Greetings newsletter subscribers,

Giving Tuesday is next week! Please join us in this opportunity to give to your local Stanislaus County Master Gardener Program. On Tuesday, November 30, 2022, we are kicking off a day of giving to raise funds for two exciting gardens, the Sensory Garden and the Pollinator Garden.

Where will the gardens be located?

The gardens will be located on the east and west sides of the Stanislaus Building at the Ag Center*. The gardens will be used as an outdoor classroom for upcoming classes and workshops and be open to the public every day of the week.

The Sensory Garden

Our Master Gardener volunteers are designing this garden that borders the walkway of the Stanislaus Building. They've chosen plants you can see, touch, hear, and feel. Plants will be labeled, so if you see any you want to add to your garden, you can make a note of it. In addition, the garden will include a water feature and benches where you can sit, relax, and enjoy.

The Pollinator Garden

Thanks to a generous donation from the West Stanislaus Resource Conservation District, we have a head-start on creating our Pollinator Garden! We plan to install a pollinator garden inspired by plants suggested for hedgerows to showcase plants farmers can use along their property. Hedgerows provide food for pollinators, help keep dust levels low, and create privacy. The garden will also include the larval food plants for pollinators like the endangered monarch butterfly.

Where We Are & Our Goal

We've raised funding to prepare the areas (removing lawn and a few plants), but need funds to retrofit the irrigation and purchase needed materials such as mulch for the beds, desired plants and hardscape materials and artwork. We are looking to raise $5,000 to supplement the garden projects and begin work on one of the gardens this spring.

How You Can Help

We appreciate any amount you can give. Our parent organization, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, has matching funds to give if we meet one of their donation challenges, we can earn an additional $500 for our project! Only gifts made by online/credit card donations on the day of the event qualify for the prizes.

Now is a great time to make a tax-deductible donation to our organization! Please consider how you can help. Follow our fund raising progress on Facebook, Instagram and twitter @UCMGStanislaus.

UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardener Program
*3800 Cornucopia Way, Ste A
Modesto, CA 95358

The San Joaquin Valley continues to face many air quality challenges as it strives to meet federal air quality standards for PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) and ground-level ozone. While there are many sources of air pollution in the Valley, residential wood burning and pollution from yard care equipment have a direct impact on neighborhoods.

Residential wood burning is the largest single source of particulate matter pollution in the Valley during winter months. For this reason, the District's residential wood smoke reduction program imposes restrictions on the use of fireplaces, wood stoves, fire pits and chimneys. The District recommends using other methods to heat your home unless wood burning is your sole source of heat. For full details on the District's Residential Wood Smoke Reduction Program, visit www.valleyair.org/rule4901.

The District also offers incentives for Valley residents to upgrade from wood burning devices to natural gas. Get all the information on the Burn Cleaner Incentive program here: www.valleyair.org/burncleaner.

Another source of air pollution are small engines on gas-powered yard care equipment, which have no emission controls. One gas-powered lawn mower can pollute as much as 12 late-model cars.

For every gas-powered lawn or garden tool, there is an electric or manual alternative that works just as well.

The District's Clean Green Yard Machines yard care incentive program provides significant rebates on electric lawn mowers, trimmers, edgers, pole saws and chain saws. For details on these incentives visit www.valleyair.org/cgym.

In addition, the Valley Air District suggests using a rake or broom instead of a blower. Leaf blowers create particulate matter in the form of dust and can be a nuisance to your neighbors.

Anthony Presto is the Outreach & Communications Representative for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

 

 

 

 [From the UC IPM blog Pests in the Urban Landscape] 

Citrus trees need care throughout the year, including cultural practices to keep trees healthy and pest management. During the fall season, several pests can attack citrus trees in many California regions. 

Brown Rot

Monitor for this disease by checking for damaged fruit on your tree, as well as fruit in storage. Sometimes affected fruit develops a pungent odor and can ruin fruit held in storage. See the UC IPM web page on Brown Rot to learn more.

Citrus Leafminer

If you see what look like small “tunnels” on your citrus tree leaves, your tree might have citrus leafminer. The adult stage of this pest is a small, light colored moth; the larval stage feeds and develops inside the leaves of young citrus and other closely related plants.

Citrus leafminer rarely causes problems for mature trees, however, it can seriously damage very young trees. Read the UC IPM Pest Notes: Citrus Leafminer for recommendations for prevention or management.

Snails and Slugs

Snails and slugs are attracted to citrus trees and can feed on foliage and fruit. A good sign that these pests are the perpetrators of tree damage are the silvery trails of slime along the ground or on tree leaves, or even see the snails or slugs themselves. For management tips, read the UC IPM Pest Notes: Snails and Slugs.

Asian Citrus Psyllid and Huanglongbing

You may have heard of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) and the deadly disease huanglongbing (also called citrus greening) that has been featured in the news. This disease doesn't pose a threat to humans or animals, but is deadly to citrus trees. Once a tree develops huanglongbing, there is no cure, so for this disease prevention is key.

Stopping this serious citrus pest will require everyone's help. To learn more about the psyllid and the disease, as well as what you can do, visit the UC IPM Pest Notes: Asian Citrus Psyllid and Huanglongbing Disease.

UC IPM Web Site

For information on managing other citrus pests in the garden, see the UC IPM webpage on Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Citrus.

Light is probably the most important factor for indoor plant growth. In most houses, it's probably the most limiting factor as well. To add to the problem, light levels begin to dwindle in fall as the days become shorter. This means you may need to make some adjustments in the arrangement of your indoor plants during fall and winter.

When thinking about light levels for indoor plants, consider light intensity, duration and quality. Light intensity influences the manufacture of plant food, stem length, leaf color and flowering. For example, a plant that needs bright light that is grown in low light tends to be spindly with light green leaves. A similar plant grown in bright light would generally be shorter, better branched and have longer, darker green leaves.

The distance the plant is from the light source and the direction the windows in a home face determine the light intensity a houseplant receives. Southern exposures have the most intense light. Western and eastern exposures receive about 60 percent of the intensity of southern exposures, while northern exposures get only 20 percent of the light of southern exposures. Light intensity is also affected by the presence and type of curtains, the weather, shade from buildings or trees, the cleanliness of the windows and the reflectiveness of the surroundings.

When a plant gets too much direct light, the leaves become pale, sometimes sunburn, turn brown and die. During the summer, houseplants need to be protected from too much direct sunlight.

Ivy plants, philodendrons, foliage begonias and peperomias - grown mainly for their foliage - do well in indirect bright light. Tender plants, such as African violets, also should receive indirect light during the summer when the sun's rays are extremely intense.

Flowering plants require higher light levels for the development of good flowers. These plants grow best where they receive direct sunlight for at least half a day. Placing them near windows with an eastern exposure usually suits them best.

Here are some suggestions of houseplants for various light situations taken from the UC Master Gardener Handbook.

Low Light Plants

Common Name	Botanical Name
Corn Plant	Dracaena fragrans
Parlor Palm	Chamaedora elegans
Pothos*	Epipremnum aureum
Snake Plant	Sansevieria trifasciata

  Medium Light Plants 

Spider plant. (pxfuel.com)

Common Name	Botanical Name
Peperomia (species)	Peperomia or Pellionia
Rubber Plant	Ficus elastica
Schefflera	Schefflera actinophylla
Swedish Ivy/Creeping Charlie	Plectranthus australis

Bright Light

Common Name	Botanical Name
Christmas Cactus	Schlumbergia bridgesii
Spider Plant	Chlorophytum comosum
String of Hearts	Ceropegia woodii
Zebra Plant	Aphelandra squarrosa

*These plants are poisonous, keep away from kids and pets.

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.