- Author: Elinor Teague
Many varieties of citrus and other fruit trees have set a bumper crop of small fruit this season. Alternate bearing or the setting of fewer fruit every other year or two is normal for fruiting trees, but this year's bounty of mini fruit is unusual. The cause could be last season's long, cool, wet spring weather that delayed blossom set and pollination. Or it could be that the immature heavy crop of fruit should have been thinned early. The fruit is juicy and sweet. Just remember that the best way to store citrus fruit is to leave it on the tree until it falls off.
Rose leaves are still bright green and firmly attached to most bushes. Roses will set flowers all winter long if temperatures don't drop to freezing levels. In the Central Valley with its mild, short winters, rose lovers usually strip browning leaves from their bushes in mid-November to force dormancy by using water from a hose to blast off the dead and dying leaves. But you might need to hand strip green leaves from roses this winter. Do it after you've pruned to minimize the work.
Weed seeds germinate quickly when the soil temperature warms above 50 degrees. That often happens during winter warm spells like those we had during December. As you are using a wiggle hoe to cut down tiny weeds, you'll notice that it's much easier to till of the soil in areas that have been kept covered with a three- to four-inch layer of mulch. Those of us who have begun spreading the fall leaves into planting beds instead of raking them up are seeing that the leaf mulch does reduce weed germination, but because we haven't had much rain yet this winter, the dry fall leaves have barely begun to decompose. Rake or blow the leaves to turn them and encourage faster decomposition.
