Advice From the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
UC Master Gardener Help Desk: I did some research to determine possible causes for the reduced production of okra in your garden this year as compared to last year. I suspect that the high daytime temperatures that we've experienced on and off throughout the summer have contributed to the reduced production. My research also indicates that temperatures above 90° F (some sources say above 95°F) can interfere with pollination of okra and cause flowers and buds to drop. You reported in your latest message that you have noticed some encouraging signs that more pods may have started forming recently, which could be the result of the cooler temperatures that we had for several successive days last week.
Of course, we also experienced high temperatures from time to time last year when you report that production was much higher. So, there may be some other factors at work. You mentioned that you were doing some supplemental watering for the okra last summer to add to what was provided by your scheduled drip system. My research did indicate that water stress can also reduce pollination rates for okra. So perhaps the reduction in watering this year has also contributed to the reduced production rate.
One other consideration could be the fertility of the soil. Too much nitrogen will encourage lots of green growth but can suppress fruit development. Also, plants need adequate phosphorous which supports blooming and fruit production. If you have a soils test kit, it might be worth checking the fertility levels of the soils in the okra bed. If phosphorous is too low, you could supply a boost with a foliar spray or soil drench of a liquid fertilizer that is high in phosphorous. Just be careful not to supply more nitrogen if the current levels are already adequate.
One other fact I learned from my research is that you can prolong the production period of okra by cutting off about 1/3 of the plant top in late summer. This pruning allows plants to send out new growth and flower and fruit for a second time in the fall.
I hope this information is useful. You are welcome to contact our Help Desk if you have further questions.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (TKL)
Editor's note: For more information on okra gardening, a Sonoma County MG article is recommended (click)... the pictures in this blog post came from that article.
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 think I've found bed bugs in one of my children's beds. What can I do to identify and get rid of them?
Contra Costa County's Health Department is the County's lead agency to combat bed bugs. The Department has a good website with lots of links to bed bug information for homeowners, tenants, landlords, and pest control professionals. The following link will take you to that website: http://cchealth.org/bedbugs/. There you will find additional links to methods to protect your other children's beds by using easy-to-make traps for the beds' legs that you can use right now. There is also a link that will help you hire a pest control company that is competent to take care of the problem. Treatments can include vacuuming, heat treatment, steam cleaning, clutter control and careful use of pesticide sprays or dusts.
UC document: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7454.html
UC video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORR7yAT-Vic
Please don't hesitate to contact us again if you have more questions.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa County (SEH)
all pictures from the UC Pest Note 7454 on bed bug management
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/).
/span>Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Subject: More Summer Tomato problems as well as Crop Rotation and Fertilization
Client brought tomatoes from her garden with “production problems” to the Help Desk.
Response from the Help Desk: Thank you for bringing your tomato plant samples to the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk office. You mentioned that you have been planting tomatoes in the same area for a number of years and have not had problems before this year. We found 3 different conditions in your samples that could explain why your plants are not thriving.
place year after year can favor a build up of this pest. The pest can also persist in petunias, morning glory, and other plants in the tomato family like potato, peppers and eggplant. We recommend that you remove the infested plants, all fallen leaves and weeds in the area, and put them in your green waste container (not in a compost pile). This will reduce the potential that russet mites will still be in your yard next year.
Additional information on the russet mites can be found here http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/PESTS/tomrusmite.html.
Sulfur dusts can be used to reduce an infestation of russet mites but will not help if the pest has already killed most of the plant. If you do decide to try a treatment anyway, safety warnings applicable to the use of sulfur include wearing eye protection, long pants and long sleeves, and a hat, and avoiding contact with eyes and skin. Additional information on sulfur is here http://ipm.ucanr.edu/TOOLS/PNAI/pnaishow.php?id=67 .
Finally, we strongly recommend that you not plant tomatoes or other plants in the tomato family listed above in the same area more than 2 years in a row. Rotating your vegetables will help reduce the pests and diseases that you have been experiencing this year. You may also be interested in a good overall UC reference on growing tomatoes in the home garden that can be found (free) at http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/repositoryfiles/8159-54222.pdf
Please feel free to contact us again if you have additional problems with your garden.
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
Subject: Summer Tomato Problems
Client: Came to our Help Desk office with multiple problems with his tomatoes and maybe on his samples of rosemary and rhododendron
First, we discussed the early blight problem on your tomato plants. In particular, we discussed that spores of the early blight fungus in your case were spread by splashing water, so it is important to keep the leaves as dry as possible. We also discussed using mulch to reduce the spread of spores from old infected leaf material in the soil, and using crop rotation techniques. Here is a link to additional information and photographs http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/DISEASES/tomearlyblight.html.
We further identified a disfigurement on the bottom of the tomato fruit as a physiological problem called catfacing. It occurs when weather is too cold during flowering. There is not any way to prevent this but the problem will not spread and the fruits are safe to eat. A link to that information is here http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/ENVIRON/catfacing.html
Finally, I looked at the specimens of rosemary and rhododendron leaves you brought in, and confirmed that there were no pests or diseases there. However, both plants appear to be water stressed and should perk up with additional irrigation.
I hope that this information is helpful. Please do not hesitate to ask for advice again. We are here to help.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (JL)
(all pictures from UCANR links cited above)
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/).
Author: Linda Bray, UC Master Gardener, Contra Costa County
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Editor's Note: UC Master Gardener Program receives a lot of questions about gardening and bees and how to attract and protect them in our gardens. Below is a recent report on the status of native bees in Contra Costa County. While the report deals primarily with agriculture in East Contra Costa County, the principles will also apply to your garden (e.g., click).
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I attended the meeting of the Contra Costa County Fish and Wildlife Committee yesterday (July 20, 2016) and was especially interested to learn about the progress of UC Berkeley's native bee research and how it has affected agriculture in our area.
First on the agenda was Dr. Gordon Franke of UC Berkeley who presented the progress made on the project, Bees In Brentwood. Dr. Franke and his research group have been studying native bees since 1987 and the research has now extended to farms in both Contra Costa County and Ventura County. Dr. Franke began his presentation by stating that there are 4.000 species of native bees throughout North America but California is home to 1600 species which makes it the perfect habitat to study these busy pollinators.
Farmer Al Corchesne of Frog Hollow Farms in Brentwood was open to having Dr. Franke's research teams set up a demonstration garden on a small plot among his hundred acres. The diverse plants used in the garden were native bee-drawing ornamentals. Since then, seven other farmers have agreed to be part of the research. Ultimately, the native bees do not require a monetary investment if they are found on the farms and in time, may be the only agents of pollination if colony collapse continues. There are eight demonstration garden plots; four are treatment and four are control. Some farms are organic and some are conventional. The monitoring of native bee populations has been ongoing since 2010. To date, the conventional farms near Marsh Creek have the highest numbers of native bees. UC Berkeley teams conduct twice-weekly visits during the growing season and monitor the numbers and species. Data is continually analyzed for key outcomes.
Dr. Franke encouraged committee members to visit helpabee.org to read the latest outcomes of the native bee research. His book, CALIFORNIA BEES AND BLOOMS, published in 2012, is a guidebook to California's 1600 species of wild bees and gives information about what to plant to attract them to our gardens. Education is the key to making the public aware of identification of native bees and their susceptibility to pesticides. There is continuing proof that neonicotinoids can adversely affect not only native bees but many species of birds as well. As new chemicals are formulated for use in our gardens, research is key to short and long term effects on our environment. Certainly, the effects on our native bee species is critical to our long-term food supply.
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (LMB)
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/).