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Master Gardener Spring 2010 Training Program
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE) will hold information and registration sessions for the upcoming Spring 2010 Master Gardener Training on Tuesday, November 17 or December 8 from 6-7 p.m. at the UNCE Lifelong Learning Center, 8050 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV 89123. The spring training class begins on February 2, 2010. Classes will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. There are twenty-four classes.
The Master Gardener program teaches sustainable desert gardening practices, including proper plant selection and care, disease and pest management and water-efficient gardening. To become a Master Gardener, an individual must complete 72 hours of horticultural instruction and volunteer 50 hours on community projects each year.
Volunteer projects are on-going at Acacia Park, the Nathan Adelson Hospice and the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. Additional projects include the Doolittle and Lieburn Senior Center Community Gardens, the Master Gardener Orchard and Nellis AFB Environmental Grove.
UNCE Horticulture staff will detail the training program requirements, volunteer commitment and Master Gardener community projects. A $150 fee is due with completed applications; scholarships and payment plans may be available. All interested persons are advised to attend this information session in order to be eligible to enter the Fall Master Gardener class. Reservations may be made by calling Mary Bertsch, Program Assistant, at 702-257-5501 or e-mailbertschm@unce.unr.edu.
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is an outreach arm of the University that extends unbiased, research-based knowledge from the University of Nevada—and other land-grant universities—to local communities. Educational programs are developed based on local needs, sometimes in partnership with other agencies and volunteers. For more information about the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, please visit the website at www.unce.unr.edu.
the WOW factor
using flowers and vegetables
by Leslie Doyle
Las Vegas is a fabulous place to garden. If you’ve heard that it’s hard to garden in Las Vegas you are listening to the wrong people. You can plant vegetables and flowers anytime of the year, but many consider fall, winter and spring the best growing seasons.
Here’s a tip: Choose an area to make a big statement in your landscape, rather than planting spots of color here and there. Choose flowers and veggies that have strong contrasting colors and plant them en masse alongside each other. I call this the WOW factor.
This is how I planted one area: I combined lots of bright green leafy lettuce and dark purple pansies for an edible and bright winter border along the sidewalk to my front door. For a stunning color display I grouped the lettuce plants in a mass about 18 inches wide x 30 inches long and did the same with the pansies. The sidewalk is 30 feet long and is a perfect place for a mass planting. I planted all about 4-6” apart within their mass so they will grow together quickly. Then I alternated the 2 color masses along the length of it – green, purple, green, purple and so on. After I finished transplanting my lettuce I started more seeds inside the house to replace the plants that I eat or that age.
In the spring, about February, my fall planted daffodils will grow up through the lettuces and pansies and signal that soon the white sweet alyssum seeds will begin to grow and bloom; my sidewalk bed will take on another look of yellow and white.
What To Do In The Garden In The Autumn
by Linn Mills
It’s time to rejuvenate the garden after the long, hot, dry summer. Most gardens are ready for a boost and fall is an ideal time to replant. Be sure to visit the Gardens at the Springs Preserve to see what desert plant-life looks like in the fall.
The following are suggestions to make gardening easier for the months ahead:
Trees and Shrubs: Fall is ideal for planting trees and shrubs because the roots have time to anchor themselves. Place trees and shrubs in the ground at the same depth you find them in their containers. Planting too deep kills plants.
Ornamental kale and cabbage: These plants are made for Las Vegas. Get the plants in early for a more dramatic show. Gardeners often want to crowd them but you will have better results if you pace them out so they can fully develop.
Winter color: Don’t miss this opportunity to add color to your yard for the holidays. Imagine how beautiful your petunias, pansies, stocks, calendulas and alyssum will look in a few months for the holidays if planted now.
Bulbs: For the best selection, buy anemones, crocus, daffodils, narcissus, Dutch iris, freesias, hyacinths, ranunculus, scilla, snowdrops and tulips as soon as they appear in nurseries. Our warmer weather dries them out while sitting in the bins and will affect their blooming quality next spring. Store them in a cool place until you’re ready to plant. Hyacinths and tulips are exceptions; refrigerate them in the vegetable crisper six weeks before planting. Label the package, as these bulbs are not the tastiest items.
Roses: Groom roses by pruning out weak twiggy growth and diseased foliage. Rake away debris that may harbor insects or disease from beneath the plant and destroy it. To get larger blooms, fertilize with a complete rose food. Also apply a cup of sulfur and 1/2 cup superphosphate to each plant. Water well to feed the nutrients into the soil.
Winter vegetables: For those who planted their garden in August, begin harvesting. For you procrastinators (you know who you are!), plant yours before Columbus Day. Include lettuce, spinach, chard, mustard greens, parsley, carrots, onions and turnips in your winter garden.
Herbs: Plant the following herbs and they will reward you through the winter: chives, germander, lavender, mint, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme and winter marjoram. Plant them in pots, with perennial flowers, among vegetables or in a traditional herb garden.
Poinsettias: If you have a poinsettia and want it to re-bloom, follow this procedure. Cover it with a cardboard box or place it in a cool closet for at least 15 hours each night until the bracts start to show color. But first, groom the plant back by snipping off the ends of all branches. This stimulates new growth and dozens of shoots where the colorful bracts develop.
Christmas cactus: Here’s how to get your Christmas cactus to bloom for Christmas: In September, water weekly but stop feedings. In October and November, place the cactus in a dark, cool closet for 15 hours each night and water about twice a month. In December, discontinue the dark treatment but maintain even soil moisture and protect the plant from drafts. If flowering does not start, drop the temperature to 50 degrees for a few nights.
Trees and shrubs: Notice the new set of leaves on your plants. Encourage this growth by giving them a shot of fertilizer. Then be a little stingy afterward to force them into dormancy. Nip the new growth early to thicken up the bushes. This will conceal the damaged summer growth.
Insects: Roaches, crickets, black widows and other persistent insects start seeking winter quarters under the influence of shortened days and cooler nights. In their random migrations, these pests congregate along building foundations, as well as in grass and mulched beds adjacent to patios, carports, walks and drives, positioning themselves for a chance to move inside. Head them off by thoroughly spraying such areas with the appropriate insecticide.
Eradicate weeds: Pull up any existing weeds. Make the job easier by watering the infested area the day before. Once weeds set seeds, expect to be hoeing them for years. Spurge produces thousands of seeds you’ll fight for the next decade.
Wildflowers for spring: It’s time to sow wildflowers for next spring. Select a sunny area you will not disturb and spread the seeds. Your nurseries have mixes available
Allergy problems: If pampas grass, tumbleweed and smuts are in the vicinity, they may be causing your allergies. Remove them and clean up the debris. Also replace air conditioning filters.
The 8-acre Gardens at the Springs Preserve are a part of the 180-acre Springs Preserve cultural attraction that features historic museums, galleries, outdoor concerts/events, an interpretive trail system and more. The Gardens are designed to be a creative and innovative learning environment for visitors to explore native and non-native desert-adapted plant life through interpretive stations and hands-on activity, as well as learn about landscaping techniques and different ways to enhance outdoor space with water-smart landscaping. The Gardens are open from 10:00 a.m. to dusk and Dr. Greenthumb’s office is open during that time manned with knowledgeable staff and garden docents to answer your gardening and landscaping questions.
For more information on the Springs Preserve,
visit www.springsprserve.org or call (702) 822-7700.
It’s time to rejuvenate the garden after the long, hot, dry summer. Most gardens are ready for a boost and fall is an ideal time to replant. Be sure to visit the Gardens at the Springs Preserve to see what desert plant-life looks like in the fall.
The following are suggestions to make gardening easier for the months ahead:
Trees and Shrubs: Fall is ideal for planting trees and shrubs because the roots have time to anchor themselves. Place trees and shrubs in the ground at the same depth you find them in their containers. Planting too deep kills plants.
Ornamental kale and cabbage: These plants are made for Las Vegas. Get the plants in early for a more dramatic show. Gardeners often want to crowd them but you will have better results if you pace them out so they can fully develop.
Winter color: Don’t miss this opportunity to add color to your yard for the holidays. Imagine how beautiful your petunias, pansies, stocks, calendulas and alyssum will look in a few months for the holidays if planted now.
Bulbs: For the best selection, buy anemones, crocus, daffodils, narcissus, Dutch iris, freesias, hyacinths, ranunculus, scilla, snowdrops and tulips as soon as they appear in nurseries. Our warmer weather dries them out while sitting in the bins and will affect their blooming quality next spring. Store them in a cool place until you’re ready to plant. Hyacinths and tulips are exceptions; refrigerate them in the vegetable crisper six weeks before planting. Label the package, as these bulbs are not the tastiest items.
Roses: Groom roses by pruning out weak twiggy growth and diseased foliage. Rake away debris that may harbor insects or disease from beneath the plant and destroy it. To get larger blooms, fertilize with a complete rose food. Also apply a cup of sulfur and 1/2 cup superphosphate to each plant. Water well to feed the nutrients into the soil.
Winter vegetables: For those who planted their garden in August, begin harvesting. For you procrastinators (you know who you are!), plant yours before Columbus Day. Include lettuce, spinach, chard, mustard greens, parsley, carrots, onions and turnips in your winter garden.
Herbs: Plant the following herbs and they will reward you through the winter: chives, germander, lavender, mint, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme and winter marjoram. Plant them in pots, with perennial flowers, among vegetables or in a traditional herb garden.
Poinsettias: If you have a poinsettia and want it to re-bloom, follow this procedure. Cover it with a cardboard box or place it in a cool closet for at least 15 hours each night until the bracts start to show color. But first, groom the plant back by snipping off the ends of all branches. This stimulates new growth and dozens of shoots where the colorful bracts develop.
Christmas cactus: Here’s how to get your Christmas cactus to bloom for Christmas: In September, water weekly but stop feedings. In October and November, place the cactus in a dark, cool closet for 15 hours each night and water about twice a month. In December, discontinue the dark treatment but maintain even soil moisture and protect the plant from drafts. If flowering does not start, drop the temperature to 50 degrees for a few nights.
Trees and shrubs: Notice the new set of leaves on your plants. Encourage this growth by giving them a shot of fertilizer. Then be a little stingy afterward to force them into dormancy. Nip the new growth early to thicken up the bushes. This will conceal the damaged summer growth.
Insects: Roaches, crickets, black widows and other persistent insects start seeking winter quarters under the influence of shortened days and cooler nights. In their random migrations, these pests congregate along building foundations, as well as in grass and mulched beds adjacent to patios, carports, walks and drives, positioning themselves for a chance to move inside. Head them off by thoroughly spraying such areas with the appropriate insecticide.
Eradicate weeds: Pull up any existing weeds. Make the job easier by watering the infested area the day before. Once weeds set seeds, expect to be hoeing them for years. Spurge produces thousands of seeds you’ll fight for the next decade.
Wildflowers for spring: It’s time to sow wildflowers for next spring. Select a sunny area you will not disturb and spread the seeds. Your nurseries have mixes available
Allergy problems: If pampas grass, tumbleweed and smuts are in the vicinity, they may be causing your allergies. Remove them and clean up the debris. Also replace air conditioning filters.
The 8-acre Gardens at the Springs Preserve are a part of the 180-acre Springs Preserve cultural attraction that features historic museums, galleries, outdoor concerts/events, an interpretive trail system and more. The Gardens are designed to be a creative and innovative learning environment for visitors to explore native and non-native desert-adapted plant life through interpretive stations and hands-on activity, as well as learn about landscaping techniques and different ways to enhance outdoor space with water-smart landscaping. The Gardens are open from 10:00 a.m. to dusk and Dr. Greenthumb’s office is open during that time manned with knowledgeable staff and garden docents to answer your gardening and landscaping questions.
For more information on the Springs Preserve,
“Me” loves roses! Every bloom I gaze into becomes my favorite variety. Roses are so beautiful, delicate and peaceful – and the adjectives go on and on. In fact, it is so well accepted across this Grand-Ole-Land it is now America’s national floral emblem. This news is still America’s best-kept secret. It is as much a symbol of friendship and peace as the eagle is a symbol of strength and victory.
A Brief History finds rose fossils mentioned before Adam. In 3000 BC, the Sumerians (now Iraq) wrote about the rose, and in 600 BC, it was referred to as the “queen of flowers,” a title carries today. Colonists brought the rose to America making it the longest cultivated European plant in our country. “Modern” rose hybrids date back to 1867, and by 1920 hybrid teas dominated the market, with “Peace” the most popular rose of all time.
Mother’s Day began May 8, 1914, and soon thereafter the rose became the “Queen” of that day. Now on Mother’s Day weekend, Americans buy and plant more roses for their mothers than any other season.
Rose colors have many meanings. Let them be your guide with your next purchase.
Color Meaning of the color
Red Love and respect
Deep Pink Gratitude and appreciation
Light Pink Admiration and sympathy
White Reverence, humility and purity
Yellow Joy and gladness
Orange Enthusiasm and desire
Red and Yellow blends Gaiety and joviality
Pale blend tones Sociability and friendship
It may surprise you to learn what color women like to receive as a gift. A study of women interviewed near UNR campus found that when pushed to think beyond the traditional red, most selected white as their favorite, yellow second, pink third and finally red. Rose growers preferred red, as it is the least likely to become damaged.
Women also preferred short-stemmed roses (12 inches) as they cut them back anyway. It takes about 18 inches of stem and leaves to get a beautiful rose, so growers like long-stemmed roses to eliminate a need for a second pruning.
Fragrance is probably the single most common trait people identify with a perfect rose. Hard to resist, everyone seems to stoop and smell roses. Roses are most fragrant when the sun reaches them in the morning and the blooms begin to open. For a time, hybridizers made the mistake of selecting for beauty rather than fragrance, but they are coming back to aroma. Consider these roses for their fragrance: Amber Queen, America, Arizona, Bonica, Broadway, Chrysler Imperial, Double Delight, Intrigue, Mister Lincoln, Perfume Delight, Sheer Bliss, Sun Flare, Sutter’s Gold, Sweet Surrender, Tiffany, Tropicana, Voo Doo, White and Lightning.
Few other shrubs or perennials bloom as much as roses do and they do it forever. They make any landscape stand out, and there are five types of roses to choose from:
• Floribundas produce clusters of blooms in a wide array of colors. Use them in mass plantings or as a short hedge. I love them in containers for close viewing.
• Climbing roses let you hide unsightly objects such as a dilapidated garage or a split rail fence to become icing on the cake.
• Hybrid tea roses flood my mind anytime someone talks about roses. One bloom per stem makes them the best choice for viewing, cutting and arranging. They attain a height of five-feet, making them ideal for planting anywhere in the garden. They do require a lot of attention, but when in bloom who the #@** cares.
• Grandiflora is a cross between a floribunda and hybrid tea. It brings through the cross a taller, bushier rose that produces clusters of blooms. Hybridizers are now creating blends and bicolors – so look for pleasant surprises in the future.
• Miniature roses: just their names (Little Jackie, and Minnie Pearl) conjure up in my mind images of dainty roses. They get up to two feet tall and flower continuously.
If you are short of space, grow roses in containers. They will turn a sunny balcony, deck, terrace, staircase or indoor window ledge into a bouquet of blooms. Flowerbeds come alive with roses mixed in to create a breathtaking effect, or line a walkway with roses. They really create a great first impression with your visitors. And all roses need at least six hours and good air movement to discourage diseases.
by Linn Mills
“Me” loves roses! Every bloom I gaze into becomes my favorite variety. Roses are so beautiful, delicate and peaceful – and the adjectives go on and on. In fact, it is so well accepted across this Grand-Ole-Land it is now America’s national floral emblem. This news is still America’s best-kept secret. It is as much a symbol of friendship and peace as the eagle is a symbol of strength and victory.
A Brief History finds rose fossils mentioned before Adam. In 3000 BC, the Sumerians (now Iraq) wrote about the rose, and in 600 BC, it was referred to as the “queen of flowers,” a title carries today. Colonists brought the rose to America making it the longest cultivated European plant in our country. “Modern” rose hybrids date back to 1867, and by 1920 hybrid teas dominated the market, with “Peace” the most popular rose of all time.
Mother’s Day began May 8, 1914, and soon thereafter the rose became the “Queen” of that day. Now on Mother’s Day weekend, Americans buy and plant more roses for their mothers than any other season.
Rose colors have many meanings. Let them be your guide with your next purchase.
Color Meaning of the color
Red Love and respect
Deep Pink Gratitude and appreciation
Light Pink Admiration and sympathy
White Reverence, humility and purity
Yellow Joy and gladness
Orange Enthusiasm and desire
Red and Yellow blends Gaiety and joviality
Pale blend tones Sociability and friendship
It may surprise you to learn what color women like to receive as a gift. A study of women interviewed near UNR campus found that when pushed to think beyond the traditional red, most selected white as their favorite, yellow second, pink third and finally red. Rose growers preferred red, as it is the least likely to become damaged.
Women also preferred short-stemmed roses (12 inches) as they cut them back anyway. It takes about 18 inches of stem and leaves to get a beautiful rose, so growers like long-stemmed roses to eliminate a need for a second pruning.
Fragrance is probably the single most common trait people identify with a perfect rose. Hard to resist, everyone seems to stoop and smell roses. Roses are most fragrant when the sun reaches them in the morning and the blooms begin to open. For a time, hybridizers made the mistake of selecting for beauty rather than fragrance, but they are coming back to aroma. Consider these roses for their fragrance: Amber Queen, America, Arizona, Bonica, Broadway, Chrysler Imperial, Double Delight, Intrigue, Mister Lincoln, Perfume Delight, Sheer Bliss, Sun Flare, Sutter’s Gold, Sweet Surrender, Tiffany, Tropicana, Voo Doo, White and Lightning.
Few other shrubs or perennials bloom as much as roses do and they do it forever. They make any landscape stand out, and there are five types of roses to choose from:
• Floribundas produce clusters of blooms in a wide array of colors. Use them in mass plantings or as a short hedge. I love them in containers for close viewing.
• Climbing roses let you hide unsightly objects such as a dilapidated garage or a split rail fence to become icing on the cake.
• Hybrid tea roses flood my mind anytime someone talks about roses. One bloom per stem makes them the best choice for viewing, cutting and arranging. They attain a height of five-feet, making them ideal for planting anywhere in the garden. They do require a lot of attention, but when in bloom who the #@** cares.
• Grandiflora is a cross between a floribunda and hybrid tea. It brings through the cross a taller, bushier rose that produces clusters of blooms. Hybridizers are now creating blends and bicolors – so look for pleasant surprises in the future.
• Miniature roses: just their names (Little Jackie, and Minnie Pearl) conjure up in my mind images of dainty roses. They get up to two feet tall and flower continuously.
If you are short of space, grow roses in containers. They will turn a sunny balcony, deck, terrace, staircase or indoor window ledge into a bouquet of blooms. Flowerbeds come alive with roses mixed in to create a breathtaking effect, or line a walkway with roses. They really create a great first impression with your visitors. And all roses need at least six hours and good air movement to discourage diseases.
Folks everywhere are taking up gardening, and everywhere you look on the news you’ll see backyard crops popping up. From the Whitehouse to the neighbor’s house it seems everyone is getting into the action. Growing your own organic fruits and vegetables not only saves money in a down economy it gives the grower an incredible strength of satisfaction when our families are enjoying the fruits of our labor.
Primrose asked one of our more famous local gardeners for some tips on desert gardening and Leslie Doyle of the “Sweet Tomato Test Garden” gave us some invaluable advice. You know the basic “what you need to know to grow in the desert” Here is her response on a few popular subjects…
“I thought you would like to see how I irrigate several of my desert garden beds.
Using Netafim irrigation hose, which has one pre-installed emitter every 12 inches inside the hose. I place the lengths of hose about 12” apart and I’m burying them 2” deep. This is the newest bed I built and soon the older beds in the garden will be changed over from individual drip emitters to this Netafim irrigation.
With the irrigation buried in the soil the water is directed to the root zone of the plant and the soil surface stays dry . . . unless I over water. This sub-surface drip irrigation causes the roots to grow down into cooler soil, helpful to plants in the hot Mojave Desert. No water is lost to evaporation and the irrigation is not exposed to the desert sun.
Raised bed gardening is much easier in the desert because I can contain my ‘good’ soil and keep it from mixing with the native dirt. I have a soils company mix up a special blend of soil for my raised beds and they dump it in the driveway, from there we wheelbarrow it over to the beds. With this blend of humus rich soil I only need to have it 6 inches deep over our native dirt. The nutrients from it will wick down into the native dirt as the bed is watered and this will help to remediate the native soil below.
This bed is 13 feet x 13 feet; if I was better with math it would have been bigger. I’ll probably have it finished tomorrow and begin planting it with my cool season veggies and my newly hybridized daylilies, (that should have been transplanted in the spring).
After this bed is planted I will have to surface water it with the hose, now and then for a couple of weeks, until the new seedling’s roots grow down to where the irrigation is buried. Right now the new plants have shallow roots and many of their roots are near the surface of the pots . . . they have to be trained down into the new beds before I can let the surface roots dry out.
When the bed fills in with growth it will look similar to these beds, except there won’t be a shade structure installed in it. It is great having a place to sit while I garden . . . another good reason for raised beds.
On Building My “Shaded” Raised Garden Beds
Because I also needed some protection from our desert sun in some of my test beds I installed some “removable” shade cloth. Because these plants bloom better in full sun I only put it on a bed when I am collecting pollen for hybridizing or fertilizing; to protect me from the sizzling desert sun, then I remove it.
This is how I made them: I sewed a pocket seam in the shade cloth and put 1/2” electrical conduit pipe through the pocket – then I hooked the conduit ends under nails hammered into the post. This keeps it tight and the nails can be moved down to tighten it further if the cloth stretches. It also works pretty good as a windbreak. The shade cloth is adjustable up and down and easily removed. Linseed oil was brushed on the redwood to bring out the pretty color. In the desert the linseed oil took several weeks to lose it’s tackiness and a second coat was brushed on the next spring. By the way, rags with linseed oil on them will burst into flames spontaneously if not left out in the open air. Don’t put them into a trashcan until they are totally dried – maybe for days.
I adjust the strips of shade cloth up and down to give shade or sun on either side of the beds by pulling the conduit and hooking it under nails in the posts. This is 60% shade cloth and makes too much shade for full sun flowering plants to bloom when using every strip of cloth for many days at time.
by Leslie Doyle – You can find out more and learn from Leslie’s Test Garden at:
http://www.sweettomatotestgarden.com/
Las Vegas, NV