Chaves County Horticulture

The majority of Chaves County's residents are urban, so there is high interest in information on planting trees and ornamental gardening; safe and efficient home vegetable gardening; reducing water use; insect identification and management; environmental safety; maintainance of home gardens and landscape development around businesses and homes. The County Extension Agents assist residents with urban horticulture problems, insect control, wildlife damage control, and soil analysis -by phone, office visits, site visits, and e-mail!

• NMSU Horticulture Publications

Pecan Production For Backyard Growers

Chaves County produces approximately 4 million pounds of pecans annually on 4000 acres in the Pecos Valley. The county has both large and small orchards, plus numerous backyard growers. Pecan Production for Small Growers, is a program hosted by the Ag Agent which includes topics on general tree care, fertilization, watering, pruning, insect control, and disease management.

• NMSU- New Mexico Pecans (Home Page)

• Pecan Orchard Fertilization (NMSU-H-602)

• Planting Pecan Trees (NMSU-H-608)

• Pecan Varieties for NM (NMSU-H-639)

• University of Arizona CES - Pecan Production Guidelines For Small Orchards and Home Yards (AZ 1400)

Composting

• Backyard Composting (NMSU-H-110)

• Vermicomposting (NMSU-H-164)

Lawns/Turf

• Lawn Care for Disease Control (NMSU-H-507)

• Turfgrasses for New Mexico (NMSU-H-508)

• Turfgrass Establishment (NMSU-H-509)

• Landscape Water Conservation (H-707)

Pruning

• Tree Pruning Techniques ( H-156)

• Pruning Grapes (H-303)

• Pruning the Home Orchard (H-316)

Soil Preparation

• Test Your Soils (NMSU-A-114)

• Soil Test Interpretations (NMSU-A-122)

• Choosing Organic Matter for the Home Garden (NMSU-H-108)

• Determining Amounts of Fertilizer for Small Areas (NMSU-H-119)

Trees

• Shade Trees for NM (H-426)

• Selecting Ornamental Trees for NM (H-328)

• NM Department of Forestry - Seedling Program
  The Forestry Division offers over 50 different species for sale over the course of the fall and spring sales. These seedlings are sold in small containers, large containers and bareroot. Check out their website for the seedling list; planting instructions and care; and ordering restrictions.

• Growing Pistachio's (Circular-532)

Vegetable Gardening

• Home Vegetable Gardening in NM (Circular-457)

• Growing Zones, Recommended Crop Varieties for Home Vegetable Gardens (Circular-457B)

• Growing Grapes in New Mexico (Circular-483)

• Curly Top Virus (H-106)