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Arid-Southwestern Gardening Information
                 

January Gardening Tips

1. Begin planning the spring garden

2. It's not too late to prevent winter weeds

3. Prune deciduous fruit trees

4. Plant bare-root roses

5. Apply zinc to citrus

6. Repot house plants

     7. Fertilize Winter Vegetable Gardens

 1. Begin planning the spring garden

Begin planning the spring garden by looking through garden seed catalogs. It's not too early to order seeds of summer flowers and vegetables. Seed should be sown in flats and pots indoors in February for planting outdoors in March. The key to gardening success here in Tucson is to get the spring garden planted early to beat the heat! 

 2. It's not too late to prevent winter weeds

It's not too late to prevent winter weeds. Before winter rain arrives, apply a pre-emergent herbicide to your landscape. Granular herbicides such as "Amaze" are easiest to apply. To be effective, pre-emergent chemicals such as Amaze and Surflan must be "watered-in" within a few days of application. This can be done using a lawn sprinkler attached to a garden hose. Apply one-half inch of water over the treated area. You can measure the amount of water applied by placing several cans in the area being watered. When the cans have collected the desired one half inch of water, move the sprinkler to the next area to be treated.  

 3. Prune deciduous fruit trees

Prune deciduous fruit trees such as apple, plum, peach and apricot. Pruning promotes the development of new fruiting branches and open the tree to sunlight. Proper fruit tree pruning techniques should be followed. These techniques can be found in many gardening books. Do not prune citrus trees! They are evergreen, and rely on an abundance of permanent branches to develop new fruit and shade the trunk from sun scald. 

4. Plant bare-root roses

Plant bare-root roses now available at garden centers and nurseries. Purchase only high quality roses from reliable garden centers. Plant them in a bed that has been amended with lots of organic matter. Till in compost, peat moss, or aged manure to a depth of 18 inches. Also mix into the soil a root promoting fertilizer, such as ammonium phosphate or other flowering plant food, applying two pounds per 100 square feet of bed area. Plant roses so that the swollen graft union near the base of the canes is above ground.

 5. Apply zinc to citrus

Apply zinc to citrus showing deficiency symptoms. Outer leaves of citrus trees which have bright yellow bands between dark green viens indicate a deficiency of zinc. Apply sprays of chelated micro nutrients containing zinc, or zinc sulfate, as a spray on the leaves. This will temporarily green up the leaves. In the spring, apply both chelated iron and zinc sulfate directly to the soil so that these nutrients can be absorbed by the tree's roots. 

6. Repot house plants

Repot house plants and patio plants that may be pot bound. This can be determined by sliding a knife down the inside edge of the pot. If there is resistance, it means that large roots have grown out the the edge of the soil ball, and the plant is pot bound. Remove the plant from it's pot, and cut away any large, circling roots on the outside of the soil ball. Pot into the next largest container, using fresh potting soil. Old containers that are stained white from a build-up of salts should be discarded. Plastic pots can be reused if they are washed out and sterilized using a solution of one part household bleach in nine parts water. 

7. Fertilize Winter Vegetable Gardens

Fertilize winter vegetable gardens if they show signs of slow growth or yellowing foliage. Leafy vegies such as lettuce, chard, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage need only to be fertilized with nitrogen. Use ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate and scatter or "side dress" a small amount of fertilizer down the row, taking care to keep it off the plants. Water the fertilizer in immediately after applying.