The Vegas Voice 9-20
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A Very Busy Month
By: Howard Galin / Happy Gardening
September is a very busy and important
month for desert gardeners. As we move into
more moderate temperatures and decreased direct
sunshine, many of our plants in our gardens emerge from their heat
induced “summer dormancy” and begin to grow once again, bringing
about a second surge of growth.
We should begin to prune away
sun/heat damaged foliage from our
landscape. This will stimulate new and
hardy growth and flowering of roses
and fruiting plants.
Many varieties of tomatoes and
peppers can be heavily pruned leaving
approximately 3”-5” of stem remaining. This will promote new flowers
and fruits forming during the coming months, giving you a second
crop right around Thanksgiving!
September is also an ideal time to fertilize the soil again. This will
stimulate new foliage and strengthen your plants for the winter months
by making them more resistant during the oncoming cold and windy
seasons.
In addition, September is a good time to use “systemic” insecticide
around agave, yucca and aloe to “kill off” weevil eggs that have been
buried underground that would hatch in the early spring months
feasting on the plant roots and killing off your desert landscaping.
At this time sulphur can be added to the soil in order to lower the pH.
This will reduce alkali levels that have built up during the hot and dry
summer months.
Rock Mulch usually lasts about five years before it needs to be
supplemented. The end of September will be a good time to add rock
mulch to freshen up your landscape’s appearance. Keep in mind that
rock mulch costs about $25-$30 per
ton, so budget accordingly.
September begins our second
planting season, so nurseries will
have fresh supplies of plants, trees and
shrubs. And seasonal plants such as
“Winter Decorative Cabbage” and root
vegetables become available after Labor Day.
During September, the temperature is moderate while the soil
remains warm. These are the perfect conditions for new plants to take
root and establish themselves for life in our desert neighborhoods.
Have any questions? Contact me at: Theplantwhisperer28@gmail.
com.
Howard Galin, a/k/a: “The Plant Whisperer” is a retired NYC
school administrator, transplanted in Las Vegas who devotes his
time to communicating with and lecturing about our native
plants.
ON NOVEMBER 3, 2020
VOTE FOR:
Experience
Compassion
Fair
Decisive
F O L L O W :
@ A D R I A N A 4 J U D G E
W W W. A D R I A N A 4 J U D G E . C O M
D E P A R T M E N T W
Pa i d f o r by t h e C o m m i t t e e t o E l e c t A d r i a n a R i n c o n W h i t e
ENDORSED BY VETERANS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
32
September 2020