By JoAnne Skelly — My friend Michael Janik, a certified arborist, is a fruit tree wizard. In his monthly newsletter for February, he writes that it is now time to start pruning and/or training young fruit trees. He says this is important for successful fruit planting. His pruning talk for Cooperative Extension’s yearly “Gardening in Nevada” series is on YouTube below.

Michael gets ahead of aphids in fruit trees “by applying a winter application of dormant oil spray.” The oil actually smothers the overwintering aphid eggs. The oil should be applied during mild weather when there will be no precipitation for at least 48 hours. For more information on dormant oil sprays read my Cooperative Extension publication “Horticultural Oils – What a Gardener Needs to Know” by going here.

Not only is Michael a fruit tree specialist, but he’s also an excellent all-around gardener. He writes that he will be starting his peas and fava beans in paper towels after Valentine’s Day. They will get planted once roots have sprouted. If you choose to also start lettuce, cabbages, spinach or kohl rabe indoors, they too can be planted outside in early March.

JoAnne Skelly

Be sure to provide young seedlings protection outdoors if a heavy snowfall or extreme low temperatures are predicted. I like this additional idea of Michael’s “I leave at least one of each variety of lettuce and my cilantro and parsley in place overwinter to go to seed; the seeds drop, come up in the spring, and I transplant those volunteers.” In this way, the plants themselves determine when it’s time to emerge. 

I’m really glad this past week brought significant rainfall. In just two and a half days we had over 2.5 inches at our house in West Washoe Valley. This will take care of trees for at least another month, unless the weather turns unexpectedly warm. I don’t have to haul out the hoses or turn on the irrigation! Less work makes me happy. 

Cooperative Extension’s “Gardening in Nevada Series” held at Bartley Ranch in Reno, is now taking place on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and continues through the end of March. Here is the list of classes: Feb. 18: House Plants; Feb. 25: Fire Adapted Landscape; March 5: Pond/Water Gardening; March 11: Plant Journaling: Getting Started; March 18: The Cut Flower Garden; and March 25: Successful Vegetable Gardening. Register for your FREE tickets here. For more information please call 775-784-4848.

— JoAnne Skelly is an Associate Professor & Extension Educator Emerita at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at skellyj@unr.edu.