Q: Is it a good idea to work coffee grounds into the soil in flower beds? Does it help?
Local Columns
The very best outdoor adventures for midwinter pack a lot of experience into a few hours of daylight. China Ranch does this just about perfectly, offering hiking, history, birding, shopping and a unique treat for the taste buds.
Q: You mentioned that male asparagus plants produce more than female asparagus plants. How do you tell the difference?
There he was, wearing a traditional hockey uniform while hugging his ice skates with one hand and holding on to his dad’s hand with the other. Dad also held the little guy’s hockey stick as they entered City National Arena in Downtown Summerlin.
“I consider myself lucky because I had a backpack,” he said at a TED Talk in June in Traverse City, Michigan. “And because along the way I found some of the most beautiful, compassionate and courageous people that not only helped me through this time but who have left a lasting impression stamped on my heart.”
Q: I have had a large poinsettia since last Christmas. Is there a way to encourage blooms this year? It seems I read somewhere to put it into a dark place without water for a period of time. Anything you can tell me will help.
While many of us in Southern Nevada want to travel this time of year, many of the go-to places are too cold or covered too deeply with snow. But you won’t have that problem if you head down into the Sonoran Desert and Tucson, Arizona. Almost as far south as you can go in Arizona, winter weather is luxuriously pleasant.
Q: I’m composting in plastic trash cans with holes. It’s taking a very long time to make compost, despite adding carbon to my grass clippings and kitchen waste. I water and turn it every few days. What am I doing wrong?
It has been stop and go for 12 years for advocates of a Northwest Campus of College of Southern Nevada. And the way things are going, it could take longer than anyone in the know is willing to say before funding from the state becomes available to allow the first construction shovel into the ground.
Winter fruit tree pruning starts as soon as leaves drop from the trees. It’s easier to see the branching structure of the tree — I call it the tree’s “architecture” — after the leaves are gone. This is also the time for the major pruning of landscape trees and shrubs.
Each day of our region’s short and mild winter is a little treasure to be invested for maximum return. A good place to invest it is in the Rock Spring Loop Trail on the Mojave National Preserve.
Q: My son and I are thinking of landscaping his front yard in December. Will plants and trees survive when planted that time of year?
There’s a somber ceremony that’s performed twice a year by the Sun City Summerlin Security Patrol. It’s called flag retirement day, and it’s a highly respectful occasion, as you might expect. Equally important, it must be done in a proper manner when any flag of the United States becomes weather-beaten or otherwise tattered.
Q: Can I prune fruit trees now, or do I need to wait until they are dormant in January? Will you be giving fruit tree pruning classes again this year?
Q: I live in North Las Vegas and want to plant both a red Bartlett and a Keiffer pear but have limited space. I read about planting two trees in one larger hole. Do you recommend this method?
1
2
3
4
5
Las Vegas’ ‘most expensive listing’ dethroned after no interest from buyers
What are they hiding?: Henderson police didn’t share key details before wide search for teen
California fuel lines reopen as Las Vegas gas stations stay busy
Nevada’s Sam Brown gets role in Trump administration
What Jimmy Carter’s favorite pianist played as a final sendoff