Looking for simple no-sew instructions to make a cloth face mask? The following CDC-COVID19 fact sheet illustration provides a couple of simple how-to methods using materials found around the house that are washable and reusable. 

If you have access to a sewing machine, please find additional instructions attached below.

Online training courses and webinars available from UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program

—Cheryl Reynolds, UC Statewide IPM Program

This spring if you are looking for options to obtain your continuing education units (CEUs) and not sure where to get them, why not check out the online options that the UC Statewide IPM Program (UC IPM) has to offer. For license and certificate holders from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) with last names beginning with the letters A through L, 2020 will be the year to renew.

UC IPM currently offers 16 online courses for DPR credit. Many of the courses are also accredited by the California Structural Pest Control Board (SPCB), Certified Crop Advisor (CCA), Western Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (WCISA), or Arizona Department of Agriculture.

If you are looking for CEUs in the Laws and Regulations category, check out these courses:

• Proper Pesticide Use to Avoid Illegal Residues (2.0 Pesticide Laws & Regs)
• Proper Selection, Use, and Removal of Personal Protective Equipment (1.5 Pesticide Laws & Regs)
• Providing IPM in Schools and Child Care Settings(1.0 Other and 0.5 Pesticide Laws & Regs)

Some of our courses do require a fee and are being offered at an early-bird price through October 31^st.  These courses can be purchased individually, or they can be purchased as a 4-course bundle for a special price of $85—a total discount of $20 versus purchasing each course separately.

In addition to offering online courses, UCIPM also hosts a monthly webinar series sponsored by the Citrus Research Board.

The UC Ag Experts webinar series is designed for growers and pest control advisers. It includes presentations on various pest management and horticultural topics, primarily for citrus and avocados. The next webinar will be held on April 8^th from 3 PM until 4 PM with Dr. Elizabeth Grafton-Cardwell, UC Riverside Department of Entomology and Extension Specialist, speaking about citricola scale. This webinar has been approved for one hour of Other CEUs from DPR and 1 hour of IPM units from CCA. Registration is currently open. View past webinars on the YouTube UC Ag Expert Talk Playlist. CEUs are only available for attending the live webinar.

DPR always encourages license and certificate holders to avoid the last-minute rush and renew early to ensure your license will be renewed by January 1^st. Take advantage of UC IPM's online courses and webinar series to get a jump start on your renewal today!

Most of the supplies needed you will be able to find around the house or can be easily modified, and even better, several will keep them busy for a few weeks with a little observational creativity.

I think I might have to try out a couple myself - as my sons says 'You are never too old'. 

Check them out at http://enews.gardeners.com/q/7fs9zTkmOizXXDjb6An3ATmnUjTXYewcaWgq0lB4tuK0eznQJIO27DifO

After a recent conversation with a colleague regarding the difference between sweet potatoes and yams with no real conclusion, I felt compelled to get to the bottom of this.

First, in the United States, yams, an edible tuberous root vegetable, are actually sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), a member of the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Sweet potatoes can range in shape, size, and color, and will have a tapered end. On the other hand, botanically different, the true yam is the common name for some of the plants in the Dioscoreaceae family. This root has a very thick, bark-like skin with dense, dry flesh which can range from white/yellow/purple or pink - not orange, and can grow to over a hundred pounds. Completely different vegetables, neither are actually a "potato" which is in the nightshade family.

So how did this confusion begin? Very simply, as part of a marketing strategy. Producers and shippers branded the sweet, orange fleshed sweet potato being grown in the south as 'yams' to differentiate it from it's lighter relatives grown in the north. Often mislabeled in our fresh produce aisle, the USDA actually requires that 'Yam' is followed by 'sweet potato' on shipping box labels - most canned products do adhere to this requirement.

If seen in the market, true yams are typically imported from the Caribbean, Asia and Latin America and can usually be found in ethnic grocery stores. Note: Unlike sweet potatoes, these tubers can be toxic if not cooked thoroughly.

So next time you gather with family, pass the sweet potatoes please and enjoy.