- Author: Kathy Low
Do you know
- the many advantages of weeds?
- how to identify the type of turf you have?
- what Sunset zone you live in and what that means for gardening?
- safe alternatives to pesticides?
- how to prune an overgrown fruit tree?
If you answered no to any of these questions, you may want to visit (or revisit) the UCCE Master Gardeners of Solano County website at http://solanomg.ucanr.edu/. Solano gardeners can find a wealth of gardening advice and solutions to garden problems on the website.
If you are new to the county, or a long time resident who decided to take up gardening, there's a link to Gardening in Solano County where you'll find the growing season and Sunset zone for the city in which you reside. From there, you'll want to proceed to the section on Home Vegetable Gardening. There you'll find not only information on growing vegetables, but you can also find the ever useful Vegetable Planting Guide. Prepared by Dr. Robert Norris, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, for the 29 vegetables included the guide provides information on the preferred time to seed in a protected environment, the preferred time to direct seed, and the preferred time to transplant.
If you have a fruit or nut tree, or berry growing in your yard, be sure to check out the Your Backyard Orchard section of the website. Fact sheets provide useful data on specific types of nut and fruit trees. You can find instructions on what needs to be done in your home orchard by season. Plus there's information on how to train, prune and thin the trees, and even how to prune overgrown fruit trees.
Be sure to check out the Landscape Trees section for tips on managing your trees, from pruning them to selecting a tree care professional. And if you decide to add a tree to your landscape, there's a range of information from selecting and planting a tree, to staking and training the tree.
If you have a lawn, find useful lawn watering guidelines in the Lawn Care section. Don't know what type of turf you have? No problem. There's a key to help you identify your turf in this section. You'll also find additional information ranging from managing lawns in the shade, to issues involving dogs and lawns.
Unfortunately with every yard involving greenery, there are bound to be problems from time to time. These problems usually involve weeds, pests, or plant diseases. To manage weeds, you first need to know the type of weed plaguing your yard, and their life cycle. The Weed Management section of the website will provide you with the information you need. You'll also discover the advantages of weeds in this section,
If pests are giving you a headache, check out the Pests of the Home and Garden section. From identifying to controlling specific pests, to hiring a pest control company, you'll find the answers to your pest control questions in this section. You'll also find information on beneficial insects.
For information on tree, flower, lawn or other plant diseases, don't forget to check out the Plant Disease section. If you grow vegetables, you can find plant diseases by specific vegetable.
Much more information can be found on the website, including how to care for your yard and garden in a drought, to how to effectively compost. And if you still have a gardening question, you can contact the Master Gardener Hotline for an answer. You can find out how to contact the hotline on the website.
- Author: Elvira DeLeon
Gardening passion
It's not for the faint-hearted
Love it or hate it!
Rare flowers at Annie's
Are a bit pricey for the drive
But oh, what a surprise!
Pots come with volunteer veggies on the side!
Inconspicuous at first glance,
A tiny leaf appears then three
With water, sunshine and care
A zucchini or a cucumber, soon I'll see!
Truly blessed to see my garden grow this time around
Tending closely plants of which I'm proud
Inspecting under the leaves for signs of trouble
Like a good doctor checking patients for free.
Plant volunteers are my besties
Sprouting all over now that summer's here.
Tomatoes, strawberry runners, Swiss chard and garlic chives;
Celery, parsley, oregano and thyme
In cement cracks everywhere
While Egyptian jumping onions
Merrily leap place to place.
- Author: Brenda Altman
Under the Solano Sun on a cloudless day in June, it's hot. While I was crossing Santa Clara Street in front of city hall I was thankful that trees covered the street and provided a wonderful cool shade. I remember many years ago walking into a redwood grove the temperature dropped considerably as I walked among those giants. Walking in the shade got me thinking about the benefits of trees that we often take for granted.
Well placed trees on your property can provide shade on a hot day. Trees planted on the south side of your house can reduce the amount of direct sunlight thus reducing the temperature in the house. You can reduce up to 50 percent of your air conditioning costs with trees strategically placed next to your house. A tree next to your deck can provide respite for you on a hot sunny day.
Another benefit of trees is that they can also provide fruit. Under the Solano sun, we can grow a variety of fruit trees: apples, apricots, figs, peaches, persimmons, plums the list goes on. I benefit from a 20' lemon tree someone planted many years ago. This year I've harvested 25lbs of lemons or more. Thank you for an unknown person who planted the lemon tree many years ago.
Trees also improve air quality by removing particulate pollutants. A London study on trees noted that in a 10 x 10-kilometer area with 25 % of tree cover, trees could remove 90 tons of particulate matter annually. Trees remove air pollution primarily by uptake of pollutants via leaf stomata (pores on the outer “skin” layers of the leaf). Some gaseous pollutants are also removed via the plant surface.
Trees also provide homes for wildlife. What would a world be like without songbirds nesting on tree branches? Squirrels hide their acorns and other food in tree cavities. Trees in urban areas can provide valuable rest stops for migratory birds.
Trees can reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is taken in by the trees during the process of photosynthesis. Some carbon is lost back into the atmosphere through respiration the rest is stored in the leaves, branches, and roots of the trees. Fight climate change plant a tree.
Trees can increase the property value of your home. Mature trees can increase property value by 20 percent according to the US Forest Service.
I want to thank whoever planted those trees along Santa Clara street in Vallejo. A mature tree takes about 20 years to grow. As the saying goes the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago the next best time is today. Trees what's not to like: fresh air, cooling, carbon sequestration, and an increase in property values. Plant a tree today it's the second best time to do it!
- Author: Amalia Rehman
In my ignorance, I navigated through my life with little thought to the world outside my bubble that my daily routine had created. Sometimes life gets so busy you get so focused on the admittedly important things in life; like raising your children, creating a warm and comfortable home, etc… And out of nowhere something comes into your bubble and bursts it with some new knowledge that expands your interests and makes you realize that there is more to life than your little world. That there is an abundance of experiences to explore and learn from and as that happens - your world view expands.
Such was my blissful ignorance in 1990. Little did I know what passionate romance I was about to embark upon.
My widowed father had a new girlfriend. She was a nurse and well read and educated. She had lots of interests and one day invited me to go with her to Mclellan Farms, an orchid specialty farm, lab and showroom/store. I thought it might be interesting. So I agreed to go along.
It was a new world. The precision and effort they put into creating the perfect orchid were astonishing. Petri dishes that are set on ever-rotating clamps, ensuring perfectly round seeds, cloning prize-winning orchids so that you can take a baby clone home and know exactly what you are going to get.
There was such a variety of blossoms I had never seen before. The variety, beauty, and perfume were overwhelming. I remember walking through the warehouse-sized store and feeling lightheaded, in a type of daze that was confusing, but marvelously pleasant. Each new vision drew me in with its beauty. They beckoned me, “take me home…” and I felt tortured in trying to decide on the veining I prefer, the shades I preferred and the shape of the blossom I preferred. On an on, I went on my adventure to find my perfect match.
Oh, the smiling faces of the phalaenopsis, slightly bent down in shyness, but not so low that I could not see their beautiful countenances. Then there were the oncidiums, fluttering radiant insects beckoning for attention. The cattleyas, with their promising feminine ruffles. The dramatic and unusual miltonias and the paphiopedilums with their full large gullets that reminded me of pelicans
Finally, I came across the cymbidiums. A sea of them along the floor. Their relatively subtle colors were a salve to my dizzying eyes. Their elegant proportions and swoon-worthy scent pulled at my heartstrings. They seduced me to take one of them home. An hour later, I had chosen my beloved.
He was the best of lovers: entertaining me and pleasing me every day. He greeted me each morning with his handsome face and proverbial smile. He reminded me of his love with his perfume that filled the room. It made me turn toward him throughout the day and smile at how happy he made me feel. This affair went on for weeks as his buds blossomed and filled the room with joy.
This blissful romance started to fade as his blossoms withered and fell away. With trepidation, I cut his stems in half, as I was instructed by our matchmaker. I felt as if I was betraying him. With time he was moved to the far end of the room where his bare stems and thick tongue-like leaves sat out of the way. Soon he was gone from my mind as the daily grind of life took over.
But he was far more loyal than me. After several months a scent began to fill the room. I looked up in surprise and spied the corner to which I had banished my faded lover. There he was, rejuvenated. He seemed even younger than when we met. He was again filling the room with his power and my heart melted again.
Such was the tenor of our relationship for a while…
To this day, each time I walk out of Whole Foods or into Trader Joe's, I am reminded of my beloved. As the orchids beckon to be taken home and smile with their beautiful faces, I look at them and their voices begin to fade as the memories of my old love come to the fore. His memory has faded, the lines of his beautiful form and the effect of his scent, but I never forget how special his presence made me feel.