Jeff Schalau is the Backyard Gardener and Courier columnist.
Northern Arizona gets its fair share of snow and ice in winter, and de-icing compounds are a common way of enhancing safety and access.
Biochar is a fine-grained charcoal left behind after pyrolysis of wood, crop residues, livestock manures and other organic material used in alternative fuel production.
While range livestock is the agricultural crop with the highest value in Yavapai County, we do have many small farms which grow fresh produce in season.
The word “chaparral” is derived from the Spanish word “chaparro,” which means small evergreen oak, which itself comes from the Basque word “txapar,” with the same meaning.
Pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.) are beneficial to wildland ecosystems because they loosen soils increase water infiltration, transport beneficial soil microbes and are prey for other animals.
The porcupine (Erithizon dorsatum) is fairly common in some parts of northern Arizona.
Arizona has many areas with abundant stone suitable for construction — you only need look at the prehistoric buildings and ruins present across wide areas of the state.
Reliable soil testing is not expensive, and can be of great value where plant nutrition problems could be limiting production.
Stapelia is a genus of perennial succulent plants from South Africa.
Scorpions are abundant in Arizona, and one or more species can be found in virtually every habitat from mountaintops to desert floors.
