Did you know? Citrus trees are the most popular fruit trees grown in California. Learn the best time to plant and prune, how to manage pests, and other tips to help you successfully grow your own delicious fruit. Join us to learn more about citrus at a local library location near you.

Sat, 4/1 at 2:00 p.m. – Empire Library
Tues, 4/4 at 6:00 p.m. – Salida Library
Sat, 4/8 at 2:00 p.m. – Riverbank Library
Mon, 4/10 at 6:00 p.m. – Ceres Library
Tues, 4/11 at 6:00 p.m. – Oakdale Library
Thurs, 4/13 at 1:00 p.m. - Patterson Library (new time and date!)
Mon, 4/24 at 5:30 p.m. – Modesto Library  
Wed, 4/26 at 6:00 p.m. – Turlock Library
 

Hope to see you at one of these events happening this weekend, Saturday, March 18, 2023. 

Modesto Farmers Market 

Look for our booth at the Modesto Farmers Market, located behind the Modesto Stanislaus County Library branch on 1522 ‘H' Street. Stop by and pick up some free seeds, say "hi" and ask your gardening questions. We have handouts on vegetable gardening, water wise gardening, and lots of tips for what to do about pests. The market starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 1:00 p.m. Make a morning of it, pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables, eat lunch, enjoy the music, and see what else the market has to offer. If you haven't been, you are in for a treat!

Turlock Community Gardens Workshop-Plant Swap-Potluck Palooza 

Turlock Community Gardens invites you to stop in for a visit or for the day, activities for all ages are happening.   

UCCE Master Gardener Composting Basics Workshop  9:00am-10:30am 
Learn about how to compost at home! Reduce your carbon footprint & recycle kitchen/garden scraps. This workshop is a great opportunity to hear from an expert and ask questions, plus one lucky person is going home with their own compost bin!

Turlock Community Gardens Plant Swap
11:00am-11:30am
Let's share cuttings, rooted plants, extra gardening supplies, seeds and any tips and tricks to help out our fellow plant enthusiasts! We will be doing a round robin with wristbands. If you don't have anything to bring, you are still welcome to take items home. There is always more than enough to share, especially extra perlite! 

Rock Painting Station
11:30am
Decorate a rock to take home or gift to the garden. Paint, brushes, and rocks will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own. 

Turlock Community Potluck
12:00pm-2:00pm  
Bring your favorite dish or just bring yourself! Enjoy a slice of pizza while exchanging tips/tricks. It's a great way to meet neighbors, network and have some fun. 

As a reminder, TCG asks children to be always supervised and for everyone to be mindful not to disturb the garden beds. They are lovingly maintained by different families and groups. 

Be sure to check out the Free Garden Items & Seed Exchange Cabinet and Free Little Library. (Take what you need, give what you can.)

Turlock Community Gardens and parking are located behind the Cornerstone Covenant Church (4501 Crowell Road) and the nonprofit, Jessica's House.  If you have any questions about the Turlock Community Gardens event, email info@turlockcommunitygardens.org

 

Our Master Gardener Help Line has received several calls this past month from gardeners concerned about citrus trees turning yellow. An article entitled “Yellow Citrus Leaves in Winter Usually Not a Disease,” written by Craig Kallsen, retired Citrus Farm Advisor in Kern County, does such a good job explaining the problem that I asked for and received his permission to reprint his entire article, presented below.

For many in California, the backyard orange or grapefruit tree is almost a member of the family, and any negative change in its appearance elicits concern. One such change in appearance is leaf yellowing and drop that often occurs during the winter in citrus. Citrus leaves can remain on the tree for as long as three years depending on tree vigor, but disease, inadequate or excessive nitrogen fertility, excessive salt or born in the soil, poor irrigation practices, freezing temperatures, pest pressures and low light levels significantly reduce leaf longevity.  Excessive leaf drop during the growing season is more likely to indicate a serious problem than leaf drop during the winter. Winter leaf drop normally reflects nothing more than a momentary swing in the natural balance between the natural elimination of old senescing leaves and their replacement.

Citrus trees are evergreens. New leaves are normally produced when shoots elongate.  Periods of shoot elongation are called “flushes.” Typically, an orange, mandarin or grapefruit tree in California will produce two to five flushes during the growing season from March through October. Lemons tend to be more vigorous and may produce leaves nearly continuously through the growing season. Unlike deciduous plants, citrus sheds older leaves throughout the year  Leaf yellowing and drop in the winter is probably attributable to excessive or too little water in the root zone or dry winds in combination with cool soils. Citrus is a subtropical plant and does not have a true dormancy period like the stone fruits. Generally, winter temperatures are too low in many citrus-growing regions in California for vegetative growth. Leaves continue to fall but none grow to replace them.  Excessive leaf drop manifests itself rapidly under these conditions.  Periods of high wind can remove large numbers of old leaves tree in a day, leaves which would have fallen naturally over a longer period of time, giving the impression that the tree is rapidly succumbing to a disease.

Reduce winter water applications to citrus trees that have defoliated or that have a significantly thinning canopy. Trees like this require little, if any, supplemental irrigation.  Even a mature tree with a full leaf canopy will require less than 10% of the water that it would require during the summer.

The best indicator of tree health for a defoliating citrus tree during the winter will be how well it produces the first flush of new growth in the spring. A decision to keep or remove a citrus tree based on tree health should not be made during the winter. Even trees that lose most of their leaves during winter are capable of replacing leaf canopies with the spring flush of growth, usually with little loss in fruit production. Trees that do not produce a vigorous flush in early spring may have a more serious problem. March is an excellent month to begin applying fertilizer to encourage new leaf growth and fruit production and to help keep an old friend of the farm or family backyard around for years to come.

Ed Perry is the emeritus Environmental Horticultural Advisor for University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) in Stanislaus County where he worked for over 30 years.  

The La Loma Neighborhood is sponsoring the third annual Modesto Pollinator Festival at the La Loma Native Garden, located at 1805 Encina Avenue. The event will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023 from 10:00-2:00 pm. A costume pollinator parade will be a highlight at 10:15 a.m.

Several local agencies will have booths with educational information about pollinators and how we can help them thrive. Come spin the wheel/guess the pollinator at the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program table and take home a sticker or a bookmark.

This is a free family event with many activities for children. Crafts and games will also be included. A demo beehive will give children a close up look at bees. Food trucks will be on site to provide lunch. This will be a fun day for kids, so put this on your calendar!

Rhonda Allen has been a UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener since 2020.