Signs of Spring & How to Warm Your Soil

A beautiful apple blossom with large king bloom in the middle.  Oh how I am looking forward to spring.

Outside the north wind is blowing and I trudge through ice and snow bundled up as I go feed the goats, chickens, and ducks.  But the day before I was 70 miles south visiting family and it was a beautiful 70 degrees.  I meet fellow gardeners in the garden section of the local nursery with dirt already under their fingernails.  I admired the transplants of broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and kale already in the store and sighed.  Spring has sprung there, but sadly not in New Harmony.

Peach trees in bloom.

Deciding when to plant is a perhaps one of the harder decisions especially to a new gardener or if you have moved to a new location.  

Determining when spring has sprung has more to do with observing natural events than a particular date on a calendar.  The official declaration of spring occurs with the vernal equinox which is around March 21 or 22nd.  This date has no bearing on the appearance of spring for the gardener.  In some areas of the north "spring" won't actually make its appearance until May or June and in the south is may already be too late to plant some crops.  

Pear blossoms

So what does the Spring equinox tell us?  On this day the suns rays fall straight down on the equator.  Around the globe the length of daylight and night are equal.  From then on the hours of daylight will increase.  For many that is reason enough to rejoice.  This day does influence the behavior of animals.  Increasing daylight triggers courtship, migration, and other behaviors.

So how do you determine when spring has arrived?  The temperature of the air is less important to plants than the temperature of the soil.  The only dependable thing about spring is that is is fickle.  It toys with your emotions appearing then quickly retreating.  In our part of the country they say, "If you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes and it will change."  To understand planting schedules it is more important to look at nature herself and the observe when certain indicators begin to "spring" forth.

Early spring bulbs

Some signs of spring:

• Buds swell
• Sap begins to flow
• Appearance of certain insects
• Appearance of certain birds
• Spring bulbs emerging
• Emergence of weeds
• And the smell of the soil warming.

Emerging tulips are a welcome sign of spring.

Warming Soil

I want to focus the last one-  warming soil. Why is soil temperature important?

As the temperature of the air rises and sunlight increases it begins to warm the soil.  This warming of the soil awakens the living organisms in your soil.  Microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and protozoa come alive and restart the process of decomposing organic matter. This process of decay is what will make your soil rich in nutrients and gives it the earthy smell that gardeners love.  Earth worms migrate up  when the soil is frost free eating their way through soil, aerating as they tunnel, and depositing castings which enrich the soil.  During winter months or drought the earthworm burrows deep in the soil, encases itself in slime, and "hibernates" until the soil warms and there is moisture.

What The Gardener Should Do

This is why I feel it is important to add organic matter in the form of compost and aged manures in the garden in the fall.  You want organic matter available for these organisms in early spring.  It is the food source of soil organisms and combined with the warming sun will awaken the soil food web essential to organic gardening.  I add additional compost again in transplant holes along with and organic dry fertilizer.

The minimum temperature that seeds of cool season crops can germinate is 40 degrees. Temperatures of 50 and up will ensure faster germination and steady growth.  Note these soil temperature are for cool season crops.  The summer crops need much warmer soil temperatures and not risk of frost or freezes.

It is possible to assist nature in warming your soil.

Build Your Soil

 A sandy loam soil with organic matter will warm more quickly than a heavy clay soil.  

Raised Beds

Soil in a raised bed warms more quickly than bare ground.

Raised Beds

Plastic Mulches

Plastic mulches can be used to warm the soil.  For northern gardeners they can be used to warm the soil to get an earlier start on melons, tomatoes, and peppers.  Stretch the plastic mulch tightly across the bed and secure the edges.  I recommend using a plastic mulch specifically for gardening.  Black or clear plastic do NOT allow for the movement of air and water and are used more for solarizing the soil or killing weed seeds.  

Hoop Houses or Low Tunnels

Low tunnels used in early spring will help you get a head start.  Low tunnels increase air temperature during the day and retain heat at night.  An additional row cover can be placed over plants under the low tunnel.  They are inexpensive to build and easy to remove and relocate.

Row Covers

Constructing Low Tunnels

Early spring crops grown under a low tunnel.

You can see row covers in the background and a low tunnel.  Both allow you to plant earlier.

Cold Frames

Cold Frames are a bottomless box of glass or plastic placed over an existing bed.  They are more expensive and you must monitor the inside temperature more closely because they offer more protection from frost and heat up more readily than a row cover.

Hot Caps

Hot caps cover individual plants creating a mini greenhouse.  They are an options if you have only a few plants to protect which is rarely the case in my garden.

Word of Caution

For those of you that are like me and get spring fever in February whenever the sun shines and snow melts and seed packets arrive in the mail, be gentle with spring soils.

Seed packets will say to plant as soon as soil can be worked.  So what does that mean?

Because spring soil has a lot of moisture in it, the soil compacts easily.  Every time you step on your garden soil your weight squeezes out the air and when the moisture evaporates it drys into a hard clod.  Even hoeing or turning a wet soil can compact the soil particles together.  While weed seeds don't seem to mind hard compacted soil, garden seeds are more particular.

So when is it OK to "work the soil?"  Grab a handful of dirt from your garden beds, squeeze it, then open up your hand.  If the ball of soil crumbles on its own or crumbles when you poke it then go ahead and work compost and dry organic fertilizer into the soil.  If you have sticky mud ball then wait for the soil to dry out. 

Organic Fertilizer 

When working the soil in open ground and if you cannot avoid walking on your soil, lay boards out on the garden soil to distribute your weight.  It is a better option to have specific paths to walk on and avoid walking in your planting areas at all.  

"When a spadeful of earth crumble, the plows may be started, but not while the spade comes out of the ground smeared."  John P. Morton & Co.  Western Farmers' Almanac 1884

Choosing a Garden Site: Gardening Basics Series #1

So  you want to garden?  Not sure where to begin?  This will be a series of posts with simple steps to establishing a garden.  Each post will focus on one topic and if you follow these steps you will be prepared to garden this spring.

Choosing your garden site

• Gardens do best when they get 6-8 hours of sunlight.  Late afternoon shade is fine. Visit different sites on your property at different times of the day.
• Consider a site with protection from the wind whether from natural wind breaks or a fence.
• You need easy access to water in the garden.  Plan on putting a water spigot in the garden.
• Choose a site close to your house with easy access.  Nobody likes to hike to the garden.
• Avoid micro climates... planting in a low spot where cold air sinks or where too much reflective sunlight exists from a  solid concrete fence, windows, or nearby structures
• Avoid any area with heavy clay or poor water drainage which is a sign of clay.  If water pools and drains slowly after a rain avoid these areas. 
• Pick a place where you can visually see your garden from the house and will be able to enjoy it
• Since you just might love gardening, choose an area that can be expanded.
• Consider what you want to grow.  Most crops do better in raised beds.  Raised beds make garden chores easier and gardening more rewarding.  Crops that do well plantied in field situation are corn, potatoes, melons, and pumpkins however raised beds can also be used for these crops.  Considering what you want to grow will help you determine the size of your garden.

• If deer or rabbits are a problem in your area consider a fence. Be sure to plan on a gate that is wide enough for a wheel barrow or tractor.  A 7 or 8 foot fence is needed to keep deer out with rabbit fencing 4 feet up.  This will be your biggest expense.

Ok this seems easy enough.  Your assignment or challenge is to 

• Choose a site and  review the list above to be sure you have thought of everything
• Determine the size of your garden. Most raised beds are 4x8 or 3x8, you need walking paths wide enough for a wheel barrow, a bench or work area, and consider a sitting area to enjoy the garden.  Another consideration is putting a garden shed in the garden to store supplies.
• Make a plan to get water to the site 
• Fence the garden to control the local wildlife

I would love to hear your questions and about your progress. 

Applying Dormant Oil

As a few warm days sneak in, it's the perfect time to get work done in the orchard and yard and enjoy the sunshine.  The first chores in the orchard are pruning and applying horticultural or dormant oil.

Horticulture oil is the proper term for dormant oil.  It can be used as a dormant oil or a light summer oil.

Despite the fact that we call it “dormant oil”, the timing of a horticultural oil spray is not when trees are still dormant.  A better term would be a “delayed-dormant” because the oil should be applied after bud swell which results from the sap beginning to flow.  

This just happens to coincide with the increased activity of the overwintering insect, such as aphid eggs, scale nymphs, and peach twig borer larvae.  The oil smoothers insect eggs and larvae.  It is effective against aphids leafhopper nymphs, mealybugs, mites, plant bug nymphs, psyllids, sawfly larvae, scale, thrips and the early stages of caterpillars.

 A young apple tree pruned and ready to spray.  This is a heritage variety:  Ashamed Kernel a cooking apple.

When to Spray

There are a few factors  to consider when determining the right time to spray: the bud stages of your fruit trees and temperature.

Peach blossoms at pink tip stage.

Bud Stages

The window for application extends from bud swell to when leaves just start emerging. The last point at which you can safely apply oil is:

• apple: half-inch green (ideally, application is made at green tip stage)
• pear: cluster bud
• apricot:  up to first bloom
• cherry: white bud
• peach/nectarine: pre-bloom (when the pink shows through the bud)

(Information from USU Extension)

Here is a link to pictures of the bud stages to help you identify what stage your buds are in.  It also includes information on critical temperatures for frost damage.

Bud Stages

Plum tree blossoms already opening do not spray when flowers are blooming.

Temperature

When using horticulture oil, the air temperature is important.  Horticultural oil should on be applied when the night time temperature will not be dropping below 45 degrees F.  This gives a 24 hours period of appropriate temperatures.

After pruning these blackberries,
I will spray them with dormant oil.

Types of Horticulture Oil

The active ingredient in organic dormant spray or horticulture oil is cotton seed oil. When the oil is dry it does not harm beneficial insects. 

 Non organic sprays may be petroluem based. 

This is a nanking cherry I pruned as a small tree.
Beautiful in full bloom.

Summary of Horticultural Oil Application

• Trees need to be in the proper bud stages before spraying.  This is when the sap begins to flow and buds swell.

• The temperature will stay above 45F for 24 hours

•  Horticulture oil can be used as a light summer spray directly on foliage or as a dormant oil on the bark of ornamentals, berries, shade, and fruit trees.  The application rate is different for each use so follow manufactures instructions.

• When spraying apple trees, if fire blight is a problem you can add copper
• Make sure you thoroughly cover all cracks and crevices.  These harbor insects. This oil works by smothering insects and eggs so there must be direct contact with the spray.

Apricots are always to impatient to bloom and usually freeze.

Spring Orchard Chores

Get to know your buds!  I mean the buds on your orchard trees.  The stage of the bud will determine what to do in your orchard to have a healthy, productive harvest.

March and April Chores

In March and April the buds are in the dormant stage and  progressing to the delayed dormant stage.  In dormant stage, the buds are tightly closed.  It is a very easy stage to identify.  Specific tasks should be done at this stage.

Dormant Stage Chores:

• Prune apples and pears.  Remove dead, diseased, and crossing branches.  Prune to allow light in.
•  
• Pruning Apples and Pears
• 
  
• Prune tart cherries.  Remove dead, diseased and crossing branches.  Use heading cuts to shorten lengthy branches

While pruning watch for signs of fire blight.  This appears as dead leaves that did not fall from the tree on terminal  tips that are bent in a shepherd's hook shape. Trim 10" below this and clean pruners with clorox wipes after pruning.

Delayed Dormant stage of buds will occur at different times for each fruit.  It includes the stages when the sap begins to flow and the buds begin to swell.  It also includes some stages beyond this depending on the type of tree.

Apples:  Silver Tip, Green Tip, Half Inch Green
Pears:  Swollen Bud, Bud Burst, Green Cluster
Peaches:  Swollen Bud, Calyx Green, Quarter Inch Green, First Pink
Cherries:  Swollen Bud, Bud Burst, Tight Cluster
Apricot:  Swollen Bud

Click on the link below to see picture of the bud stages.  Basically it is when buds swell and begin to open but are not fully open.

Pictures of Bud Stages

Delayed Dormant Chores:

• Prune peach, apricot, nectarine, plum, and sweet cherry
• All fruit trees need to have an application of horticulture oil or dormant oil.  This is the 1st spray of the season.  Any woody shrub of landscape tree can also be sprayed.  Read the link below to learn when to spray. Spraying is timed so that it coincides with emerging insects.

Applying Dormant Oil

Pests that Dormant oil targets:

• In apple and pears - Green apple aphid, rosy apple aphid, blister mites, San Jose scale
• In peach, nectarine, apricot and plum- Green peach aphid, leafcurl plum aphid, peach tree borer
• Cherry-  black cherry aphid

Each fruit trees has a specific aphid that attacks that tree.  Eggs of aphids overwinter around the the buds.  Eggs hatch is in spring and feed on buds and leaves.  Large infestations cause the leaves to curl and if you uncurl the leaves you can see the tiny aphids.  Around June the aphids develop wings and leave your fruit trees for weeds and other host plants.

Blister mites feed within the leaves all season long.  Mites over winter on the bud scales and hatch at bud swell.  By petal fall, the mites lay their eggs and their feeding produces blisters which provide shelter for the mites. 

San Jose scale is an odd insect that is immobile its entire life.  They have a stylet that pierces the tissue to feed on plant tissues.  They overwinter on the bark and over 200 crawler can hatch from a given female.  This is the only stage the insect is mobile.  Large infestations can weaken and eventual kill limbs.

Peach twig borer that affects peaches, nectarines, and apricots overwinters on the bark as a larvae.

Dormant or horticulture oils target these pest by suffocating the eggs or larvae of these pests.

Fertilizer Applications if Needed

All fruits trees could use a soil application of chelated iron if iron chlorosis has been a problem in past years.  It is important to apply it now in and in chelated form.  Spread dry form around the drip line of the tree.  Peaches are especially vulnerable to iron chlorosis.

Apply a nitrogen fertilizer if you had less than 8" of new growth the previous season.  I apply a balance dry organic fertilizer for fruit trees and azomite.   I do not end up doing this every year/. 

Soil test if you have concerns about other deficiencies. I personally have not done this because my trees have been healthy and thriving but if you feel that you are doing everything right and the trees are not thriving it might be good to have a soil test.

Be sure your water wells extend to the drip line of the tree.

Spread a compost around the tree and you are setting the stage for a healthy, productive harvest. This is very important for the health of your tree.  If you are applying a dry organic fertilizer, apply the fertilizer first then the compost.  Of course, in Utah,  spring is fickle and the threat of a late frost or even snow is still there.

Where Does the Fruit Grow? Identifying Apple and Pear Buds

    

Flowers of Apples and Pears

Early spring means pruning season. Pruning is probably one of the least understood aspects of maintaining a home orchard and the most difficult to learn. I decided to start with apples and pears because they should be the first fruit trees you prune and they have similar flower and bud development.
 

Recognizing where the flowers and fruit develop on the different fruit trees is important. The location of buds and bud developments will determine how that tree is pruned.

There are two types of buds on fruit trees- terminal and lateral. Apples and and pears flower and fruit for the most part on terminal buds. A terminal bud is located on the tips of a shoot and is also called the apical bud. A lateral bud develops at the base of a leaf along the shoot.
 

Buds in apples and pears can develop on the ends of terminal shoots longer than 4 inches or on shorter shoots less than 4 inches which are called spurs. Spurs only grow a very small amount each year. They are slow to develop taking two years. Fruiting the second year. 

In the first year the bud is formed as either a lateral or terminal bud. If the bud is terminal, it may or may not flower . Lateral buds formed the first year may produce a flower, but the fruit that develops is usually small. Normally, the lateral bud thickens and grow only a small amount. It is on its way to developing as a spur. Those spurs then produce buds and fruit the second and third year.
 

Spur and terminal buds of both kinds can have both flower and vegetative parts with the bud. What that means is that the bud produces both flowers and leaves. Buds can produces any where from 5-8 flowers and a similar number of leaves.
 

Pruning will affect the amount and type of buds that form on fruit trees. The goal of pruning is to encourage the tree to produce fruiting wood. Trees can be over vigorous due to improper pruning or over fertilizing both of which will result in fewer flower bud developing and less fruit.

How to Identify Apple and Pear Fruit Buds

Being able to identify buds will enable you to prune to achieve an optimal harvest. It will also enable you to determine how that particular cultivar can be trained, espalier etc.
 

Fruit trees produce two types of buds: 

Fruit buds contain flowers that when pollinated become fruit.
 

Wood or growth buds develop into new shoots and leaves but no flowers. Growth buds finish developing after the developing fruit.

Being able to identify fruiting buds will ensure you do not prune off the fruiting wood and thus have no harvests.

Fruit buds

By November a plump, round bud will have formed which contains the flowers that will appear the following April and May. The bud scales on fruit buds are soft and fuzzy on apples, pears, peaches and nectarines. In summer, fruit buds are often surrounded by a cluster of leaves.

Wood or growth buds

Wood or growth buds which carry leaves but no flowers are slender, pointed buds found in a leaf axil. These buds are usually much smaller and more less noticeable than fruit buds.

This is a good picture of the king bud on an apple tree.  All the flowers have the potential to become fruit.  If undamaged the center king bloom is usually the fruit left on the tree after thinning because of its potential to develop the largest fruit.

Tip Bearers versus Spur Bearers
 
Apple and pear cultivars fall into three categories according to where the fruit bud is produced. They can be spur-bearers, tip-bearers, and partial tips bearers. The majority of pears are spur bearers. Apples can be tip or spur bearers.

• Spur-bearers produce fruit buds on two-year-old wood, and as spurs (short, branched shoots) on the older wood. 

• Tip-bearers produce very few spurs. Fruit buds are found at the tips of long shoots produced the previous year.

• Many apple cultivars are partial tip-bearers, producing fruit on the tips of the previous year's shoots and also on some spurs. 

 So head out to your orchard and look at each apple and pear tree.  Identify the fruit buds and growth buds.  Identify the spur bearers and tip bearers.  If you are able to do this you are ready to prune. 

Pruning Apples and Pears

Proper pruning increase the harvest.  The white powder is Kaolin clay an organic insect deterrant.

The goal of pruning is to improve the health, fruit yield, and appearance of the tree. 

When to prune:  Before the buds swell.  This is when the tree is dormant.  Late winter or early spring is ideal.

Three easy steps to pruning:

1.  Health and Healing

Prune out all diseased, dead, and damaged branches.  Prune out any branches that cross or rub.

No dead or diseased but lots of crossing and rubbing branches.

2.  Heading cuts:  

Purpose:  Heading cuts are designed to control the height of the tree and encourage branching off the main limbs.

 

Procedure:  With a heading cut, part of a shoot is  removed by cutting 1/4 inch above a lateral bud leaving behind a stub. Heading cuts stimulate growth of buds or branching below the cut because apical dominance has been removed.

 Another variation of the heading cut is to cut back to a lateral shoot instead of just a bud.  Choose a lateral branch that is directed outward and upward with a good angel and make cut just above that branch.  Less growth is stimulated by this type of cut. (Pruning Fruit Trees by Mark S Burnell)

This is a standard tree.  The canopy will be headed back by 10-20% to control the height.  I don't have a fence around my orchard so I don't want my trees too short or the deer get the harvest not me.

3.  Thinning Cuts

Purpose:  Thinning is necessary because fruit trees produce too much new growth which shades lower wood and will reduces flower bud formation and fruit development.  

The goal of thinning is to:

1.  Reduce crowding
2.  Increase air circulation
3.  Allow for sunlight to penetrate to lower parts of the tree

 Thinning cuts are also used to establish the main scaffold branches by removing unwanted lateral branches when the tree is young and being trained.
(Pruning Fruit Trees by Mark S Burnell)

Procedure:  Thinning cuts remove entire shoots, leaving no stub behind.

  When thinning branches, the angle of the branch will be the factor that determines whether to remove the branch or leave the branch.  The ideal branch angle is between 45 and 60 degrees.  

Branches with this angle will develop into very strong branches that can bear the weight of the fruit.  

Branches with a narrow angle, less than 45 degrees, can be bent down to the proper angle when they are young and flexible, using toothpicks, sticks, clothespins, or by tying them down.  Branches at a narrow angle that have hardened and can’t be bent are probably best removed.
(Pruning Fruit Trees by Mark S Burnell)

Thinning cuts are also used to thin out crowded spur systems. They should be 4-6 inches apart.

Too many vigorous shoots thinning needed.  The spurs on underside of  the branch can also be removed because they will be shaded.

Still a little unsure?  Here is a step by step process suggested by the Royal Horticulture Society:

To start with

• Always use sharp bypass pruners, loppers and a pruning saw
• Start by removing crossing, rubbing, weak, dead, diseased, damaged and dying branches

Then

• Shorten the previous year’s growth on each main branch  by about one third to a bud or branch facing in the required direction. This will encourage the development of new branches and spurs and maintain a good shape 

• Leave young laterals (side-shoots) unpruned so they can develop fruit buds in the second year 

• Only remove the young laterals if they are crossing or if the growth is too crowded, i.e. growing closer 4-6 inches at the base 

• Remove strong shoots 6in  growing towards the center of the tree 

• On older trees, remove/thin out any spur systems that have become congested. Where thinning or removal is required, remove spurs on the underside of the branches, where the developing fruit will not receive enough light, and produces inferior fruit (Royal Horticulture Society)

This apple variety Sungold seems to have a very upright growth habit.  It's best to spread limbs when the tree is young.  I did not do that, but suggest that training trees the first few years makes pruning easier and is less complicated and discouraging than correcting a mature tree. 

Problems

Watershoots

As sections of the branch framework are removed the pruned tree is likely to produce watershoots - which are tall, upright branches, that produce no flowers or fruit. By only removing 10-20% of the canopy per year fewer watershoots will be produced.

If watershoots arise, there is no need to remove all of them but they will need thinning out;

• Consider if any strong, well placed watershoots may be used for as replacement branches in the future and tip prune them by about a quarter to an outward facing bud to encourage branching 

• If well placed and not causing congestion of the crown, leave some of the weaker (thinner and less upright) watershoots unpruned. They may produce fruit buds and act as secondary branches 

• Remove any remaining water shoots 9 inches or more in length at the point of origin

 

• If you spot new watershoots, rub them off during the growing season as they appear

Avoid giving your trees a "hair cut"

 I cringe when I see tree topped off.  It looks like you took a chain saw to the tree and cut off the top.  So very sad.  

When this is done you will have a thicket of young growth shot up from each cut.  It will be non fruiting wood that will have to be removed each year.  Not a healthy practice for the tree or the pruner. 

Pruning is one area that I did not take the time to learn properly when I planted my orchard.  I did not train my trees when they where young because I didn't understand the purpose of pruning and how essential it is to having  larger yields and well sized fruit.  Also with apples lack of pruning will result in biennial fruit bearing and very small fruit.  So take the time to read and learn from experienced people in your area, the extension office, and other resources.  Managing an orchard is a lot of work but the harvests are worth it!