturday Workshops, also free, at Our Garden... details and schedule are below... please note that while the schedule as shown is reasonably firm at this time, changes are possible. You can confirm all dates, times and speakers on our website http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/
2016 UC MGCC Program's
"Our Garden" Speaker Series
North Wiget Lane & Shadelands Drive, Walnut Creek (map)
Wednesday Speakers 10 AM – 11 AM
Saturday Workshops, see website for time
DAY / Date |
Program Title |
Program Speaker |
Wednesday, April 20 |
Growing Apples and Pears |
Darlene DeRose, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, April 27 |
Growing Veggies in Containers |
Terry Lippert, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, May 4 |
Drought Tolerant Landscapes |
Dawn Kooyumjian, UC Master Gardener |
Saturday, May 7 |
All About Soil Workshop |
various |
Wednesday, May 11 |
Herbal All-Stars |
Rose Loveall-Sale, Morningsun Herb Farm |
Wednesday, May 18 |
Home Composting |
Ashley Louisiana, Recycle Smart |
Wednesday, May 25 |
Plant Propagation |
Kathy Echols, Horticulturist |
Wednesday, June 1 |
Permaculture |
Marian Woodard, UC Master Gardener |
Saturday, June 4 |
Garden Structures Workshop |
various |
Wednesday, June 8 |
"Tool Time" Series – Pruning in Your Garden |
Keith Silva, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, June 15 |
No Till Veggie Gardening |
Kevin Marini, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, June 22 |
Vermicompost |
Linda Mizes, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, June 29 |
Irrigation |
Steve Griffin, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, July 6 |
CLOSED FOR HOLIDAY |
|
Wednesday, July 13 |
Summer Pruning of Fruit Trees |
Helen Erickson, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, July 20 |
Rodent Control |
Steven Griffin, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, July 27 |
tbd |
tbd |
Wednesday, August 3 |
Succulents |
Brian Kemble, The Ruth Bancroft Garden |
Saturday, August 6 |
Rethinking Your Lawn Workshop |
various |
Wednesday, August 10 |
Winter Veggie Gardening |
Janet Miller, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, August 17 |
Fermenting and Pickling |
Susan Mosbacher, UCCE Master Food Preserver |
Wednesday, August 24 |
What Went Wrong with My Veggie Garden |
Terry Lippert, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, August 31 |
Compost Tea |
Kevin Marini, UC Master Gardener |
Saturday, September 3 |
CLOSED FOR HOLIDAY |
|
Wednesday, September 7 |
Creating Harmony in the Garden |
Patrice Hanlon, Horticulturist |
Saturday, September 10 |
Get Dry Plant Sale |
various |
Wednesday, September 14 |
Building Healthy Soil |
Steve Andrews, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, September 21 |
Hugelkultur |
tbd |
Wednesday, September 28 |
Rain Gardens |
Roxy Wolosenko, UC Master Gardener |
Saturday, October 1 |
Habitat Creation Workshop |
various |
Wednesday, October 5 |
Cover Crops |
Janet Miller, UC Master Gardener |
Wednesday, October 12 |
Growing Citrus and Avocados |
Ed Laivo, Four Winds Growers |
Wednesday, October 19 |
Growing Roses from Seed |
Kathy Echols, Horticulturist |
Wednesday, October 26 |
Fall/Winter Care of Fruit Trees |
Janet Caprile, UCCE Farm Advisor |
Note: Schedule is o.k. as of the original post of this blog, but is subject to change.
You can confirm all dates, times and speakers on our website http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
- Author: Shannon Wolfe
East Contra Costa County Residents, this is your day! This Saturday, April 16, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Mangini Agricultural Museum at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds in Antioch the Contra Costa County Master Gardeners will be hosting an East County edition of the 5th Annual Great Tomato Plant Sale. This is the first year we have brought our plants to Antioch, and we are happy to have an opportunity to meet and serve more East County residents.
For more information on the sale, please go here. For a shopping guide of tomato varieties that will be available in Antioch, please go here.
We hope the Antioch sale is a huge success, and we can't wait to see you there!