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/).
Advice From the Help Desk
of the UC Master Gardener Program
Help Desk Response: Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardeners about your apricot trees and their problems fruiting this year when your other fruit trees are fruiting well. You also asked for advice on growing vegetables in your home orchard.
There are many reasons why fruit trees will fail to produce with only a light crop. The main problems in our area tend to be weather related, either too warm in the winter or rains or frost at the incorrect time. Other problems may be related to pruning, either timing and/or amount of pruning. Based on the research that we have done on temperatures last winter and the moderate pruning that your trees received, I don't believe that those would have been problems for your trees. Although there were some cool temperatures in February that may have impacted pollination. The more likely cause of your problem was the March rains that we experienced. Apricots bloom in February and early March and spring rains leave them at particular risk for pollination and fruit set problems.
There is one other factor that may have contributed to the problems with your apricot production. You had mentioned that your trees received little water last summer due to the drought. Apricot trees initiate fruiting in early August of the prior year. This is a bit later than for other fruit trees. It is possible that stress due to the lack of water last summer may have impacted your apricots selectively.
Below are some links to more information that you might find useful.
http://homeorchard.ucanr.edu/Fruits_&_Nuts/Apricot_Prunus_armeniaca_L/
The above link provides a useful calendar for apricot management. It also mentions the spring rain problems encountered by apricots:
http://ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/apricots.html.
This link provides cultural tips as well as guidance on pest control.
Veggies and Fruit Trees: You had also asked about planting vegetables in your orchard. You do need to be careful planting vegetables with fruit trees. While not recommended for the several reasons below, with very careful planning, you might have success. In this case, success (e.g., quantity, quality, type, etc.) would be in the eye of the garden owner, you. For example, one problem is shade. Most summer vegetables need 6-8 hours full sun. If you are going to plant, you would need to make sure that the vegetables are on the south side of the fruit trees to avoid shade on the vegetable plants. Another problem is water. Trees do best with relatively infrequent and deep watering. Vegetables typically need more frequent watering. If you are setting up new irrigation, you should separate the vegetable irrigation system from the orchard system. Here is some information on irrigation: http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/files/221116.pdf.
I thought you might also be interested in some general information on setting up and managing a vegetable garden: http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8059.pdf.
Good luck with your trees and your vegetables. Please let us know if you have further questions.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County (ECS)
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
Generally, used appropriately, coffee grounds can be beneficial to your garden. And if you search the internet you can find lots of information on their use. As in all things “internet”, the question is “what is appropriate”.
The Master Gardener program attempts to provide the gardener with scientifically based advice on gardening. The use of coffee grounds is no exception. Recently, Washington State University's Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott (Extension Urban Horticulturist and Associate Professor, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University) updated her earlier 2009 review of gardening use of coffee grounds with the publishing of her latest review of the scientific literature: “Use Of Coffee Grounds In Gardens And Landscapes” (http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/FS207E/FS207E.pdf). This latest review has been peer-reviewed.
While it is strongly recommended that you read for yourself the short 6-page paper, below are the edited excerpts from her findings:
Action list for using coffee grounds in compost
- Use no more than 20 percent by volume of coffee grounds in a compost pile. A diverse feedstock will ensure a healthy diversity of microorganisms.
- Don't assume coffee grounds will make an acidic compost; pH levels will change over time.
- Be sure to allow coffee grounds to cool before adding them to your compost; heat can kill your beneficial microbes.
- Avoid adding coffee grounds to vermicomposting bins; they can injure or kill earthworms in these confined areas.
- Understand that disease suppression from nonpathogenic organisms found in decomposing coffee grounds has only been demonstrated under controlled conditions on a handful of crops, including bean, melon, spinach, and tomato. Their efficacy in gardens and landscapes is unknown.
Action list for using coffee grounds directly as a mulch
- Apply a thin layer (no more than half an inch) of coffee grounds. Cover with a thicker layer (four inches) of coarse organic mulch like wood chips. This will protect the coffee grounds from compaction.
- Don't apply thick layers of coffee grounds as a standalone mulch. Because they are finely textured and easily compacted, coffee grounds can interfere with moisture and air movement in soils.
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BLOG editor's addendum: Most of the comments on Dr. Chalker-Scott's latest review center around “avoid adding coffee grounds to vermicomposting bins…” with more than a few anecdotal comments that it is common practice to use coffee grounds in compost bins. I think there is some clarification needed between compost bins and vermicompost bins… Her response so far is that she is reporting what is in the scientific literature. Vermicomposters should take special notice of this finding and manage their composting accordingly. You might search for further updates and discussion on Dr. Chalker-Scott's Facebook page “The Garden Professors”
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Help Desk of the UC Master Gardeners 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/).
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Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
i confess ... I'm a garden blog junkie.
As an avid gardener, I'm also looking to the (many) blogs I subscribe to for ideas on how to enjoy my gardening even more. While I hope you find this blog interesting, there are many other UCANR blogs that you might be interested in as well. Many of the most informative are posted quite frequently, while most are only posted occasionally. You can find the full list of UCANR blogs at http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/blogroll.cfm?sort=a. You will probably have to do some looking around to find blogs you will be interested in… but you can easily change your subscriptions at any time.
A recent blog I subscribe to -- UC WEED SCIENCE had some great advice on getting rid of garden weeds:
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Control garden weeds in early spring
Posted by: Gale Perez
Published on: April 14, 2016....From the UCANR News Blog...
UC Cooperative Extension IPM advisor Cheryl Wilen recommends swivel hoes over herbicides for weed control.
Wilen recommends home gardeners use a swivel (or hula) hoe to scrape the surface and decapitate weeds. “It's a bit of exercise,” she said, "but you can do it so quickly, it's not a problem.”
Another weed control strategy is a thick layer of mulch, with does double-duty by reducing water evaporation from the soil surface, thereby conserving water.
Wilen suggests a three- to four-inch layer of mulch be spread in garden beds and landscape borders before the weed seeds have a chance to germinate. Mulch blocks the sunlight weeds need to push through the ground.
Fabric weed barriers are useful for controlling particularly challenging weeds, like nutsedge. Wilen suggests covering the fabric with mulch for an esthetically pleasing weed-free garden.
Though the common herbicide glyphosate (such as Roundup) kills weeds and is safe if used correctly, Wilen prefers using the swivel hoe. "It's just quicker and easier than pulling out the spray equipment," she said.
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No use re-inventing the wheel for this blog with this advice… time to get out my hula hoe… and I found the link to the LA Times article informative as well.
So… for all you garden junkies out there… you might consider perusing and subscribing to some UCANR blogs to get your full daily “garden fix”.
UC Master Gardener Program's Help Desk
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/).
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