Maintenance this Month

MAINTENANCE THIS MONTH- October

CLEAN UP DEBRIS: Rake leaves and fallen fruit and continue weeding. Add weed- and pest-free materials to your compost pile.

FALL FERTILIZER: Switch to a "fall fertilizer", which is lower in nitrogen (N) and higher in phosphorus (P). Using high-nitrogen fertilizers now can lead to a flush of new, tender growth that is susceptible to frost damage.

LAWN MAINTENANCE: There's still time to renovate your lawn. The UC Guide to Healthy Lawns is an excellent place to start. So is the UC "Lawn Watering Guide for California".

LANDSCAPE TREES: Having any tree concerns? Call a certified arborist for help.

Fall is for tree planting!!!

FEED THE SOIL: Compost, the secret to having good soil no matter what you're starting out with (sandy, clayey, etc.) can be added now as a top dressing around plants. In new landscapes, mix compost with the existing soil by digging or tilling. Regular addition of compost is necessary for our area because it breaks down quickly. Those bags of compost you added a couple years ago are probably gone, gone, gone. Go easy on the tilling, though. Over-tilling can create a "plow pan" layer that inhibits water infiltration and can bring dormant weed seeds to the soil surface.

BACKYARD ORCHARD TREES, SHRUBS & VINES: Get variety-specific help on the University of California's The California Backyard Orchard website.

Clean up fallen fruit to avoid pest and diseases.

The following links to the University of California Backyard Orchard care sheets will keep you on track and on your way to a tasty harvest:

Almond	Apple	Apricot	Avocado	Berries
Cherry	Chestnut	Citrus	Fig	Filbert (Hazelnut)
Grape (table)	Kiwifruit	Loquat	Nectarine	Olive
Peach	Pear	Pecan	Persimmon	Pistachio
Plum & Prune	Pomegranate	Quince	Walnut

CITRUS CARE

RECOMMENDED FERTILIZER APPLICATION RATES:

NITROGEN (N): regular application required
1 to 2 year old tree: 2 tablespoons nitrogen fertilizer 3 to 4 times per year or 1/10 lb. nitrogen fertilizer per year
3-year-old tree: 1/4 lb. nitrogen applied to dripline before watering
4+ year old tree: 1 lb. actual nitrogen per tree per year. So, if your nitrogen fertilizer contains 33% actual nitrogen (33-0-0), you will need to apply 3 lbs. Some references recommend dividing applications into thirds, totaling 3 applications per year (early spring, summer and fall). If you follow that recommendation, make sure you avoid feeding oranges and grapefruit during summer to avoid thick rinds, lower juice content and re-greening of Valencia oranges.
PHOSPHORUS (P): 1 lb. phosphate per tree every 3 to 4 years per mature tree
POTASSIUM (K): as needed (deficiency: general leaf pattern begins as a yellowing of the tips and margins, which then gets broader. Necrotic areas and spotting can develop on the leaves) 2.5 to 5 lbs. potassium per mature tree per year for 2 years if deficiency is noted.
MAGNESIUM (Mg): as needed (deficiency noted by yellowing between veins of older leaves followed by dropping.)
ZINC: as needed (deficiency symptom is "mottle-leaf", exhibited by "small terminal leaves with mottling between large leaf veins". Apply late-winter or early spring foliar spray (carefully follow label directions)
IRON: as needed (deficiency symptom is yellowing between large leaf veins... i.e. interveinal chlorosis)
foliar spray (follow label directions)
MANGANESE (Mn): as needed (deficiency: young leaves turn light green between veins, often more noticeable on tree's north side).

Combination "micronutrient sprays" are available at your local nursery if you suspect multiple deficiencies. A specialized citrus fertilizer or "citrus food" likely contains all necessary macro- and micro-nutrients.

References: California Master Gardener Handbook and the following books:

LanceWalheim.com...
This guy literally wrote the book on citrus!

IRRIGATION: Fall rains are here. Turn off sprinklers during rainy periods and on again when we have a dry stretch. The goal is to water as deeply and infrequently as possible. Shallow, frequent watering (i.e. 10 min/day, 7 days/wk) is a no-no because you'll end up with shallow root systems requiring frequent watering and conditions that encourage disease. Also, early morning is the best watering time if you want to discourage heat-loving, water-transported plant pathogens.

Download the free UC publication "Lawn Watering Guide for California". This excellent guide solves the mystery of when to water and how much to apply.

ANNUALS: Replace warm-season annuals with cool-season color.

Avoid purchasing summer color (petunias, marigolds, etc.) unless you need a quick, temporary burst of color for a party or event.

PERENNIALS: Continue deadheading spent flowers. Cut back perennials lightly after they finish blooming.

Feed perennials that are about to bloom.

HERBS: Keep from flowering to redirect energy to leaf production. Do this by pinching or harvesting often!

WEEDS: Maintain weeding diligence (duh, right?). See the UC Weed Gallery for proper identification and the UC IPM Pest Notes for how to manage them. Stay on top of those weeds that germinated with our first fall rains.

PESTS: Visit the fabulous UC IPM website for control measures.

Resume snail patrol!

Here are a few timely links to pest pages:

Slugs & Snails: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7427.html
Mosquitoes: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7451.html
Ants: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7411.html
Earwigs: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74102.html

Want to see what the GOOD GUYS look like?

WE ALL KNOW COMPOST HAPPENS... but is it happening in your yard? Check out Project Compost!