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Hungry deer are a constant issue for foothill
gardeners. (Photo courtesy UC IPM)
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It’s a constant question from foothill gardeners: What will deer NOT eat?
Find out during a free virtual workshop, “Living with Deer as a Foothill Gardener.”
Hosted by the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Nevada County, this Zoom session is open to the public regardless of where they live. Set for 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, the workshop has no pre-registration; just click on the link and join in.
Deer rank among the most frustrating issues for foothill gardeners – and some Valley gardeners, too. These large mammals seem to always be hungry, and our gardens look so appetizing.
“Although there are no guarantees when gardening in deer country, there are ways to live with these browsers and have a lovely landscape and garden veggies as well,” say the master gardeners. “To learn more about managing deer in foothill gardens, join us to learn facts about the deer in our area and ways you can defend your gardens and landscape.”
Deer not only have big appetites; they can be just plain big. Mule deer, the most common species in the Sierra foothills and California’s only native deer species, can reach 6 feet tall and weigh 200 pounds. And they can jump!
Right now, deer are fattening up for the winter on acorns and other nutrient-rich foods. But they don’t care for lavender, rosemary or other pungent herbs. Think like a deer and, yes, you can redirect them away from your garden to native oaks and other more appropriate food sources.
More details and Zoom links (including passcode): https://ncmg.ucanr.org/ .
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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 12
Once the winds die down, it’s good winter gardening weather with plenty to do:
* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback. Save them until summer.) Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* After the wind stops, apply horticultural oil to fruit trees to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.
* This is also the time to spray a copper-based fungicide to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. (The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.)
* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.
* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.
* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladioli for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.
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