Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

None of my pecan trees and one Pedro walnut, various ages from 2 years to 6 years, leafed out this spring.  Instead, some of them produced suckers from the rootstock.  I have a horrible gopher problem this year and think they were what happened to the trees.   Almonds don’t appear to be damaged, nor do fruit trees. 

Question is:  What kind of tree do I get if I leave the suckers growing?

Hi, My name is Katie and I’m addicted to Peaceful Valley.  (One only has to check out past posts on my blog for evidence).

I’ve been a customer of Peaceful Valley for just about a year now (I’ve only been gardening for a few years), and am very excited to see that they have started this blog.  Even in it’s infancy it’s very informative, and like you, I’m excited to see it grow, pun intended.

The folks at Peaceful Valley have been gracious enough to allow me to hop on here and share a little about gardening, my experiences, and other related topics.  You can call me “Collegiate Suburban Gardener” if you wish, because although I feel although I’m not a “freshman” to the organic gardening scene, gardening continues to prove me a perpetual student.  (Freshman Farmer blog here).

In thinking about what I would want to share with folks (which is pretty daunting, given how many folks have been doing this for far longer than I have), my advice boils down to four words:

Right tree, right place.

We’ve all seen them and cringed: Coastal redwoods used in a foundation planting, large trees like Sycamores planted at 6′ intervals in grass-filled medians, and small trees planted far to close to one another to be productive or interesting, requiring lots of time and effort to prune. 

Trees are such beautiful creatures if we allow them the space and conditions necessary for their wonder to unfurl before our very eyes.

So the next time you think about planting a tree, remember a few things:

What is the final height and spread of this tree?

Is this the right tree for this location?

Is this the right location for this tree?

Local tree companies, landscape designers, experienced community gardeners, Peaceful Valley’s expert staff, and your local extension office can arm you with the knowledge necessary to pick the right tree…and plant it in the right place.

We have such a great selection of bare roots this year and our customers have appreciated it!  We’ve sold over 5,000 and only have 800 left, so hurry and get your bare roots while there is time to get them in the ground! 

In Winter, once leaves have dropped, fruit trees should be sprayed three times with dormant oil and fungicide (lime sulfur or copper sulfate) to control fungal diseases and insect infestation.This week marks with Valentine’s Day when the third and last spray should ideally happen (first is around Thanksgiving, second around Christmas).

This is really important for peaches and nectarines which are very susceptible to Peach Leaf Curl, especially in a wet winter.

Remember that apricots can’t be sprayed with lime sulfur (use copper sulfate instead).

Also, sprays should be allowed to dry on the bark, so don’t spray if rain is expected shortly thereafter.

Soon, it will be too late as you shouldn’t spray your trees once their swollen buds have bloomed.

I just sprayed my 50 trees and I will be glad I did this coming Spring!