planting: Tulare and Kings counties can be planted year-round, but most plantings are usually delayed until the (relatively) warm days of mid-to-late February. The exception is bare-root plantings. Here are some tips:
Bare root fruit trees are now available. Check pollination requirements. Not all fruit trees are capable of self-pollination, and some require a cross pollinator. Note the number of cooling hours required. Our winters average 700-800 hours cold.
There are bare-root roses – hybrid teas, floribundas, climbers, miniatures and shrubs. Everything is going very well in the San Joaquin Valley.
Bearute Berries and Grapes – Plant grape vines, sugar cane, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.
You can also plant beets, carrots, chives, lettuce, onions, parsley, radishes, seed potatoes, onions, peas, radishes, spinach, artichokes, and asparagus directly in your garden this month. Start seeding summer annuals and vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers in a sheltered area with plenty of light. You may also want to sow wildflower seeds in a weed-free area. Wildflower seeds love my gravel roads, so I allow volunteers to move along the edges and leave room for vehicles.
Maintain: There’s not much to do in January, but there are some chores you can do perfectly this month. One of them is to spray roses, deciduous flowering trees and deciduous fruit trees with winter horticultural oils to smother overwintering insects such as spider mites, scales, mealybugs and peach twig borers. Spray branches, crotch, trunk, and the ground below the tree’s drip line. Avoid spraying if rain is expected or temperatures are below 45°C. Do not spray oil on walnut wood. If you didn’t spray your peach or nectarine trees in November or December due to peach leaf curl, spray them with a copper-based or synthetic fungicide now. If you’re lucky enough to be free of these specific pests, you don’t need to apply garden oil, but if you’ve had a problem every spring, summer, or fall, take proactive action now and keep your trees and roses together. Stay healthy all year round.
Another major activity in January is pruning deciduous trees, shrubs and roses. Keeps pruners and loppers sharp. Sterilize the pruners or loppers between plants. Use 10% bleach or white vinegar. First, remove all broken, diseased or crossing branches. In general pruning, his two basic cutting techniques are used: thinning and heading. Thinning removes entire branches for a more natural look. Thinning is also used to give more air circulation and light to the interior of the tree and is the first cut to make. We want to create a well-balanced and well-structured tree. Heading cuts shorten branches and should only be used on small branches. Use heading cuts judiciously to shorten branches that are too long. If you want to keep your tree small, you can remove about a quarter of the previous season’s growth with these new little branches. Please prune from the bottom up and from the inside of the plant to the outside. Don’t be too nervous. A healthy tree recovers and regenerates.
Apply preemergence herbicides to warm season weeds. Read and follow the package instructions carefully. If chemical weed control is not used, do so lightly until young seedlings are weeded frequently.
Monitor or turn off the irrigation controller if you have not already done so. Use deep water for long dry periods, but if you don’t need water, don’t waste the water and all the energy it takes to get to your sprinkler or drip emitter.