Wendy Pettit

How to Choose an Apple Tree in Utah

September 21, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

Fall is a wonderful time to plant trees and the apple tree is one of the easiest fruit trees to grow. Surprisingly, how to choose an apple tree is easy to learn as well. Learn these three basic criteria as you prepare for this investment. Nearly all apple trees require a second variety close by in order to pollinate. So as you are considering, be sure to have a first and second choice.

How to Choose an Apple Tree – 3 Criteria:

Right SIZE – Choose the right size of tree for your space. You need to look at your space and maybe even measure the space so you know what you are purchasing.
Right VARIETY – Type of fruit desired. Do you want fresh eating apples, or just cooking apples? You will be investing time and effort into you tree, so they may as well be apples that will please you and serve your purpose.
Right TIME – When does it flower and when is harvest time. Apples require a second variety to cross-pollinate, therefore you want 2 apples trees that will bloom about the same time.

SIZES of Trees:

Standard size tree – can grow to 25-30 feet tall along Wasatch Front with a spread of 25-30 feet. You need a large area for the standard size tree. Standard trees take 4-8 years to produce mature fruit. These trees are very good in cold-climates, but be ready to prune every year.
Semi-dwarf (sometimes called half-standard) – can grow 12-15 feet tall along the Wasatch Front and same width if not pruned. This tree will have mature fruit in 3-5 years.
Dwarf or Genetic Dwarf tree or Bush trees – Can grow 6-10 feet tall along the Wasatch Front and just as wide. These trees produce mature fruit in 3-4 years.
Others: There are several other types of fruit trees. These would include espalier and columnar. See your local experts at the neighborhood nursery for what will grow in your area and for availability.

Nearly all semi-dwarf and dwarf or bush trees are grafted. Growers graft or attach the desired fruiting branch to a “rootstock” trunk. The rootstock determines how big your tree will get. Shopping your reputable local garden nursery will ensure that you are buying a quality product – good grafting onto a quality rootstock. There are different rootstocks for different areas. Your local nursery experts will only sell what will work here along the Wasatch Front, versus a big company back east somewhere that orders for their stores throughout the country.

VARIETY of Fruit:

There are literally over 7000 apple varieties. Obviously many more than what you find at the local grocery market. Visiting a good local farmers market can expose you to other varieties you can taste before you make an investment into your own tree.

Click HERE to see a basic break down of the more popular varieties and their best uses.

Remember that your tree is your investment, so you want to produce something you will use and enjoy for years and years to come. Apples trees can live as long as 60 years or more.

TIMES for Blooming:

As mentioned above, nearly all apples need a pollinator apple tree in the general area. If you have neighbors that have apples trees, planting one in your yard should still give you plenty of harvest. But if you are the only one, then you may need to plant two different varieties of apples. For example, in commercial orchards, farmers often plant some golden delicious apple trees along with their main crop. Golden Delicious trees are known to be good pollinators. Be sure to choose two varieties that overlap their flowering time.

Midseason bloomers:

Crimson Beauty
Gala
Jonamac
Jonathan
McIntosh
Golden Delicious
Jonagold
and others

Late bloomers:

Fuji
Granny Smith
Rome Beauty
Winesap
and others

Poor pollinators: Jonagold and Winsesap (plus a few more), are considered poor pollinators. Don’t plan on them being your pollinating tree.

Hardiness and Cold Requirements: Be sure to check at your local garden center for those varieties that are actually hardy for your area. You need to choose an apple tree that will survive your climate year round. And on the other hand, realize that apples require a certain amount of cold temperatures to have the sugars set and the fruit to ripen properly. If the fruit doesn’t get the required coldness, the fruit will be a disappointment for all the time and effort you’ve put into your harvest.

For example, my parents planted a Red Delicious apple down south in the area of St. George, Utah. The fruit grew but never turned red and always had a mealy texture and flavor. The fruit never was like their Red Delicious apples from their trees up in northern Utah. The tree eventually was cut out.

Conclusion:

Now you know the basic criteria for how to choose an apple tree. You need to consider the right size of tree, the right type of apple, and the right blooming time for good pollination. What a great investment for your yard, yourself, and your family!

In future posts, we will go through proper planting procedures, learn about any pest control needed, and how and when to properly prune your tree. Soon you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Check out these recipes for apple goodies (submitted by Western Garden patrons):

Simple Apple Chips and Apple Pie Filling

Simple Applesauce and Apple Butter

utah gardening to-do list in April

April 2, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

Feeling overwhelmed with so much to do in your yard? Wondering where to start? lawn? vegetable garden? flower beds? Check out our helpful Utah Gardening To-Do List in April for the Wasatch Front in Utah. If you live in a similar growing season, this list can work for you too.

Realize that you may not need to do everything on this list; skip over those that do not apply to your yard.

Take the entire month to do the list. None of us can do it all in one day off. Enjoy the process of being out in your yard and digging in the soil. In other words, stop to smell the roses or other blooms this month.

If you need some inspiration, stop by your local independent garden center like Western Gardens in West Valley or Salt Lake City. We would love to show you our #1 quality material, expert knowledge, and friendly personal service to inspire and help you be a satisfied and successful gardener. Your success is our success.

Press HERE for the April Gardening To Do List.

Here are a few blooms at Western this last week.

Drop in and see more!

Wheat Grass Easter Eggs – Kids Project

March 28, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

Welcome Friends! Glad you dropped in.

This Wheatgrass Easter Egg is a great kid craft to do anytime in the spring, not just for Easter. It is inexpensive and easy to make – even little 3 year-old hands can do this; customizable to whatever you have – plastic egg, bucket, basket, whatever; quick and fun to do – who doesn’t like to play in the dirt; and very gratifying within a few days – children observe the growing seeds. If you want to do this for the holiday, you need to think ahead about 1 1/2 weeks. Easter changes every year, so be sure to check the calendar!

SUPPLIES:

» Leak-proof Easter container – pail, bottle, cup, plastic-lined basket, etc. (I’m using a large plastic easter egg I found at my local dollar store. It came with a lid.)

» Plastic wrap or plastic lid

» Potting soil or vermiculite (I used potting soil from my last year garden pots.)

» Whole-wheat grain (I used 30 year old wheat I had in my food storage.)

» Water

Items needs for making wheatgrass easter egg project.

Soil, whole wheat grain, container, plastic wrap or cover, and water. That’s it!

Wheatgrass Easter Egg INSTRUCTIONS:

1. One to two weeks before Easter, fill container with soil or vermiculite to 1-2 inches below the top of the rim. Gently pat down.

Little by little putting soil in to within 1-2 inches of rim.

Gently pat soil. (You can talk or sing to it too if you want!)

Don’t have to get all dirty!

2. Sprinkle a layer of wheat over the soil.

Sprinkling wheat grain on top of the soil.

The layer of wheat stays on top of the soil. Do not cover the seeds with dirt.

3. Pour water into container until water is barely visible beneath the wheat. Note: Drain or “bail” out some water if you accidentally add too much and the seeds are swimming.

Be slow and careful when pouring water into your container.

bailing out too much water from seeds and soil.

Be careful to bail out water if you get too much. Don’t want the seeds to drown!

4. Place lid or plastic wrap over the wheat.

5. Place container in a sunny spot (not in direct sunlight).

6. After 2-3 days, small sprouts should appear. Remove plastic top.

Little wheatgrass starts are popping out.

Take lid or plastic off when you see the wheat growing. Put in good sunlight (not direct-sunlight).

7. Watch your wheatgrass grow.

NOTE: During this process, if wheat appears to be dry, mist lightly with water.

8. In 7-10 days, you should have a velvety grass patch!!

Be patient and watch your grass grow. For fun, get a ruler and mark how far the grass grows in a day.

I initially did this project with a group of women. We tied pretty ribbons around the eggs and shared them with family and neighbors to watch grow.

Wheatgrass Easter Eggs are ready to give away with ribbon around them.

Put a ribbon around the egg and give to another to let them see the seeds grow. Or keep for yourself and enjoy measuring how much the grass grows in a day! Or make a fairy garden in the grass!

9. Add smaller plastic eggs or other little Easter characters in the wheatgrass, if desired. After the wheatgrass had grown in the egg that I kept for my own family, I placed in the grass colorful plastic eggs filled with jelly beans and other Easter favorites. IDEA: It could be fun to create a fairy scene.

A byproduct of this activity – Wheatgrass juice

Instead of throwing away your Wheatgrass Easter Egg, you could try making wheatgrass juice. You’ve got a good little crop to give it a try. Wheatgrass is gluten-free and is touted as one of the best super foods. Many believe that it can detoxify the body and improve digestion. Learn some basics about preparing this superfood by clicking here.

Snow Mold on Your Lawn – 8 Simple Ways to Solve

March 11, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

Welcome Gardening Friends! Thanks for stopping by.

When the snow finally melted off our back lawn, my grass looked like it was dying. If yours does too, it could be a lawn fungus called SNOW MOLD. Don’t worry too much, snow mold seldom destroys the lawn; your lawn will recover. This annoying disease can appear when the snow melts off the lawn in the spring. Your turf will have circular type patches of matted straw-colored grass and can have a top layer of stringy mold. (It reminded me of a salad mold that once grew in my refrigerator.)

Here are 8 simple ways to solve SNOW MOLD on your lawn, and better yet, prevent it from happening.

Current Problem Solutions to Snow Mold –

In the spring when you discover the mold, take action by gently raking the area. This will help the air circulate through the lawn to dry it out and stop the mold from growing further. Be careful not to rip up the grass. The disease usually affects only the blade, so the crown of the plant is still good and will recover. Throw away the grass you have raked up.

According to the proper schedule, regular fertilizing and mowing will help your lawn outgrow the fungus. The lawn will green up and the damaged blades will eventually be cut off.

If your lawn has extreme snow mold, and you have tried the above solutions, a disease control product may need to be applied to the affected area. See your local garden center, like the experts at Western Gardens, to obtain the correct product. It’s always a good idea to take to the garden shop samples of the diseased plant and a photo of the area.

Snow Mold Preventative Actions –

In the fall, be sure to rake leaves off the lawn. This can be annoying if you have trees that take all winter to lose their leaves, like a Sycamore.

In the fall, be careful not to use excessive nitrogen fertilizer. This will help slow down the growth of the grass before winter arrives.

In the fall, be sure to continue mowing until the lawn’s growth slows down. Make sure your last mowing is a shorter cut. The taller the blades of grass when winter hits, the more snow mold is encouraged to develop. (I believe this was the culprit for our problems this spring. We put the lawnmower away and then had a mild fall.)

If each year you have this problem in certain areas, apply a fungicide to the grass in the fall. Be sure to talk with your local garden expert for the correct preventative product.

In the winter, if piles of snow build up where you or the street plows have worked, be sure to disperse the snow. Where the snow is too deep on your lawn, it can take much longer in the spring to melt, inviting snow mold to grow with the warm spring temperatures.

SNOW MOLD on my Utah lawn

This warm weather signals time to dig in the dirt; but first, I’m going to walk barefoot through my recently raked and drying lawn.