
Jeff Schalau is the Backyard Gardener and Courier columnist.

North central Arizona is a great place to grow deciduous fruit trees including apples, pears, quince, cherries, peaches, plums and apricots.

Pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.) are beneficial to wildland ecosystems because they loosen soils increasing water infiltration, transporting beneficial soil microbes and are prey for other wildlife.

The time is drawing near to start warm-season vegetable and flower seeds for transplanting.

Have you ever seen dead or damaged areas on the trunk of a thin-barked tree?

Healthy, native soils should contain a multitude of living organisms.

Since last March, society has undergone great changes while also mourning the losses of many friends and relatives due to COVID-19.

Many gardeners live in rural areas with space (and zoning) that can support small poultry flocks.

With the pandemic-induced increase in home gardening, people should consider growing more cool-season crops. Kale (Brassica oleracea) is a cool-season biennial in the mustard family.

A simple greenhouse can be used to grow greens in the winter, start warm season seedlings, propagate landscape plants, or provide shelter to frost tender plants during winter.

Pomegranates (Punica granatum) are native to southeastern Europe and Asia and have been cultivated in ancient Egypt, Babylonia, India and Iran.