We hope you can join us Tuesday night at 6 p.m. for our Native Pollinator Gardening class. If you signed up, you should have received two emails. A confirmation email, and a second email with the Zoom Webinar Link and password.

If you didn't receive an email from ucmgstanislaus@ucanr.edu, first check your spam. Another reason you might not have gotten emails from us is that you typed your email address incorrectly when you signed up. Several emails sent out came back as incorrect. Sign up again and carefully type in your email address: http://ucanr.edu/virtualpollinators/2020

If you are still having issues, please send an email to aschellman@ucanr.edu before 4 p.m. on May 26.

Our goal for this class is to teach:

• What is a pollinator?
• How can you recognize pollinator in your garden?
• What plants do native pollinators prefer, and how can you attract them to your garden?

 To view the class tomorrow night, you need to register by 4 p.m. today to receive the link and password. If you miss the class, you can watch it a week later on our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_VH0Tcyqn2M6R8TneFa6gQ

Spring is in full force and that means many plants are blooming and insects are buzzing about! If you've been spending more time in your garden or out in nature you may be curious about the pollinators you see.

The Master Gardeners would like to invite you to join us for a fun evening of learning about native pollinators and how you can attract them to your garden. This presentation will focus on using California native plants and pollinator friendly practices to create habitat for these fascinating species. 

When: May 26, 2020 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Where: Zoom
How: Register at: http://ucanr.edu/virtualpollinators/2020
Speaker: Chris Howington, Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS)

Watch the Live Broadcast

To watch the presentation live, make sure Zoom is installed on your device. You'll receive the Zoom link just a few days before the presentation in an email, as well as slides for you to print so you can follow along. Please do not share this link with others. 

If you don't have Zoom or want to watch the presentation at another time, it will be available on our YouTube Channel at a later date. http://ucanr.edu/uccemgyoutube

It would be safe to say that tomatoes are the most popular home-grown “vegetable.” Any garden department or nursery this time of the year has a huge array of varieties. You can become positively confused with numerous names, sizes, and descriptions.  As a Master Garden I will attempt to demystify some this for you.

The tomato, commonly called a vegetable, is a fruit botanically, and hard to believe but the tomato was the center of a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Nix vs. Hedden. Now, this is a fascinating bit of historical trivia. In the 1800's there was a tariff that put a tax on imported vegetables. Well, a business owner in New York City named John Nix wasn't too happy about this. He sued Edward Hedden, the “Collector of the Port of NYC” (tax collector). Mr. Nix declared that since tomatoes are a fruit, he was owed back taxes.

Now, Mr. Hedden and the Port of NYC did not wish to return any money, so eventually this case landed at the U.S. Supreme Court. Final decision, although the tomato is botanically a fruit, a seed-bearing structure grown from the flowering part of the plant, the Court ruled unanimously that they are used as a vegetable so consequently it is considered a vegetable, and that was that.

In Stanislaus County from early July and for months afterward, you'll see tomato truck gondolas on the road 24 hours a day filled with red, ripe tomatoes rushing to processors. We have perfect tomato growing conditions.

A tomato is not too picky. That's another reason it's so popular to grow.  All that is required is full sun, an area (container or ground) with some soil, a support of some type, some water, some fertilizer, and a little love.

If you are a container/patio gardener, look on the label or tag for the term “determinate,” as these plants work best in containers. Also, anything named patio or pixie. Cherry tomato varieties are indeterminate but work great in a container.  Use at least a 5-gallon bucket-sized container (with holes in the bottom). Your plant will need some support, but not as much as the indeterminate varieties.

If you are planting in the ground, you can use determinate and indeterminate tomatoes. Indeterminates can get quite big and need a sturdy support system. Most heirloom (very popular right now), cherry, and the traditional requested varieties such as 'Beefsteak,' 'Big Boy,' and my personal favorite, 'Sungold' are in this category.

To ensure your plant is planted correctly, make your hole as wide and deep as the root ball of the plant. This is the area of soil and roots that you remove from the original container. The cool thing about tomatoes is you can plant them as deep as you need to if they are leggy.  

To plant, carefully remove the root ball, and gently loosen the root mass and with gardening clippers or scissors remove lower branches. You are going to plant about 1/3 of the green plant below the soil. Gently pat the soil around the plant . Don't forget to place your support around or next to the plant now so you don't forget. Water gently and stand back and admire your gardening expertise. And imagine those delicious tomatoes gracing your salad, sandwich, or as I like to do, eat them out of my hand with a few napkins to catch the juice.

As the growing season continues you may run into a few questions or issues. This is when the Master Gardeners of Stanislaus County can come to the rescue. We are there with sound, scientific advice and information about plant health, pests, and growing problems, all at no cost. 

I hope you plant at least one tomato plant this season and send us pictures of your successes to ucmgstanislaus@ucanr.edu. Happy gardening and enjoy those dirty hands.

Be sure to join Rho on Wednesday, April 15 at 6 p.m. for Spring Container Vegetable Gardening. Sign up on our class website at https://ucanr.edu/sites/stancountymg/Classes/

 

Pomegranate trees are often used in gardens and landscapes in Stanislaus County. They make a great tree and usually have relatively few problems. Recently, someone contacted the Master Gardener help line to describe some odd-looking insects she found on her tree, so we asked her to send a few photos. 

The insects are called leaffooted plant bugs. They use piercing-sucking mouthparts to feed on fruits, nuts, and ornamental plants. When they attack pomegranates, their feeding may cause the seeds inside to darken and wither. Large groupings of the bugs can leave behind an unattractive excrement on the fruit, although it is still safe to eat.

Adults overwinter in large groups this time of year, so we advised our caller to take a bucket of soapy water out to her tree and to brush the leaffooted bugs into it. This would help decrease the population before the adults could lay more eggs in spring. (up to 200!) We were impressed the caller was able to find the eggs and capture this image. Can you find them on this pomegranate twig below?  

For more life cycle and management information, read the  UC IPM Pest Notes: Leaffooted Bug. And remember, if you have a gardening or pest management question, you can call our help line at (209) 525-6802 or send us an email at ucmgstanislaus@ucanr.edu