Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Client: Hello, I live in Contra Costa County and am basically a newborn to the gardening world. I want to grow fruit trees in my home "orchard". I have a “big” question: What fruits will grow well where I live and how do I grow them?
I hope that this information is helpful. Good luck on your “orchard”.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa
Client: This weed is growing in my lawn. Could you please tell me what it is and how do I eradicate and/or prevent it?
MGCC Help Desk: Thank you for bringing the weed sample from your lawn for identification and recommendations on its elimination and control.
Annual bluegrass loves damp, shady areas. You can reduce favorable conditions for this weed by watering deeply and infrequently. The weed's shallow roots will not be able to reach down to where the moisture is. Annual Bluegrass will also invade lawns where the soil has become compacted. You can reduce lawn compaction by aerating during non-sprouting periods. This will allow water to settle deeper in the soil away from the shallow-rooted weeds.
For more information on this weed and its control, please see the UC Davis publication, How to Manage Pests in Gardens and Landscapes - Annual Bluegrass at http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7464.html.
Please let us know if you have any additional questions
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (VLT)
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Client: I wondering if you could help identify the issue with some of the leaves on my Lisbon lemon tree? I typically water once a week and not again until it dries out.
MGCC Help Desk Response: Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk with your question about your lemon tree. Thank you for the photograph which was very helpful.
The vein yellowing evident in the photograph you sent could be due to several factors:
- There is a virus that can cause vein yellowing, but it is not common in our area, and so is probably not the cause.
- Herbicide toxicity can cause this type of symptom. If you have used an herbicide containing either diuron or bromacil, that could be the cause. If you have not used herbicides, then the cause is probably nitrogen deficiency.
- Although nitrogen deficiency symptoms usually present as more general yellowing rather than prominent vein yellowing, nitrogen deficiency can cause vein yellowing when the soil is cold (usually during the winter months), or if stems or the trunk are girdled (mechanically constricted). If there are any ties around your tree, you should remove them.
Lemon trees need regular fertilization, particularly with nitrogen, to remain healthy and productive. If you have not fertilized your tree this spring, we recommend that you do so now. You can either use ammonium sulfate or a standard citrus fertilizer. Information on proper nitrogen fertilization of citrus, based on the age of the tree, can be found at this University of California website http://ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/CULTURAL/citfertilization.html.Or you can just follow the directions on the fertilizer label.
Citrus has many roots near the soil surface. Lemon tree roots should not be disturbed by digging or cultivating, since damaged roots will negatively impact water and nutrient absorption. At least several inches of mulch under the entire tree is usually also recommended to protect the roots, keep the roots cool, retain Irrigation moisture, and minimize competing weeds. Keep the mulch at least 6” from the trunk.
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Citrus should be watered every 7 - 10 days during the dry season. Additional information on how to water citrus can be found (and/or downloaded free) at the University of California's website http://ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/CULTURAL/citruswatering.html .
I hope that this information is helpful. If you water and fertilize the lemon tree properly but the leaves do not green up with 4 weeks, please feel free to contact us again.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (JL)
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Client: Some animal is burrowing throughout my garden. I've had pocket gophers in the past, but I'm not sure that's what I've got this time. Could you help me identify the “burrower” and suggest possible controls? Also, are these pests nocturnal?
MGPCC Help Desk: Thank you for contacting UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa with your question regarding pest control of the burrowing pest(s) in your garden.
The potential pests in your yard could be ground squirrels, moles, pocket gophers or voles. You also mentioned that you have had pocket gophers in the past and wondered which of these critters are nocturnal.
All members of the squirrel family except flying squirrels are diurnal – which means they're active primarily during the day. Moles are not nocturnal. This misconception is probably the result of people looking out their window in the morning and seeing fresh mole hills. In fact, moles are not necessarily more or less active at any time during the day or night. They are more active during quiet periods, such as early morning or late in the evening. Pocket gophers are active throughout the day with periods of rest. Voles can be nocturnal or diurnal depending on the species.
The best way to determine what type of pest you have is by the damage you see.
- Ground Squirrels: The key identifier for these rodents is an exposed tunnel entrance with discarded dirt surrounding the entrance of the tunnel. You can see right into a ground squirrel burrow, unlike that of moles or pocket gophers.
- Moles: If you have a mole, you will see mounds of dirt and/or surface tunnels. Dirt mounds (look like piles or "puffs" of dirt shaped like a volcano) and surface tunnels (look like the veins on the back of your hand). Not all moles will have both surface tunnels and dirt mounds. If you see one or the other (or both), you have a mole.
- Pocket Gophers: Damage done by pocket gophers is similar to moles, but there is a major difference. Dirt mounds are crescent-shaped (like a "C") with a "dirt plug" on one side of the mound.
- Voles: Voles typically “piggy back” on the damage done by moles and tend to travel in mole tunnels and often are the cause of damage to roots, bulbs, and tubers within.
UC IPM Pest Notes (via free download) provide specific guidance on identification of these garden pests as well as controls. Here are the links to the appropriate Pest Notes:
Ground Squirrels:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7438.html
Moles:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74115.html
Pocket Gophers:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7433.html
Voles:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7439.html
Good luck on your on successful controls. You have many fellow gardeners who feel your pain.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (SLH)
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
Advice From the Help Desk
of the UC Master Gardener Program
Less than 2 weeks ago, the “‘Bringing Back the Natives” sponsored and showcased an extensive tour of home gardens that utilize primarily California native plants. The tour highlighted what you can do in your garden using native plants as well as minimizing your water use and providing habitat for native wildlife.
While the plants featured were California native plants, they may not be "native" to where the garden was actually located. Have you ever wondered what the “native plants” were where you actually live and garden? Well, the California Native Plant Society along with UC's Jepson Herbarium (and many other herbariums and collectors) did and they have implemented a very useful graphic database on the web, www.calscape.org, that has cataloged what actually was native to your garden … right down to your address. So now you can "easily" plant and grow what was originally “native” vs. what “natives” you could grow… maybe. Their efforts are at www.calscape.org.
Below are edited excerpts from the “About” page of calscape.org to entice you to check it out:
“About Calscape
Our goal at Calscape is to help Californians restore nature and save water one garden at a time. We do this by showing people which plants are really native to any location in the state, helping them figure out which ones they want, and where to buy them and how to grow them.
California is an extremely environmentally diverse state. Different California native plants evolved to grow in areas of the state with very different temperatures, rainfall levels, summer drought periods, air moisture levels, and marine influences, among other factors. Because of this, it's always best to grow California native plants in the areas in which they evolved. They are easier to grow, healthier and require little or no artificial irrigation when they are planted in an area in which they evolved and naturally belong. Native California plants that aren't really native to that location will often struggle or die no matter how much you water them.
True native plants are the foundation for nature restoration. They attract birds, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and insects and other pollinators that evolved with those plants, and over time create a working natural ecosystem, without pesticides, and without artificial fertilizers. The bird life in particular in a true natural garden is often spectacular. With the right plants, it's not hard for homeowners to create small patches of nature throughout even the developed part of the state.
Our estimates for which plant species naturally grow in each square mile of California are based on algorithms using the GPS locations of over a million field occurrences of native California plant species provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, the 36Jepson geographic subdivisions, and detailed elevations profiles within each square mile of California.
Sources of plant photos include Calphotos, and dozens of amazing plant photographers who have agreed to share their photos with Calscape. Authorship and copyright information is shown under each plant photo.
Other sources include Wikipedia, which is an important source for the "About" sections in the Calscape plant pages. In many cases the sections have been edited and built on by Calscape volunteer editors. …
[S]unset information was provided by The Jepson Flora Project.
Propagation from seed information was provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery.
Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson eFlora, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout.”
The input and effort for Calscape.org is very impressive, solid, and can only get better as it allows for edited input on locations, plants, etc. (e.g., think Wikipedia) If you are interested in the impetus that led to calscape.org and how it was “built”, you may also be interested in a recent radio interview with one of calscape.org's leaders, Dan Mudd. The interview can be found on the Farmer Fred's KFBK radio show podcast of April 24 @ http://www.iheart.com/show/The-KFBK-Garden-Show/?episode_id=27502621, specifically starting at about the 19:35 minutes mark into the podcast to about 29:50 minutes.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa (SIM)
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).