A half-block from the highway that brings thousands of tourists to Yosemite National Park each year, the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Master Gardeners landscaped a short and scenic hiking path that provides the perfect break on a long drive.
The quarter-mile-long Mariposa Creek Parkway runs parallel to State Route 140 (Main Street in downtown Mariposa) on Stroming Road between Eighth and Sixth streets. Along the path, the Master Gardeners created the California Native Plant Demonstration Garden, which includes dozens of beautiful, drought-tolerant plants labeled for easy identification.
The path, which follows a short stretch of Mariposa Creek, was designed to increase...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A support network for California winegrape growers will gather in Lodi March 24-26 at the National Viticulture and Enology Extension Leadership Conference. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources plays a vital role in developing and extending research-based information to the California winegrape industry. UC ANR advisors and specialists work directly with farmers and with industry professionals who also help ensure that the latest knowledge on grapevine pest control, nutrition, pruning, irrigation and other practices make their way into the hands of the people growing grapes in the field.
The conference begins on March 24 with presentations on new research. On March 25, participants take a tour of...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Last fall Kerman cotton farmer Paul Betancourt got a call from the gin manager where his crop was being processed and his heart dropped. The gin found sticky cotton.
“It's like having an embarrassing social disease,” Betancourt said. “We want to do better, and we need your help.”
Betancourt was appealing to UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and other experts who were gathered with him at the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association annual meeting in Visalia. UC ANR entomology specialist Larry Godfrey had begun the pest management session with a somber message. The whiteflies that cotton growers had been...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California law requires homeowners in wildfire-prone areas to create 100 feet of defensible space around their dwellings. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) experts suggest going a bit farther by creating a five-foot buffer immediately surrounding the home completely devoid of plants and anything that can burn.
Few people think about creating the non-combustible zone, said UC ANR Cooperative Extension advisor Yana Valachovic, because they are so accustomed to foundation plantings. “Plants are used to anchor the house visually on the landscape. Without them, a house can look naked,” Valachovic said.
But the non-combustible...
To keep pollution out of the ocean and natural creeks, California city planners are looking for creative ways to manage the large amount of water that falls during rain storms. More and more, they are building bioswales, shallow roadside basins designed to hold water as it slowly percolates into the soil or can be delivered to waste water treatment plants.
In many areas, the bioswales – sometimes called “rain gardens” or “stormwater planters” – are being beautifully designed and landscaped so that, in addition to addressing flood management, they provide an artful green oasis in the largely asphalt and concrete urban jungle. Ornamental trees are a common feature.
Street trees have...