Southern California Gardening Can Take a Back Seat To Holiday Festivities in December

Southern California Gardening Can Take a Back Seat To Holiday Festivities in December
By Bill Camarillo

December is the ideal month to take time off from gardening and enjoy the holidays, but for those who love to garden regardless of the season, there is still plenty to do.

Turn Off Automatic Sprinklers: Most cities ban watering for 48 hours after a rain but you can usually wait longer to begin watering again. Rain usually saturates the soil much better than sprinklers. Turn off automatic sprinklers and let the weather be your watering guide or install a soil moisture sensor so sprinklers only turn on when needed.

Fill in Lawn Bare Spots: Add grass seeds to bare spots in your lawn. Place a topper mix over the seeds to protect them from birds and to help germination. Winter rains, if they come, will give the seeds the water they need to grow. Be aware, however, if drought conditions continue, you will need to water the seeds to stimulate growth.

Prune Weak Tree Limbs: Winter often brings strong winds that can snap tree limbs. Examine trees for weakened limbs or limbs that could cause damage to property if they fall. Remove the limbs now.

Get To The Bottom of Leaf Curl on Fruit Trees: Citrus leaf curl could be caused by a number of issues: insects such as aphids, too much watering (or not enough watering) and nutrient deficiencies. Take a sample of the curled leaves to a knowledgeable garden nursery for a diagnosis and suggested remedy so your trees are healthy by spring.

Plant Dormant Deciduous Fruit Trees: Late December is the time to plant young dormant deciduous fruit trees. They are available at good prices because they often come without soil (bare root). Deciduous fruit trees need cold nights (below 45 degrees) to encourage buds to bloom and bear fruit. Some trees need more chilly nights than others. Fruit trees that do particularly well in southern California's more temperate climate include apple varieties, apricot, blueberry, sweet cherries, figs and varieties of nectarine and peach.

Add Indoor Color With Plants: December means entertaining during the holidays. Add festive indoor color with seasonal plants such as poinsettias and blooming chrysanthemums, lilies, antherium, begonias, cyclamen and African Violet. These plants don't mind low light. Keep them away from heaters and fireplaces.

Start A Compost Pile: Create your own compost pile. Add equal parts carbon and nitrogen: leaves and shrub and tree prunings (carbon) and grass clippings, flowers, coffee grounds and fruit and vegetable scraps (nitrogen). Pick a well-draining, 3' x 3' location. Start with a layer of leaves, followed by green materials and food waste, a layer of soil and then more leaves and wooden materials. Every few weeks, turn over your pile so it is well aerated and doesn't overheat. Consider putting a tarp over the compost pile when it rains. It will keep the pile from getting soggy and will hold in heat-necessary for microbes to decompose the material. You will have fresh compost for your garden by spring.

Get A Jump On Weeds: One rainstorm can trigger weed growth. Keep weeds under control by placing a layer of mulch in flower and vegetable beds.

Bill Camarillo is CEO of Agromin, an Oxnard, California-based manufacturer of soil products and the composter for cities throughout Southern California. Each month, Agromin receives more than 30,000 tons of organic material and then uses a safe, natural and sustainable process to transform the material into premium soil products. The results are more vigorous and healthier plants and gardens, and on the conservation side, the opportunity to close the recycling loop, allow more room in landfills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.agromin.com, https://www.facebook.com/agromin/

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