http://ucanr.org/blogs/PracticalGardener/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed This blog is about practical and useful gardening advice for California Gardeners. en-us UC ANR http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/ Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:26:43 PST Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:26:43 PST UC ANR This year was a tough year for the peaches and nectarines.  It seemed that even though we sprayed with a copper oil spray and with a registered fungicide at the right time, the PLC was very noticeable on the trees this spring.  Treating now is useless as is pulling off the infected leaves.  Never the less, many peolple do it because it makes them feel better and they don't see the infected leaves anymore.  Chuck Ingels on the other hand is trying to do something about it!  He has been working...
]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:26:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7380&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7380     Did you ever wonder why we always give and receive red and white flowers for Valentine’s Day?     The language of flowers became popular in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Virtually every flower, even its color, had special significance during this period.  Flowers even formed secret correspondence between men and women with bouquets being chosen carefully to convey sentiment.     The red rose is the symbol of love; a pink rose the symbol of perfect happiness      Daffodils show regard;...
]]> Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:04:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6772&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6772 Oh, I love this time of year.  The harvest is on for prunes, almonds, walnuts and soon, olives for processing into both table olives and olive oil.  While making olive oil at home is possible, it isn't easy.  But it is easy to cure your own olives at home using one of several great methods.  You may cure them using the traditional lye cured method. They can be salt cured using black ripe olives, which creates a dry olive that is wonderful when rinsed and coated with good olive oil and chopped...
]]> Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:48:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=5749&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=5749 ]]> Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:59:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=4063&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=4063 (Text abridged from CDFA Alert) In October 18th, 2010 Ag officials confimred the detection of a red palm weevil (scientific name: Rhynchophorus ferrugineus and native to Southeast Asia) in Orange County.  This is the first time this pest has been found in the US.  The weevil is considered one of the worst pests of palm trees and the trees, once infested usually die.  According to A.J. Kwamura, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary A.G. Kawamura.  “It...
]]> Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:40:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3668&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3668 Lye cured, water cured, pickled, salt cured, kalamata, black olives, green olives...how do you know what to do to make safe home cured olives?  Come find out from the experts!!!  Bill Krueger, UC Olive Expert and chair of the UC Davis Table Olive Symposium will be conducting a workshop on home olive curing and will describe the many methods that you can use at home to create those delicious snacks.  The workshop will be on Saturday, October 9th, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Historic Mills...
]]> Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:52:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3484&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3484 The California Center for Urban Horticulture and the California Master Gardener program have partnered with Burchell Nursery to bring you Your Sustainable Backyard: Fruit Trees on Friday August 20th at Burchell Nursery in Oakdale, CA.  We’re very excited to have the workshop hosted at a nursery and hope that you will join us for this exciting learning opportunity.  Our workshop will focus on selecting trees, planning for your home orchard, summer pruning and staking, and troubleshooting pests...
]]> Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:01:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3125&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3125 Every year, I try to keep my tomatoes up off of the ground by installing a trellis system in advance of the tomatoes needing to be trellised.  My usual system is the "post and twine" system in which 2 inch posts are pounded into the ground using a stake pounder at 10 foot intervals and then wrapping/weaving the twine around the poles at 10 inch vertical intervals.  It works pretty well and I am not unhappy with it.  However, the downside is that the cotton jute that I prefer to use because it...
]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:24:27 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3036&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3036 This was a rough winter for young citrus trees.  Many may have died and most did suffer from frost/freeze damage depending, the degree of which depending upon the duration of low temperatures this winter.  At our house, it was 17 degrees F for at least 4 nights in a row and since we were out of town, there was no one home to either irrigate, put lights under the trees or cover them.  They were on their own and they did suffer. Several of the trees appear to have died but others are still green...
]]> Wed, 19 May 2010 09:31:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2790&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2790 Local artist Laurelin Gilmore and the Sacramento Bee have teamed up to feature honey bee art and education at the Sacramento Bee on Saturday, May 8!  Amazing honey bee art arrived from very talented and generous local artists.  These pieces will be for sale on Saturday and proceeds will be donated to UC Davis for honey bee research.  Saturday May 8, 20103-8 PMSacramento Bee outdoor courtyard2100 Q St., Sacramento, CA 95816The Department of Entomology will have an observation hive on display,...
]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 11:13:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2724&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2724 Do you love trees? The UC Davis Arboretum will be hosting a celebration of all things OAK on Oak Discovery Day on Sunday, May 2nd from 1 pm to 4 pm in Shields Oak Grove. After silently growing for almost half a century, the venerable trees in the Arboretum's Shields Oak Grove will debut as the featured attraction of this spring event. With almost 300 mature trees representing over 80 different varieties of oaks from around the world, Shields Oak Grove is a wonderful oak destination. This...
]]> Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:45:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2646&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2646 Master Gardener program and the California Center for Urban Horticulture have partnered to put on Your Sustainable Backyard: Roses on Friday April 30th at UC Davis.  We’ve hosted a ‘Rose Day’ event in the past and are very excited about this new workshop as we’ll be very hands on with rose propagation, pruning and pest identification.  We’ll not only be touring the Foundation Plant Services 8 acres of award winning roses, we’ll be working and learning in the field too!  Whether you’re new to...
]]> Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:13:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2544&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2544 This tip will help you conserve water in your landscape and it is very easy to do...just inspect your sprinkler system for problems and repair them before the turf irrigation season begins.  Most of our irrigation systems run very early in the morning while we are asleep and problems can go on undetected for months.      Poorly adjusted sprinkler systems also account for significant wasted water.  Sprinkler heads that are broken, leaking, tilted, spraying the wrong direction or clogged will...
]]> Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:28:13 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2403&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2403 The California Center for Urban Horticulture and the Master Gardener program have an exciting workshop coming up on Saturday March 6 at the UC Davis campus.  Rosalind Creasy, the ‘Mother of Edible Landscaping’ and prominent author, will be joining us to talk about using fruits and vegetables in your home landscape.  This exciting workshop will cover design, soil, pest management and more!  Your registration of $45 includes morning coffee, and lunch.  Please join us – you’ll leave prepared to...
]]> Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:04:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2248&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2248 Ideas about sustainable gardening practices have really become part of the mainstream in many ways.  It is common to see people composting green waste and mulching their gardens.  There are more efficient irrigation systems that respond to weather demands and most people have installed automatic irrigation controllers.  Even though we are doing these things, there is so much more we can be doing.  We can be keeping more of our green waste on site.  We could be using less fertilizer and even...
]]> Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:42:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2159&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2159 I am of an age that when I was a child we got to burn our fall leaves in the gutter outside our house.  I remember the pungent and sweetly smoky smell of the burning leaves.  I am only occasionally blessed with a passing whiff of that smell and when I do smell it, all of those childhood memories come flooding back.  However, it is generally now unacceptable to burn leaves because of air quality restrictions.  That is really okay because there are so many good things you can do with all those...
]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:24:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2018&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2018 WORKSHOP REGISTRATION CLOSED--SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!Winter is a great time to prune many of your evergreen trees and shrubs.  You can use the clippings and create beautiful holiday wreaths and swags to decorate your home for the holidays.  Join me in this hands-on holiday traditional workshop. Participants will learn how to prune evergreens properly and then take those evergreens and make them into beautiful wreaths or swags to take home.  Cost is $40.00 per person and includes all supplies for a...
]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:37:28 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1983&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1983  Cheryl Wilen, IPM Specialist in Weed management provides tips on using weed block fabric to effectively manage annual weeds as well as how to manage small infestations of nutsedge can be viewed on a U-Tube Video.  Each video is about 2 minutes.  To view go to:  http://www.youtube.com/Ucanr#p/a/u/0/Cv2QO7fus20http://www.youtube.com/Ucanr#p/a/u/1/3I4BR5Q8mT0
]]> Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:03:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1927&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1927 You take a few days off from the garden and all of a sudden it becomes a battle ground between you and the various insect pests that invade....I noted that there were numerous holes in my once perfect broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage plants.  I also saw a number of velvety green worms camouflaged within the foliage with the only telltale sign of them being there were the holes in the leaves and an abundance of frass (insect excrement) they leave behind.  These are relatively easy pests to...
]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:09:22 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1900&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1900 Spring is when most people get energized to plant trees in their garden but fall is a much better time if you live in a temperate climate.  There is less stress on the trees because of lower temperatures, reduced transpiration and a higher moisture availablity.  The roots have a chance to grow out into the native soils during the winter before the onslaught of high summer heat.  Also, if you are choosing trees for their fall color, they should begin to show some color now depending upon the...
]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:42:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1876&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1876