Fresno Gardening Green

 Before Katie Howden graduated from Madera South High School in 2008, she noticed an unsightly piece of vacant land between two portable classrooms on campus. The one-third acre gravel pit with a smattering of utility infrastructure was choked with puncturevine and tumbleweed or, during the rainy season…

When plants grow where we don’t want them to grow, we consider them weeds.TasksWhen using herbicides for weed control, spray on a calm day and protect plants by shielding them with a large piece of cardboard.Learn to use the “season adjust” feature on your irrigation controller to make adjustments easier…

 First of all, what are grafted tomatoes? Grafted tomatoes consist of a modern varietal tomato (the scion) attached to the root system of another plant (rootstock). The rootstock can be another tomato or another plant in the Solanaceae family, including eggplant, pepper, tobacco or potato. Most…

 Celebrate spring by giving a basket of flowers or vegetables to someone special.TaskPull weeds and hoe often to minimize reseeding.After mulching, check to make sure your irrigation runs are watering through the mulch to the correct rooting depth. If not, increase run times.Use a strong stream of water…

 There is much beauty in the late spring gardens of the central San Joaquin Valley.TasksSometimes gardeners need to accept a small amount of pest damage to plants.Instead of trying to kill insects, learn which ones are beneficial and protect them by avoiding the use of synthetic insecticides.Water and…