[Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page

[Olin Miller]

Not certain why your warm season vegetables did not freeze this past week.
But if not, it may be still be too cold for the pollen to be viable and it
may also be too cold for the bees to be active enough. The normal growing
period for squash and melons is spring through early fall.  As for the
tomatoes pollination is poor when the early morning temps are in the 50s.
See
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1005.pdf
for guidlines as to the best planting dates.

Most raspberries are not heat tolerant and are usually considered to be not
adapted to our desert climate and soil because of the high winter chill
requirement and alkaline soil.  But if you have found some with an unusually
low winter chill requirement, you may luck out.  From the Universioty of
Missouri at
http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/hort/g06000.htm

"Pruning black raspberries and purple raspberries
Raspberries produce fruit on 2-year-old canes, which die after the crop has
matured. The pruning of black and purple raspberries consists of:

  a.. Tipping the new canes when they reach a height of 18 to 20 inches,
thus forming a branched cane that is capable of producing more fruit than an
unbranched cane. Branched canes are also more able to support the crop off
the ground than unbranched canes.
  b.. As the buds break in the spring, the branches on the canes should be
shortened to 8 to 12 inches (longer if the plant is supported by stakes or a
wire trellis).
  c.. After the crop is harvested, the old fruiting canes should be removed
at the soil line. (The removal of the old canes as soon as the crop is
harvested is a good disease control practice since it removes an important
source of infection.)
Pruning red raspberries
Red raspberries should be allowed to produce long, unbranched canes rather
than branched canes like the black and purple varieties. The new canes are,
therefore, unpruned during their first season's growth. At the start of the
second season, they are topped to a height that will permit them to support
themselves and keep the fruit off the ground. If the plants are supported by
stakes or a wire trellis, they can be pruned to permit more fruiting wood.

The old canes die after the crop is matured and they should be removed as
early as possible in order to remove sources of disease."

Olin
=======================

----- Original Message ----- From: <Dagmarandcollin at aol.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 8:55 AM
> In Scottsdale I have alot of flowers on my squash,mellons,cukes and
> tomatoes, but no to very little fruit.Fall mellons and squash were covered
> with blossoms and no fruit.
>
> Do raspberries canes need to be cut back in fall or spring? What about
> frost protection?
>
>
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