Don’t Forget About Valley Fever
April 28, 2009
Be careful planting flowers
It is spring and even in Tucson we turn our thoughts to gardening and landscaping. But there is a hidden danger in our soil which new comers often forget when they start digging in their yard to plant trees or flowers; It is Valley Fever.
Those big water trucks
big water trucks you see at all the roadwork projects aren’t just keeping the dust down. They are keeping the spores that can cause valley fever from being breathed in.
The cause for valley fever lives in our soil and becomes airborn when we dig and disturb the soil. The danger to someone who is new to Arizona is higher than those born here. The spores are breathed in while shoveling or planting flowers in the native soil. We often are down on our knees and breathing close to the ground. That is when we breath in the spores and take them into our lungs where valley fever spreads.
Valley Fever A bad cold or life threatening
Getting Ready to Plant a Tree
For some valley fever is like a bad allergy attack or a cold. For others it can be a long and protracted illness taking away all energy and strength. For some it can lead to death. Valley Fever isn’t something to take lightly.
We always talk about Valley Fever to new buyers not familiar with Tucson or Arizona. But there is so much going on when purchasing a home that a mention of the precautions needed to be taken to limit exposure to Valley Fever are often forgotten once the home is purchased and the process of adding flowers and shrubs begins.
There is a lot of information about Valley Fever on the web. A quick search of Valley Fever will get you a lot of detailed information.
A few precautions can make a huge difference.
- Wear a mask when digging in the soil.
- Wear a gloves. You can transport the spores on your hands to your mouth or nose easily.
- Lightly moisten the soil with a hose to keep the dust down.
- Limit disturbing the soil while on your knees. Dig with a shovel while standing, moisten the ground then do your planting.
Last week I mentioned we got two Acacia Willow trees for our yard. I’m now in the process of digging the holes for these trees. There are parts of Tucson where it is just like digging in the Midwest. There are other places where it is like digging in a parking lot. I’m lucky enough to have a parking lot back yard. The hole in this picture is almost 24 inches deep. The soil (if you can call it that) is so hard it is like concrete. I’ve dug in the yard before. Once I get down over 24 inches I break out of the hard caliche
AZ Master Gardener Manual: Caliche
Many southern Arizona soils have layers of caliche either on or under the surface. Caliche is a layer of soil in which the soil particles have been cemented …
I’ve broken through a couple of layers of caliche, but it is obivious I have at least one more to go. More digging tomorrow, then I start on the second hole you see I’m softening up in the background.
Please take precautions when gardening this spring. Beautiful flowers in your yard aren’t as beautiful if you can’t see them because you are to sick to go outside. We heard this week of one of our clients and friends being very ill with Valley Fever. It is so easy to forget about it, especially if you aren’t from around here.
