March timely tips
By ROBERT N. BREWER, JR Extension Service Agent UGA

Fruits and Vegetables

+ The optimum time to prune all fruit trees is just before bloom. Pruning allows the tree to direct nutrients to branches that will bear high quality fruit. The objective is to remove dead, diseased, or damaged wood. Also, remove shoots that are growing straight up or down, as neither provides good fruit development. Growth crisscrossing the center of the tree should be removed as well. A more open tree allows light penetration and air circulation, thereby increasing fruit quality and reducing disease and insect pressure.

+ Don't turn under grass and weeds to plant strawberries. Enough old growth will survive to compete with the young plants, making for a weedy mess. There is increased danger of grubs in such locations.

+ For your first raspberry patch, think small; 6 to 10 plants will do for a start. Since raspberries send out underground runners which can be invasive, you may want to sink an 8- to 12-inch sheet of metal vertically around the planting.

+ Before planting a backyard orchard, map out the site, giving particular attention to air and water drainage. Avoid frost pockets, areas where cold air gathers, or you may be disappointed year after year when flower buds freeze and drop. Good water drainage is also important for good tree growth. If drainage is questionable, drainage tiles or land reformation by be required for productive fruit trees. Shallow soils may require irrigation.

+ Spring applications of pesticides should be made on peaches, apples and pears. Correct timing for spraying depends on the stage of development of flowers.

+ Weed control is one of the most time-consuming, yet most important, practices in any fruit planting. Young strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes and fruit trees all suffer if weed growth is uncontrolled. Peach trees, of all the fruit trees, suffer the most from weed competition. Mulching helps control weeds.

+ What you plant is what you get with potatoes. When you plant Aseed@ potatoes (pieces of potato tuber), there is no true seed that may have been cross pollinated. So you can plant different varieties side-by-side in your garden and rest assured that each will produce the type of potato expected.

+ Plan your garden. Remember, it takes at least two hours per week to care for a 20 x 50-foot garden, not including harvesting and planting.

+ The lure of new varieties, colors, or yields often is hard to resist. Try a new type on a small scale until the plant has proven itself in your particular soil and climate. All-American Selections are always good to try.

+ Don't dig too far down when planting asparagus crowns. Yields improve dramatically when crowns are set at a depth of 5 to 6 inches - not the commonly advised 12 inches. Contrary to the standard practices of deep planting and not harvesting for up to three seasons, recent studies show that harvesting shallow-planted asparagus after the first year boosts yields 40 percent over three years.

+ Lettuce is very sensitive to low pH. Lime should be applied to the soil if the pH is below 60.

+ If your garden is on a hillside, plant across the slope (not up and down) to help hold moisture in the soil and reduce erosion.