Desert Favorite By Master Gardener Andrea Meckley

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1 Website of Interest: /publications.html The Conservation District of Southern Nevada has a plethora of informative publications available on-line in.pdf format for reading and printing. My favorite is Soil Much more than just dirt It is a useful guide to help you learn more about managing your soil. Inside this Issue: Nasturtiums 2 Tilling Planting April Planting Planting Herbaceous perennials Planting Table Pyrethrin is an effective and safe pesticide of Northeast Clark County Volume 1, Issue 6 April 2012 Desert Favorite By Master Gardener Andrea Meckley Santa Rita prickly pear cactus (Opuntia violaceae var. Santa-rita ) is the featured plant for April. This attractive cactus is a Sonoran Desert native and is especially common in the foothills of Arizona's Santa Rita Mountains. Purple colored flat round pads on this prickly pear make it a good accent plant or nice addition to a cactus garden. New growth is reddish or purple and mature pads are blue-green. Pads also turn a purple color when stressed by cold or drought. Areoles (small bumps where spines grow) on the pad surface are evenly spaced about 1 inch apart. Spines are usually absent from the face of the pads but found along the perimeter of the pads. Bright yellow flowers along the edges of the purple pads are a sight in the summer. Have caution when planting because this plant has numerous yellow fuzzy-looking glochids (hair-like spines found on the areoles) which can easily detach from the plant causing irritation upon contact. A slow grower, it will eventually form a large clump of segmented pads about 5 feet wide and as high. Santa Rita is a tough plant that can handle the mid to low teens on cold nights and does best in full sun with low volume irrigation. Propagation is easy. Cut large segments or single pads from the mother plant and allow time for callusing of end cut. Then shallowly plant with support until rooted. Consider Santa Rita cactus next time you add to your desert landscape for some color without flowers. 1 P a g e

2 Upcoming Opportunities: Nasturtiums are a gardener's dream! If you are looking for a plant for your garden that will spread like wildfire, produce decorative foliage, have an ocean of brightly-colored blossoms, and be tasty to boot, there is only one that will fit the bill: Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum). They are virtually carefree once established. They will even self-seed and come back the next year in our climate. The Indians of Peru used the leaves as a tea to treat coughs, colds and the flu, as well as menstrual and respiratory difficulties. Being high in vitamin C, nasturtiums act as a natural antibiotic, and were used topically as a poultice for minor cuts and scratches. Nasturtiums are also used in Ayurvedic medicine. The leaves are rubbed on the gums to stimulate and cleanse them. The chopped leaves also make a zesty addition to mayonnaise or vinaigrettes. Keep in mind as the summer sun gets hotter, so does the "pepper" in the nasturtiums. The more sun and heat, the spicier the taste! Not to mention, nasturtium is a great plant to deter squash bugs! Judicious use of tillage Tillage is an integral part of many organic systems. Management of soil tilth, organic matter, and fertility is an important aspect of a successful organic farming system. Current organic systems usually require tillage prior to planting and cultivation after planting, especially for corn and soybean production, to control weeds and reduce the incidence of seedling diseases and insect pests. However, tillage destroys the organic matter that is critical in improving soil fertility and soil water-holding capacity. Tillage should be performed when soil moisture is low enough to prevent compaction. Since primary tillage operations are usually performed at least a month before a crop is planted, this requires careful planning and the ability to take advantage of periods of dry weather. No-till agriculture in organic systems is starting to be used in parts of the country. The Rodale Institute has experimented with no-till organic farming using cover crops and tractormounted rollers to kill the cover just before planting into it. Ron Morse at Virginia Tech and Nancy Creamer at North Carolina State University have been adapting these systems for organic vegetable production. Read complete article at: Master Gardener Help-line Master Gardener Meeting April 4 Chain Saw needed! Call Newsletter article or pictures Planting: Deter Squash Bugs: ~Plant lemon balm in your garden and the dry leaves will deter many bugs. Or, sprinkle lemon balm throughout the garden in an herbal powder mixture to deter squash bugs! Lemon balm has citronella compounds that make this work: crush and rub the leaves on your skin to keep mosquitoes away too! ~Tansy can be used in companion planting for biological pest control in organic gardens and sustainable agriculture. Tansy repels ants, fleas, flies, Japanese beetle, moths, striped cucumber beetles, and squash bugs! 2 P a g e

3 You know you re a Master Gardener if you've given up trying to get the dirt out from underneath your fingernails. April Planting Basil Cantaloupe Carrots Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Jicama Melons Mustard Greens Okra Green onions Peanuts Peppers Potatoes, Sweet Pumpkin Radishes Sunflower Squash Tomato Tomatillo Why it s a good idea to companion plant Many plants have natural substances in their roots, flowers, and leaves that can alternately repel and/or attract insects depending on your needs. In some situations they can also help enhance the growth rate and flavor of other varieties. My experience has shown that using companion planting throughout the landscape is an important part of integrated pest management system. In essence, companion planting helps bring a balanced ecosystem to your landscape, allowing nature to do its job. Nature integrates a diversity of plants, insects, animals, and other organisms into every ecosystem so there is no waste. The death of one organism can create food for another, meaning symbiotic relationships all around. I consider companion planting to be a holistic concept due to the many intricate levels in which it works with the ecology. By using companion planting, many gardeners find that they can discourage harmful pests without losing the beneficial allies. There are many varieties of herbs, flowers, etc. that can be used for companion plants. Be open to experimenting and find what works for you. Some possibilities would be using certain plants as a border or backdrop in your flower or vegetable beds where you have specific needs. Use plants that are native to your area so the insects you want to attract already know what to look for. Plants with open cup shaped flowers are the most popular with beneficial insects. planting can combine beauty and purpose to give you an enjoyable, healthy environment. Have fun, let your imagination soar. There are many ways you can find to incorporate these useful plants in your garden, orchard or flower beds. 3 P a g e

4 Herbaceous perennials Herbaceous perennials are plants that bloom year after year. Their tops die back to the ground each fall, but their crowns and root systems remain alive (though dormant) during winter. They regrow from those roots and crowns when conditions are right the following spring. Unlike annuals, herbaceous perennials usually don't flower their first season when grown from seed. Instead, they channel their energy into their roots to make sure they make it through the winter. Nurseries and garden centers sell established perennial plants that often flower the first season you transplant them into your garden. Perennials have many advantages: They don't have to be planted every year. Once established in a suitable spot, they will come back year after year -- some for decades. Some herbaceous perennials will only thrive if you dig them up every few years and divide the root systems. Each time you do, you turn what was once a single plant into several (or sometimes many) new plants you can replant or share. Perennial gardens are dynamic. They change with the season. Each perennial emerges from the ground, grows, and flowers at its own special time -- some early, some late. Unlike annuals, which usually bloom for a long time, perennials bloom for about 1 to 6 weeks, depending on the species. By carefully selecting plants with a variety of bloom times, your garden will change through the growing season and you'll always have something in flower. In addition to a wide variety of flower colors and forms, many perennials have attractive foliage that adds visual interest even when they are not in flower. Perennials require an investment in either time or money. They are more expensive than annuals if you buy established plants. If you start them from seed, they are slower to mature and flower. When you consider that they come back every year, however, they are a great value. Other plants are also perennials. Trees and shrubs can be incorporated into flower gardens, but they are a different category of plants -- woody perennials. They don't die back to the ground each year, but regrow from live buds on their above-ground stems. Spring-flowering bulbs are a type of herbaceous perennial, but they are usually considered a separate category because they have special needs. Perennial ornamental grasses and ferns likewise require unique practices. Some herbs are herbaceous perennials that can be incorporated into flower gardens. 4 P a g e

5 Biennials are a group of herbaceous plants that fall in the gray area between annuals and perennials. When planted from seed, biennials do not flower their first season. The plants are often low-growing rosettes that are easily mistaken for weeds. Their roots overwinter much like perennials. They flower in their second season (often growing quite tall) and frequently reseed themselves (if you allow the seed to mature), then die. Some common biennial flowers include foxglove, hollyhocks, dame's rocket, and lunaria. The gray area comes because some biennials -- foxgloves, for example -- may flower in their first year grown from seed, just like an annual. Other biennials occasionally overwinter and flower a second year and are often called "weakly perennial." These plants are sometimes lumped in with perennials in catalogs. If you want biennials to reseed and flower in the same spot every year, be sure to plant them there two years in a row. That way, you'll always have some first-year vegetative plants and second-year flowering plants. It's also possible to mistake some prolifically reseeding annuals for perennials, because every year new plants appear where the old plants were the previous season. But it is the seed -- not the roots -- that are overwintering in the soil. Remove seed heads before annuals mature if you want to prevent them from reseeding. 5 P a g e

6 UNCE Denise Stoesser P.O. Box 126 Logandale, NV Phone: (702) Fax: (702) Website: The University of Nevada, Reno is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, creed, national origin, veteran status, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation, in any program or activity it operates. The University of Nevada employs only United States citizens and those aliens lawfully authorized to work in the United States. UNCE P.O. Box 126 Logandale, NV P a g e