Why did you decide to apply to the UCCE Master Gardener program in San Bernardino County?

I decided to become a UCCE Master Gardener because I was interested in improving my knowledge in pesticide -free food production. I had been growing vegetables and fruit trees but a lot of experimentation and trial-and-error was involved. The UCCE Master Gardener program provides researched based gardening information and training that MGs can then share with diverse communities in a variety of settings.

Tell us about the “climate-ready” landscape tree mulch/no mulch research project you've led for the past several years.

As of February of 2019, I meet up with a group of several UCCE Master Gardeners to measure tree trunk circumference as part of a citizen-science project. The trees for this climate-ready tree study are located at the Chino Basin Water

Conservation District/Waterwise Community Center in Montclair. Being able to take part in an important study has been\ a rewarding experience.

Note from UCCE Lead Researcher Janet Hartin: Irene and her team (MGs Wayne Borders, Christian Ordaz, Roger Lai, Esther Martinez, Judy Scott, Debi Adams and Kit Leung) have played a critical role in identifying the impacts of mulch vs no mulch on drought, heat, and pest resistant trees that stand up to the challenges of climate change. Properly selected and cared for landscape trees cool urban heat islands, provide shade and habitat, and - at maturity - absorb and store carbon produced by the burning of fossil fuels.  The four species of trees (‘Bubba' desert willow, ‘Maverick' mesquite,  ‘Red Push' pistache,  and ‘Desert Museum' palo verde) included in this project were selected from a larger project at UC Riverside due to our interest in determining the impacts of mulch on tree growth and development and water conservation due to less soil evaporation. Irene's team has meticulously taken quarterly data on tree circumference at two heights and photographed the trees throughout the project.This is just another example of how UCCE Master Gardeners help UCCE's mission to develop

and extend research-based information to Californians on critical issues.Kudos to Irene and her team! Results have been presented at the 2020 American Society for Horticultural Science annual conference with an update that includes tree root density data to be reported this December at the International Society for Horticultural Science conference in Italy held virtually due to COVID-19 concerns)

What advice would you give a San Bernardino County resident interested in becoming UCCE Master Gardener?

I would tell a San Bernardino resident interested in becoming a MG to apply to the program. They will find that the decision to learn further about gardening and sustainable landscaping will not only enrich their own life but also that of those they share the information with. They will also likely make new friends with others who are also passionate about nature. 

 

When summer is here and the list of edible fruits and veggies that can be planted in Southern CA is at its shortest,

maybe it's time to consider growing some herbs to add some flavor to your cooking! Here is a system you might want to try that helps you save on space, water and time! I first stumbled across this idea while surfing the internet and thoughth, that looks cute!” That was a few years ago, and since then I have fallen in love with this system. The “three-tiered herb garden” system has a few key features that have made it a key part of my year round edible gardening.

-It takes up very little room and it's portable. The stack of three pots can take up as little as 12 to 14” of space on your porch or growing area. This is great for areas where you don't have a lot of room to grow and it also makes it easy to find room right by your kitchen or porch door. That said, I have gone on to create larger versions of this and mini versions of this and all sorts of versions in between, but the basic set up below is a good place to start before you try different versions.

-Great for many varieties of herbs in a small planting area. The top tier of the herb garden is on the drier side and is great for growing herbs that like a drier soil. I like to put thyme or sage at the top. The middle tier is great for plants that need a little more water, but don't like to be too wet. Herbs like basil, marjoram, oregano, chives, and cilantro will do well on the middle tier of the herb garden. The bottom level is a little damper and is a great place to grow herbs like mint (planting the mint in a pot keeps it from taking over your garden too!), chives, parsley, basil and chervil. Rosemary and fennel do well in the three-tiered system but tend to get big, making them a better choice for a larger herb garden, or planting in beds. Lavender is susceptible to diseases at it's crown and do best planted in well-draining soil and given lots of space to grow.

-It's great for people who forget to water (that's me!!)! The top and middle tier pots have drainage holes so when you

water from the top the water flows down towards to pots below. This is great because it creates microclimates in your set up where the top of the tower is drier and the bottom tends to be more wet, but it also has some insulating effects as well. The stacking of the pots helps prevent water from evaporating (imagine picking up a rock on a dry day and seeing some moisture underneath, it's the same idea). The holes in the pots allow roots from the upper tiers to grow down into the soil below and keeps them from being so vulnerable to heat and drying out like they would be if they were just in their own unstacked pots by themselves.

-Great, easy to transport, gifts for people who love plants, and a fun way to get creative in the garden. I got started with one, and I have gone on to make big ones (with a half wine barrel as the bottom pot and then the middle and top pots being 14 and 8 inches across) that can grow a larger volume of herbs that I use a lot of in my kitchen. I have gifted several three-tiered herb gardens and they are always cute and fun gifts!

Follow these easy steps to plant your own three-tiered herb garden and send our Master Gardeners an email or give them a call if you have any questions, we are here to help!!

Supplies needed:

-3 pots of different sizes (for example a 14” pot, an 8” pot and a 4” pot) The top and middle pot should have drainage holes for maximum benefits of stacking. The bottom pot is best with drainage holes to ensure proper water, and prevent salt buildup, but it is less important for the plants that can handle soil that is more moist.

-Good potting mix or soil. You can mix some compost in as well. Herbs, like most fruits and veggies do best in well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter. They don't usually need as much fertilizer as other produce, but you can mix a

bit of fertilizer in with the soil if you are planting transplants. Fertilizer is not needed at planting time if you are planting seeds.

-Your herbs! You can plant transplants or seeds depending on what you prefer, and how much time you have. There are a wide variety of herbs you can plant, but here are a few ideas:

Top tier: sage, thyme or rosemary if you keep it small, or have a large set of pots

Middle tier: sage, thyme, chives (garlic or onion), marjoram, oregano, fennel (with a larger pot system), dill, green onions, chervil,

Bottom tier: Mint, basil, parsley, cilantro, marjoram, oregano, green onions

Step 1) starting with your bottom pot, fill it halfway with soil. Set your plants (I usually put about 4 or 6 plants on the bottom tier depending on how big your pots are) at an angle facing out a bit. Remember that your plants won't have a lot of room on the surface of the soil, but they will have lots of room for their roots to grow under the pots that are stacked on top. Add soil to your transplants as you would when you are doing your regular planting up to the previous soil line, but leave the level in the middle of the pot a little lower so you can set the second pot on top

Step 2) add your second pot (that has drainage holes) to the center of the first pot. Make sure it's level and sitting securely on top of the soil and begin

planting. Repeat the steps above (I can usually fit between 3 and 4 plants on this second level depending on how big the pots are), setting the plants towards the edge of the pot and adding soil to fill up the space, leaving a little bit of an indentation in the center.

Step 3) add your last, top pot! Depending on how small the top pot is you may need to add a bit of soil to the pot before adding your top plant (usually just one plant), or if the pot is small enough it might not be needed. Just make sure the pot has enough room for your plant, and that you plant is high enough in the pot. Plant that plant as you would normally in the center of your pot, adding soil up the previous fill line.

If you are planting seeds on any of the levels you would follow the same steps above, but instead of planting the transplants you add soil to fill the pot (leaving a bit of a depression in the center for the pot above) and then plant the seeds as appropriate for the varieties you are planting.

When you want to refresh a level of your garden you can take the pots apart and repeat the steps above with new additions in empty spaces, or you can just dig down into your pots while they are stacked and replant. You can decide whether you are going to take them apart or not based on your personal preference or on how deep the roots are growing from one pot into the soil below.

In the heat of the summer starting herbs may be a little more challenging from seed, but it can be done if they are protected from too much direct sunlight. Being able to move the tower around easily is helpful if you are trying to start seeds, so you can put them in filtered light until they are a bit more established, then bring them back to your porch or full sun when they are several inches tall.

To care for your pots, add water as needed. Watch for overwatering on the bottom tier and drying out on the top tier as you get to know your new three-tiered herb garden, and there is no substitute for sticking your finger in the soil and digging down about an inch or so to see how dry the soil is before you water. That helps save water and also keeps you from overwatering.

As we are experiencing severe, or worse, drought in California we need to use our water resources carefully. Many of our ornamental shrubs and grasses (is plants a better word here?) can safely have water reduced to conserve water without causing long term damage to them. Our trees, one of our most valuable resources, need to be protected as well, but they can also do ok with strategically reduced water. Growing fruits and veggies take a lot of water so it's important to grow those edibles responsibly. Improper watering, or not enough water, can very quickly lead to problems with fruit set, production and reduced quality and flavor. Herbs are often the same way, and while some types can do ok with reduced water (like rosemary and lavender) most need to be evenly watered to get good leaf production. So, with the drought on everyone's mind you must ask yourself: is growing food at home a good use of water? The answer is yes!! Growing food and herbs at home have many benefits to your mental and physical health! You are also reducing the distance your produce travels from harvest to your kitchen and that can save resources! You can grow the produce you like and engage the family in the activity, having freshly harvested produce right at your doorstep! There are lots of ways to use your water wisely even in your edible garden by using drip irrigation, adding mulch and compost and growing varieties that are suited for your area. The three-tiered herb garden is a great way to have herbs at your doorstep that are easy to care for and take up a small amount of space using minimal resources.

Stinknet (Oncosiphon pilulifer) is a relatively new weed to North America and has been moving quickly and spreading in San Bernardino County. Gardeners may have noticed this unusual yellow-flowered plant growing in their yard this year, even though we are in a significant drought. This is a sign of how invasive this weed can be. It would be very wise to remove this plant from your yard and ensure it does not grow in your community.

Stinknet was first discovered in North America in Riverside County in the early 1980's and began to spread shortly thereafter. In the 1990's, it began to spread much more quickly and within 20 years of its discovery, it was found in multiple locations in Riverside and San Diego Counties as well as in central Arizona. Stinknet is a winter annual germinating with the fall and winter rains, blooming in the spring, and usually dying in the summer. However, stinknet seeds in the soil can germinate multiple times a year creating multiple cohorts and making it that much more difficult to remove.

 

Identification of stinknet:

There are four characteristics you can use to help identify stinknet. Each one by itself may or may not be helpful, and when combined they will help you correctly identify stinknet. 

First, and easiest to identify, is the inflorescence is bright yellow and round, almost globe shaped. The bright flowers dry to a dark brown color and tend to hold on to their seeds for many months after the plants die into the summer.

 

Second stinknet, like the common name suggests, stinks. It has a strong odor which many people find unpleasant, a strong resin, turpentine, pungent pine-like odor. Similar weeds which have a round inflorescence do not have an unpleasant odor (pineapple weed has a pleasant pineapple-like odor).

Third, the leaves of stinknet are finely divided. They are doubly pinnate (bipinnate), meaning the leaves are divided at least two times into smaller divisions. While many plants have this characteristic, this can be useful if your unknown plant is not flowering, has doubly divided leaves and you can smell it. 

 

Last, stinknet germinates in the fall and winter rains, grows as a small rosette through the winter and then starts to bolt and flower in the late winter through spring. In places that receive irrigation or in moist soils, stinknet can flower even longer from the early spring through the summer. 

While size can be helpful for some plants, the size of stinknet can be highly variable. Stinknet growing in poor conditions can grow to be only 6 inches tall with a few flowers. In good condition it grows to be almost 3 feet tall with hundreds of flowers and appears almost shrub like.

 

Local Infestations:

San Bernardino County so far has very few large stinknet infestations, but many scattered infestations. However, this year I've noticed more and more individuals and patches of stinknet in San Bernardino County, many of which will eventually become large infestations, if left to spread.

There are very large infestations in parts of Riverside (see below) and San Diego Counties and Phoenix where stinknet has been invading the longest. In these areas, stinknet covers entire fields and roadsides, covering dozens to hundreds of acres in large patches. There have been very few places in Southern California where stinknet has not continued to spread when left unchecked.

Stinknet is a generalist and can grow in many different types of habitats including wildlands, gardens, suburban landscapes, disturbed areas such as adjacent to roadsides and parking lots, and on hiking trails. It is spreading in San Bernardino County and should thrive in the desert, inland, and at least to 4,000 ft. in elevation in the mountains, and possibly higher. If you do find this plant, report it in the iNaturalist or CalFlora apps. 

 

 

Stinknet grows very well in Phoenix where winter rainfall is less than what we receive in the San Bernardino County deserts. Unfortunately, stinknet flowers every year in Southern California, even when we are in serious drought conditions, allowing it to spread farther each year.

Stinknet is one good example of why gardeners should be wary of new plants showing up in their garden. If you didn't plant it, it is likely a weed. Unfortunately, it will take at least 3 years of weeding to remove stinknet from an established site, so keep up the work and you can rid this plant from your garden and neighborhood.

This month's Spotlight Master Gardener, Valerie Kimmel-Oliva had a personal goal to complete three UCCE programs in one year which she did (fall to spring 2017-2018). She is a UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) San Bernardino County Master Gardener, a Master Food Preserver and a UC California Naturalist! Completing all three programs helped her achieve a better understanding of global environmental issues, desert ecosystems, sustainable gardening, plant care, and growing food.

Valerie has always wanted to learn more and volunteer at a larger scale. She volunteers where she thinks she can be most helpful. Her peers reach out to her if they think she might be interested in helping. Valerie said, “There are so many projects to help with. I just try to do what I can to make a difference.” She has supported the Master Gardener program in numerous ways. She has participated in the “Ask a Master Gardener Helpline”, distributed Master Gardener flyers and shared networking opportunities for agencies. One of the major projects she worked on was the restoration of the garden at the Victor Valley Museum in Apple Valley. The garden was restored and designed to ensure it was accessible and friendly to schools, families, and children. The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) also uses the garden to test techniques for gardening that emphasize water conservation.

Valerie has attended and participated in the "Agriculture in the Classroom" online conferences several times (a few with our very own UCCE San Bernardino County Master Gardener Coordinator, Maggie O'Neil!) The conference mission is to raise awareness and understanding of agriculture among California's educators and students. The concepts presented at the conference are helpful to Valerie in the classroom. She also shares resources from the conferences with her fellow teachers and interns to teach their own students.

Valerie has been a Master Gardener since 2017, but her interest in sustainable gardening extends back many years before. Her interest in sustainability started with learning about recycling programs. Her efforts in teaching kids about the environment just snowballed from there. With a strong belief that kids are our docents for the future, Valerie teaches them how to garden appropriately. Because of what they have learned in Valerie's classes, some started their own home gardens.

Valerie has been involved with school-site and community gardens for about fifteen years. While teaching special needs students from the inner city of Richmond, California, she took on the task of re-establishing the school's neglected garden. She later joined the board for a city community garden as the teacher representative. While in the Bay Area, she also trained in the Watershed Program.

Valerie told me, “There's wonderment in gardening. To stir that wonderment in children's eyes is part of the excitement in being a teacher,” She really loves her job, working with kids and gardening. She has combined all these passions in school-based programs to give her students the information they need to make better food choices and how to grow things. Working with the idea that there is a lot of resiliency in a garden, she teaches her students that it is okay to make mistakes and to use those mistakes to learn from and plan better for the future.

Valerie returned to the high desert in 2011. As a Special Education teacher in the Apple Valley Unified School District, she facilitated the school garden restoration at Desert Knolls Elementary School. Valerie and her students' hard work paid off in growing a wonderful garden of flowers, vegetables, and herbs. She believes that kids learn about science and math through their gardening experiences. Measuring a garden bed, figuring out how many plants to grow, amount of soil and water needed is required within the scope of hands-on science and math-based learning.

One of the most fun things the kids did was act as docents of the garden for a school Earth Day celebration. They had stations and gave tours of the garden and to talk about how they contributed to its success. Participating in activities made the event more relatable to the kids. When kids have learned enough information to teach others, Valerie knows that they understand the concept.

There are a lot of socio-economically disadvantaged children living in the desert communities where Valerie teaches. She teaches students who may not have adequate nutrition and all the other comorbid things that go with that. When a child grows something, he or she gets an incredible feeling of, I got something from basically nothing. Valerie believes that is a real moment of surprise for children (and for adults too.)

Valerie has worked hard to facilitate recycling practices at the schools she has taught. In 2016, Desert Knolls Elementary School was also selected as the School of the Year for Recycling at the annual Recycling and Recovery State Convention and won the Town of Apple Valley “Green Award” that same year. "It was quite an honor, as we have been establishing our program through sustainable practices. I learned many of the practices after attending MEEC-Mojave Environmental Consortium-sponsored workshops. Composting, energy, and gardens in every classroom, to name a few," Valerie said about receiving the award on behalf of the school and her students' hard work.

Valerie taught the district STEP program, grades 1-6, and was an advisor for the GATE after-school programs. She volunteered her time to take students on field trips to support service-learning and STEM activities. MEEC has provided transportation services funding for her to take students on field trips to organic farms and recycling recovery enters. She has taken students to the YELC-Youth Environmental Leadership Conference, the Showcase event, and the Annual Solar Oven Competition. She has had winning teams for several years in solar oven competitions.

In 2016, she was honored to be selected by the MEEC board as the MEEC-Mojave Environmental Education Consortium Teacher of the Year in recognition of her dedication and hard work in fostering environmental awareness in the classroom. Valerie said, “It was a turning point in my professional career and personal development!”

Valerie's dedication leads her to continue her students' environmental learning by virtual outreach. In her Google Classroom, she has a Garden Corner where she shares information with her students and their families about gardening activities that they can do at home. She shares California Teachers Agriculture in the Classroom Program fruits and vegetable cards with her students. She is working on indoor garden activities that she can take back to her classroom to share with her students and their families when COVID restrictions are lifted. She has an herb garden kit with lights and plans to get a hydroponics kit with Betta fish. She had started a similar project at Yucca Loma Elementary School with her K-2 class before in-class instruction temporarily ceased.

Being a Master Gardener has helped Valerie expand her gardening knowledge and interests. She loves everything about gardening from pest control to the importance of trees. One of her favorite gardening activities is experimenting with methods to grow new things in the desert. She likes to grow flowers from bulbs. For the past six years has been experimenting with different types of bulbs to see which ones grow best in the desert. The most unusual thing she has grown is Loofahs. She grew so many that she and her daughter packaged them in spa gift baskets to give to friends.

She planted several types of fruit trees and three grape vines in her home garden this year. Most recently she has been experimenting with propagating fig trees. Most of all, she enjoys teaching her family how to harvest home-grown foods. Being a passionate gardener, she enjoys working in the soil, and with the soul of a true gardener, she prefers to get her bare hands in the soil.

Valerie said, “The Master Gardener program is a great community to learn, network, volunteer, and share meaningful experiences with people who have common interests. The learning is ongoing, and everyone comes with different levels of expertise or strengths. It is a great way to help share what you learn and do with others in your community.”

UCCE San Bernardino County Master Gardeners are proud of Valerie Kimmel-Oliva's commitment to promoting environmental awareness and positive change within schools and communities. We celebrate her many successes and are honored to have her as a member of our community!