Article By Woods Houghton

At times during the winter, particularly for evergreens, drying out can be a real problem. Especially when we have mild warm winters such as we are having this year. Winter drought occurs when a tree loses more water than it can absorb from dry ground and is especially acute during the early spring when we have received very little winter moisture, the spring sun begins warming the rest of the tree. Windy conditions can also worsen the problem. Even dormant trees need moisture to promote root growth and health.

Winter water needs are often overlooked or forgotten about. Trees and shrubs and even dormant Bermuda grass benefit from a good normal watering once a month December to March when it starts to warm up. By laying down a thick layer of organic mulch around the base of the tree in late fall before winter’s onset will help conserver water thru the winter and keeps the soil cool to help prevent winter injury. The mulch can help to slow moisture loss and runoff while acting as a temperature buffer for the roots. Signs of winter drought injury include early budding, tip die back and poor plant vigor.

For more information Contact your Local County Extension office. This and all programs are available to everyone regardless of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, or veteran status. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating “to put knowledge to work”.

Article By Woods Houghton

Do you have mysterious mounds showing up in your yard? Are you trees looking bad, and grass turning brown nearby. Are the holes in the mound plugged or open? If the holes are plugged you may have pocket gophers. Pocket gophers are burrowing rodents, which live almost entirely underground. They are well adapted to their underground existence, with stout forelegs and strong curved claws for digging. They have prominent, yellow teeth and large fur lined external cheek pouches in which food is carried.

A single gopher may have a burrow system 800 feet or longer and can cover an acre of land. The tunnels are 2 to 5 inches in diameter and 4 to 15 inches below surface. However when I replaced the irrigation pipe line in my field I found tunnels there were 10 feet or more deep. The gopher pushes soil from the burrow to the surface with it forefeet and chest, this forms a characteristic horseshoe shaped mound 8 to 24 inches in diameter and 6 inches high or so. The mounds are at short lateral tunnel which branches off the main runway and the surface opening is plugged by pushing dirt into it, resulting in a depression on one side of the mound. For gophers this is real important, the plug keeps out predators such as snakes. If the hole is open, you could have prairie dogs or ground squirrels and control methods are different. The gophers diet mainly consists of fleshy roots of various plants, including trees, but prefer potatoes, peanuts. They are known to pull green tops and seeds down into their burrows.

In some places and some conditions gophers are beneficial to the soil. One gopher can in one year move 2 1/2 tons of soil in a year. This process is damaging to cultivated farming and landscapes however..

Controlling pocket gophers should be conducted in the spring or the fall when gophers are most active near the surface. In the summer they are deeper due to the heat. There are two methods of control, Mechanical, or Chemical. The most common type of mechanical control is trapping. There are a number of different traps but the two most common are the Macabee, and DK-1 trap. I prefer the DK-1 trap. Both types are available at local feed stores and come with instructions. Success depends upon proper placement! Here are some suggestions:

Locate the newest mound or series of mounds.
Locate the main runway by probing the soil with a bluntly pointed probe, (Philips screw driver), 6-8 inches from the mound, on the side of the horseshoe depression. When the probe hits the runway the release of ground friction will be felt. Dig down with a trowel or shovel to locate the runway and place the traps. With a DK-1 trap leave the hole open and place the trap in the lateral. With the Macabee two traps must be placed facing both directions. The hole needs to be covered with this trap. Traps should be checked every hour or so.

Chemical control includes baits and fumigants.
If baiting with poison grain locate the main burrow as under mechanical control. Pre-bait with un-poisoned grain for a two-days or so then put in the poison grain. Care needs to be applied to make sure bait does not affect non-target animals such as pets, and other wildlife. Also I would avoid use of baits if Children are around. Fumigants include carbon monoxide gas cartridges if labeled for gophers. A number of manufactures have dropped their gopher label due to impact to endangered species. Other fumigants include Aluminum phosphide, which require a pesticide license.

Ultra sonic device are not legal for sale in New Mexico due to the lack of third party scientific evidence that they work. It is not illegal to use them in New Mexico, but it is illegal for them to be sold, or shipped into New Mexico. These products are considered pesticide under the New Mexico pest control act and as such are regulated by New Mexico Department of Agriculture. If the manufactures could produce scientific data for effectiveness they would be allowed.

I prefer DK-1 traps for gofer control it is safer and effective. I also like knowing for sure that I have this little underground terrorist.

For more information Contact your Local County Extension office. This and all programs are available to everyone regardless of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, or veteran status. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating “to put knowledge to work”.

The fall season brings winter weeds. They germinate in the fall, grow through the winter and spring, and then die in the late spring. Most people think that when the grass slows it’s growth that there is no more to do to the lawn, however, fall is the second best time to control weeds using the pre-emergent method described later. The only drawback is that you cannot seed and apply a pre-emergent weed control at the same time.

These weeds can be controlled with proper methods. The two methods used are pre-emergent, and post-emergent. The pre-emergent method is the most effective because the weeds are controlled before they emerge this way the lawn looks cleaner because you never see the weeds.

A pre-emergent herbicide is used to prevent weeds such as; Crabgrass, Goosegrass, Quackgrass, Henbit, Chickweed, Plantain, and some 30 to 40 other weeds. The timing is critical on applying pre-emergent herbicides. If you put it down to early, you miss the late summer weeds, if you wait to long to apply, you’ll miss the crabgrass. Usually the weather in your area will dictate the proper timing. When Forsythia starts to bloom in your area is a good clue as to when to apply.

Using chemicals to control weeds is a tricky matter. Used correctly, they pose no problem.(Contrary to many beliefs)More harm is done to the environment each year by homeowners trying to do something that they don’t understand than by all of the professional applicators put together. Just be careful, read the label, AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.

The second method of weed control is Post-Emergent control. This involves spraying the weeds after they are already up and showing. Commonly this is called broadleaf weed control because usually the weeds controlled are broadleaved. Dandelion, plantain, chickweed, oxalis, wood sorrel, wild onion and garlic, purslane, and clover are all examples of broadleaves. These have to be controlled by applying the herbicide to the leaves or to the soil as to reach the root zone of the plant.

There are many sprays available and granulated products also. The granules may be easier to apply if you’re not good with a sprayer. Sprays work much faster because you don’t have to wait for a rain or irrigate to activate the chemical. Check at your garden center or discount store for available broadleaf herbicides. Just be careful around your shrubs and flowers, they are also broadleaves and it is not hard to kill them inadvertently. I see this every year.

Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.