Henny Penny Farmette

In the Bay Area, January through February are optimal months for checking on your backyard fruit trees. After the leaves have dropped and the scaffolding is exposed, winter/early spring pruning is a lot easier.

The first months of the year are also the best times to feed, do orchard cleaning, and deal with overwintering pests.

Citrus trees, especially, benefit from a mid-winter check for magnesium or iron deficiency, indicated by yellowing of the leaves. You should also examine the trees for pests such as snails, ants, aphids and Leafminer. It’s also a good time to plan on how to protect your citrus against frost.

Handy Checklist

1. Prune apples and pears for structure in late winter or early spring. Check for fire blight (look for a shepherd’s hook and the appearance of fire staining on limbs and the trunk). Remove wood 8-12 inches below infected areas and any obvious cankers. Feed when the trees leaf out.
2. Check almonds, apricots, cherries, and plums for pests such as aphids, scale. Treat as necessary. Instead of pruning apricot and cherry trees in mid- to late winter, wait for late summer/early fall as winter rains can spread infections of Eutypa fungus that causes limbs to die back.
3. Practice ongoing winter cleanup. Sanitation is of paramount importance in preventing pests infestations and fungal diseases. Regularly move fallen leaves, twigs, fruit, and other debris from the garden and orchard.
4. Check citrus for infestation of Citrus Leafminer (look for brown lines and webbing on the leaves along with curling of the leaves. Treat the tree with Captain Jack’s organic fruit and vegetable spray. Application needs to be repeated every two weeks, especially when the tree is producing new growth, but no more than six times per season.
5. Citrus leaves that are yellow or mottled with yellow when they should be bright green may have a magnesium or iron deficiency. Correct the chlorosis by applying iron. Prune citrus in mid-to-late March (here in the Bay Area).

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Enjoy reading about farm topics? Check out my Henny Penny Farmette series of cozy mysteries. Chocked full of farm trivia and helpful advice for keeping chickens and bees and growing heirloom fruit and vegetables, all three novels are available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble bookstores and in brick-and-mortar stores everywhere books are sold.