It's still warm but start looking forward to your cool-season vegetables now.
It's time to plant already! And Christmas Sweet Peas for your winter color! You'll hear tips and hints on what to expect, what to watch for, and what you must do now that summer is starting to wane.
This week on In the Garden, two topics are revisited based on recent inquiries to Master Gardeners.
During one half-hour segment, your UCCE Master Gardener/KUCI host will have Dr. John Kabashima to speak about the issues with Ants.
You'll learn how to keep your home free of them and, if they've established themselves, what to do to get rid of them. The other half-hour will be about Compost.
Your host will talk with fellow UCCE Master Gardener Elizabeth Bancroft about step-by-step processes for making your own compost and the dos and don'ts involved.
This week on In the Garden, UCCE Master Gardener and KUCI staff host Katrina Kirkeby with have a chat with Ernest Miller about food preservation.
Specifically, fermentation! What?! (You ask?).
It's the process which gives you your sauerkraut or kimchi, your pickles, your yogurt, and some people's favorite new drink - Kombucha.
Or, of course, some people's favorite old drink – Wine!
through the use of commercial chemical fertilizers and manures. Rates of application are from a quarter pound (young trees) to 1.5 –2.0 lbs. (mature trees) of actual nitrogen per tree per year. Fertilizers most commonly used are calcium ammonium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, urea or calcium nitrate. Ammonium sulfate is not used on acid soils due to their tendency to make the soil even more acid.Zinc deficiency is characterized by mottled yellowing between the veins, small leaves and more rounded fruit. Zinc sulfate (purchased from a farm supply store usually applied at the rate of 0.5 lbs. per tree per year, scattered on the soil in the wetted pattern and watered into the soil.
Alternatively, zinc sulfate can be applied at the rate of about 3 –4 lbs. per tree every five years. In some situations, other elements may be lacking. Iron deficiency (causing sharp green veins against a yellow background between the veins) is common in calcareous soils. Iron, manganese, zinc and copper can be applied as a foliar spray in the late spring to supply minor elements. Leaf analysis in the late summer/fall is done to determine which elements, if any, are lacking.Some long-term studies have indicated that yield may be improved with applications of phosphorous and potassium. A basic fertilizer schedule used for mature trees in farm advisor trials is as follows:
Early February: 6 lbs. triple 15 (15-15-15) applied per tree. (Equals 0.90 lbs. actual nitrogen); June: 3 lbs. calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0) applied per tree (equals 0.465 lbs. actualnitrogen);September: 3 lbs. calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0) (equals 0.465 lbs. actual nitrogen).
Total actual nitrogen for the year:1.83 lbs.Recent research has indicated that yield in
Hass avocado may be boosted somewhat by an extra application of nitrogen (0.25 lb. actual N/tree) in April and November.
Explore the sustainable gardening practices at work at the UCCE Demonstration Landscapes - including rainwater harvesting, low-water plantings, more efficient irrigation, composting, mulching and environmentally friendly pest control alternatives.
Taste fresh, seasonal fruit grown at the UC ANR South Coast Research & Extension Center. Learn food preservation methods from UCCE Master Food Preservers.
Kids - visit the 4-H booth and learn how to make a smoothie while riding your bike - along with other delicious snacks.
Listen to presentations by UC experts about more efficient water use and irrigation, plant selections for our local climate and pest management practices for your home landscape.
Get answers to your landscape questions from UC experts, UCCE Master Gardeners, various industry vendors and local water agencies.
This is a FREE event hosted by UC ANR South Coast Research & Extension Center and Irvine Ranch Water District.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
9 am to 2 pm
7601 Irvine Blvd., Irvine, CA
Directions, updates and additional details at ucanr.org/sites/urbanwatermgmt