- Author: Denise Godbout-Avant
What are Spider Mites?
The initial damage generally appears as a stippling of light dots on the leaves. Heavily infected leaves turn yellow or bronze and fall off. To spread to new locations, these mites make use of “ballooning” by becoming airborne on a strand of webbing in the wind. If conditions are favorable, some spider mite varieties can hatch in 3 days and become sexually mature in as little as 5 days. A female can lay up to 20 eggs per day, live to 2-4 weeks, laying hundreds of eggs. This accelerated reproductive rate allows their numbers to grow rapidly, and to adapt quickly, becoming resistant to pesticides.
How To Control Spider Mites
Keeping the dust down by planting ground covers, using mulches, and irrigating regularly also reduces the chances of getting spider mite infestations. Ensure your plants are getting enough water to reduce drought stress – stressed plants are more susceptible to harmful insects and diseases. If you do have a large spider mite population, apply water spray or mist to the undersides of the leaves at least twice a day to help decrease their numbers since they prefer dry conditions.
For More Information
UC Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has additional information on how to identify spider mites, their life cycle, plant damage, and how to control:
UC QUICK TIPS: https://ipm.ucanr.edu/QT/spidermitescard.html
UC PEST NOTES: https://ipm.ucanr.edu/legacy_assets/PDF/PESTNOTES/pnspidermites.pdf
Denise Godbout-Avant has been an UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Stanislaus County since 2020
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Did you know? Not all saved tomato seeds will produce the same tomato you ate! Find out why and learn the method of how to save them in this informative and hands-on workshop. You'll take home seeds to save and a copy of the presentation.
When: Saturday, August 24, 2024 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Cost: $10
Location: Stanislaus County Ag Center, Modesto
Sign Up Link: https://ucanr.edu/totally/tomatoes/2024
Questions? (209) 525-6862
UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Instructor: Heidi Aufdermaur
If you'd prefer to pay by cash or check, you can send or drop payment by the office. Please sign up and pay by August 15 to reserve your space!
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
Summer is in full swing and while it's been quite hot in many parts of California, it's been very cool in others. That's why UC IPM's Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist is a useful tool to help you figure out what to do in your region each month!
Here are some general tips for the month of August to prevent pests and their damage in the garden and landscape. Visit the tool to see more pest management to-dos in your region.
- Manage ants around landscapes and building foundations using insecticide baits and trunk barriers.
- Prune off galled branches caused by olive knot and oleander gall, or knot.
- Monitor for grape diseases such as powdery mildew, Eutypa dieback, Phomopsis cane and leaf spot, and others. Prune, remove, or treat as appropriate.
- Clean up fallen fruit or nuts to avoid attracting or harboring pests.
- Keep an eye out for stone fruit pests such as aphids, borers, brown rot, caterpillars, powdery mildew, and scale insects.
- Maintain a fire safe landscape by creating “defensible space.” Thin out thick vegetation and eliminate fuel ladders that allow fire to climb up trees or structures. Remove dry, resinous or dead plants and flammable debris. Cut branches back 15 to 20 feet from buildings. Use non-combustible surfaces for walkways, patios and driveways.
- Bag apple and pear fruit to prevent codling moth damage. Remove infested or dropped fruit promptly.
- Look for leaffooted bugs feeding on fruit and nuts such as almonds, pistachios, and pomegranates.
Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!
Lauren Fordyce has been the UC IPM Urban Educator since 2022.
- Author: Denise Godbout-Avant
Gardeners who grow vegetables throughout the year are always looking ahead to the next season and their next garden. The cooler months of autumn (yes, the hot days of summer will eventually end!) are the perfect time to plant the leafy and root vegetables that go so well in autumn salads and winter soups.
To help gardeners start planning their gardens for September and October, the Stanislaus County UC Master Gardeners will be giving talks at county libraries in August on how to Grow a Salad Bar. Topics covered will include what vegetables are best to grow during the fall and winter months, when and how to start from seed, caring for and transplanting the growing plants, when they can be harvested, along with how to identify and manage some common pests and diseases.
So, whether you have had a cool weather vegetable garden before or are doing this for the first time, come to your local county library to get ideas on how to grow your fall and winter garden. Plant in the fall or winter and enjoy your harvest later in the fall, winter or next spring!
Free seeds to participants (while supplies last).
Denise Godbout-Avant has been a UC Master Gardener in Stanislaus County since 2020
- Author: Tim Long
While most of our garden plants need at least 6 hours of full sun to be productive, too much sun, especially when combined with too much heat, can be too much for plants to bear. Problems arise especially when temperatures are over 85 to 90 degrees F.
Tomatoes and peppers will be the first to show signs of excessive light exposure and heat stress. Symptoms include the production of smaller-than-average leaves and rolled or curled leaves (often mistakenly blamed on herbicide exposure). Then, later during the production season, there may be poor fruit-set (often mistakenly blamed on lack of pollinators in enclosed space production), sunburn, white or hard core, and yellow shoulder. Some shade and lowering the temperature can fix these things.
Hundreds of years ago, farmers used simple woven fabrics like burlap or other natural materials to keep crops protected from extreme sun rays. Now, we use more sophisticated knot-knit polypropylene and aluminum shade cloths, but the benefits remain the same.
Benefits of Garden Shade Cloth
Garden shade cloth does three critical things for your summer garden:
- It reduces the intensity of the sunlight that hits your crops, which can be beneficial during extreme heat and for heat-sensitive plants. It's important to note that garden shade cloth does not reduce the hours of sunlight your crops receive, just the intensity of that sunlight. As the sun's intensity is diminished, you will notice reduced wilting and sunscald in your crops. Commercial pepper growers depend on shade cloth to prevent dreaded sunscald.
- It reduces the amount of transpiration that comes from the leaves of the plants. When your plant is not losing excess moisture between waterings, it will grow more abundantly.
- It also reduces the evaporation of water from your soil and keeps it cooler. This is critical when growing sensitive crops, transplanting seedlings, or trying to extend your growing season.Curled leaves on a tomato plant. Photo by Belinda Messenger-Sikes, UC IPM.
Learn about the research behind using shade cloth by visiting this University of Delaware UC Cooperative Extension web page (https://sites.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=20476)
How you use and install the shade cloth will depend entirely on your method of gardening. Are you growing directly in the ground, in raised beds, or containers? In essence, the cloth needs to provide shade during the hottest part of the day, likely afternoons. It does not have to go all the way to the ground as long as the plants are mostly shaded. Its height is dependent on the height of your plants. I have some tomatoes that are over 6 feet tall, so my shade cloth tops 8 feet to be safe. It should also be secured well enough to withstand occasional summer winds in the 10 to 15 mph range.
Color is also up to you as it comes in white, black, brown and green. Black tends to be most commonly used with a rating at about 40% density. Any higher than that is not necessary for home garden applications.
Happy Gardening and may your tomatoes and peppers be more productive this season.
If you have additional questions or need more help, don't hesitate to reach out to your local UC Master Gardener Program. We have a team of volunteers trained and eager to help you have a bountiful harvest! https://mg.ucanr.edu/FindUs/
If you live in Stanislaus County, use this easy, online survey tool http://ucanr.edu/ask/ucmgstanislaus
Tim Long has been a UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Stanislaus County since 2020.
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