Amid all the COVID-19 restrictions, the UCCE Master Gardeners of Stanislaus County have been hard at work bringing our ‘Learning Landscape' to life at the Stanislaus County Agricultural Center, located at 3800 Cornucopia Way in Modesto. This project is underway thanks to in-kind donations from Modesto Junior College, Grover Landscaping, and Hunter Industries. It's also thanks to community donations and the hard work of our Master Gardener volunteers.

The goal is to create a place to invite the community to visit and observe different types of gardens, learn from hands-on classes and workshops, or to simply come out to enjoy a beautiful space. We also envision school children coming to see examples of pollinator plants, vegetable gardens, and fruit trees, too.

The Learning Landscape can also be a place where Master Gardeners are trained. In May, a small group of us gathered for the first outdoor class by former Horticulture Advisor Ed Perry. He demonstrated how to properly stake a tree. We learned a lot more seeing a demonstration than we did learning from a PowerPoint presentation! This class was a success and will be followed by others in the future. 

We hope you will consider helping us expand our demonstration garden project. Big Dig Day is Friday, June 4 but you can join us Thursday night at midnight to begin donating. All donations will benefit our project. Click this link to donate to our campaign: https://ucanr.edu/sites/BigDig/ Navigate to Stanislaus County, and then choose "Master Gardener Fund" from the drop down menu.

Or, you can send a check made out to "UC Regents" to 3800 Cornucopia Way, Ste A, Modesto, CA 95358.

 

On June 4, 2021 we are hosting #BigDigDay, 24-hours to show support to our program and help us raise funds for our Learning Landscape. Join us and #giveback to support the UC Master Gardener Program.

Our goal is to raise $3,000 towards our future Learning Landscape theme gardens. Our first two themes are:

• Sensory Garden
• Pollinator Garden

About the Gardens

The Sensory and Pollinator Gardens will be located at the Ag Center on 3800 Cornucopia Way near the Stanislaus Building and serve as an outdoor classroom where we will offer future classes. It will also be a place for visitors to observe plants and their care in the landscape. The plants will have signs so you can snap a photo and remember what to get on your next trip to a nursery or garden center. The gardens will be maintained by Master Gardener volunteers.

The Sensory Garden

Our group of volunteers who designed this garden see it as a space for plants that soothe the senses and help you relax. Plants you can see, touch, smell, or even hear.

The Pollinator Garden

The volunteers designing this garden want to create a paradise for bees, butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles, and other pollinators.

We need your help!

Help us raise the funds to create these gardens by contributing! Follow us on social media for updates and stay tuned for another blog post with giving information. Please help by telling your friends, family, and anyone you know who may want to donate to make these gardens happen. 

The #BigDigDay site is counting down the time until June 4 when you can give credit card donations. If you'd like to donate with a check, please make it out to UC Regents and send it to the Master Gardener Program, 3800 Cornucopia Way Ste A, Modesto 95358.

Planting a vegetable garden can be a healthy and delicious way to provide yourself and your family with produce. But what should you do when pests and diseases appear? What if something is happening and you aren't sure what it is, or what to do?

Watch our video to help you understand the principles of IPM or integrated pest management. This is the process of identifying, monitoring, and managing pests and diseases that often invade gardens. Once you know what pest you have, you can take steps to manage it, using less toxic solutions recommended by UC IPM.

Watch our video on our YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/uWkwPQfl79k

 

While you are outside gardening or inside doing your spring cleaning, you may have recently found small, round, speckled beetles you've never seen before. We've had several questions this past week about insects crawling around windowsills, found on screens, or noticed on outdoor plants, or fuzzy, oblong insects on carpets or rugs. What are they? While there are many insects starting to emerge from their winter rest, if you are finding small beetles like these, they could be carpet beetles!

Carpet beetles are pests of homes, warehouses, and museums. In California, there are 3 species that damage fabrics, carpets, and stored foods including the varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci. The beetles are round like lady beetles (“ladybugs”), but much smaller in size. Varied carpet beetles are about 1/10 inch long, with black, white, brown and dark yellow patterns.

Carpet beetles adults feed on pollen and nectar of flowers. They often fly into homes from flowers in the landscape or may be accidentally brought indoors on cut flowers. A few adult beetles inside your home are typically not a problem. However, if you find larvae, the fuzzy immature beetles on fabric, carpet, or other natural materials in your home, you may need to manage the infestation.

See the UC IPM Pest Notes: Carpet Beetles for more identification, prevention, and management information.

[from Pests in the Urban Landscape Blog]