http://ucanr.edu/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/ Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:28:38 PST Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:28:38 PST UC ANR Please join the Statewide Master Gardener Program and the California Center for Urban Horticulture for a day of Citrus and Avocados. We'll be in Davis on April 13th, in Los Angeles on May 17th and in Riverside on May 18th. Registration is only $20 (includes lunch)! Learn more and register here: http://ccuh.ucdavis.edu/events/citrus/citrus. Workshop includes information about grafting, pruning, varieties, and pest management. See you there!
]]> Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:28:38 PST http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9646&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed acrump@ucdavis.edu(Amanda Crump) http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9646 ]]> Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:45:34 PST http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9601&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed acrump@ucdavis.edu(Amanda Crump) http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9601 ]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:11:59 PST http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9269&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed acrump@ucdavis.edu(Amanda Crump) http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9269 We have just gone through a couple of weeks of over 100F in northern California on top of being inundated by smoke from all of the wildfires in the mountains surrounding the Sacramento Valley. Nonetheless it really is time to think about that fall vegetable garden. We call this the cool season garden because the plants tolerate colder temperatures...not that they need cold temperatures to grow. Getting your cool season vegetables in this time of year ensures that they grow to an adequate size...
]]> Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:41:49 PST http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=8214&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=8214 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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7380&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6772&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=5749&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=5749 ]]> Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:59:43 PST http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=4063&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3668&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3484&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3125&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3036&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2790&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2724&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2646&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2544&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2403&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2248&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2159&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/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.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2018&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pgeisel@ucanr.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2018