- Author: Anne Schellman
- Called or visited the Stanislaus County UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Help Line and gotten information on what to do about a pest or gardening problem.
- Learned something new from a class at the Stanislaus Ag Center, Community Garden, Garden Club, Senior Center, local library or one of our online Zoom classes.
- Attended the Pollinator Garden Event last month, or a Farmers Market booth or the Stanislaus County Fair and spoken with a Master Gardener.
- Read our newsletter and gained helpful gardening and pest management information.
If you would like to give back to our program, you can visit this website http://donate.ucanr.edu/givingday. Click “GIVE” on the upper right of the fund and choose “Stanislaus County.” Once you do this, the icon for the Master Gardener program will appear. Choose this icon and then make your desired donation. We are a 501 c3 organization, so your donation is tax deductible.
Prize Challenge Awards
Online gifts made between noon on May 19 and 11:59 a.m. on May 20 may help programs qualify for prize challenge awards! Donations can be made at http://donate.ucanr.edu/givingday.
Checks Accepted
If you prefer sending a check instead of donating online, please make checks payable to “UC Regents” and specify “Stanislaus County Master Gardener Program” in the check memo. Then mail to: UC ANR Gift Processing, 2801 Second Street, Davis, CA 95618.
Your Support
In addition to helping our program create our public demonstration gardens, your donation helps us grow our program by purchasing materials needed for outreach and education. We thank you for your support!
When: Saturday, April 30, 2021 9:00-10:30 a.m.
Where: Turlock Community Gardens
Address: 4105 Crowell Road, Turlock 95382
Instructor:
Cost: Free
What to bring? You may want to bring a folding chair, water, hat/jacket depending on the weather.
- Author: Anne Schellman
In California, we can't rely on Phil. Instead, we have gophers which are active all year. This makes them an unreliable source of information about the start of spring, since they are constantly popping up out of their burrows. Incidentally, spring officially starts on March 20 this year.
For gardeners, the presence of gophers can be frustrating. Most can tolerate a few insects on plants, or a small patch of a disease that can be cut off. However, just one gopher can consume an entire vegetable garden or dig multiple holes in the lawn and landscape in a short amount of time.
What made the holes in my garden or landscape?
If you see a hole, it might be a gopher or a mole. Gophers digging in lawns and landscapes leave holes that look like the photo to the right. Typically, they are crescent or horseshoe in shape. As they dig tunnels, gophers move fresh soil to the surface. You can usually see a plugged hole next to the mound.
Moles are another burrowing animal that also create mounds. However, their mounds are more circular, as shown in the photo in this post.
To learn more about gophers and how to control them, visit the UC IPM Pest Notes: Pocket Gophers.
If you suspect the holes in your landscape or garden are made by another animal, read the UC IPM Pest Notes: Ground Squirrels.
/h4>- Author: Ed Perry
- Editor: Anne Schellman
To have your soil analyzed, contact a commercial testing laboratory. For a list of soil laboratories located in Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno, and Merced Counties, visit https://cemerced.ucanr.edu/ClimateSmartAg/HSP/SoilTest/Soil_Testing_Laboratories_in_Fresno_Madera_Merced_and_Stanislaus_Counties/
Vegetable Gardens
For vegetable gardens, the application of a fertilizer containing nitrogen and phosphorus is usually all your soil will need to get your vegetables off to a strong start. Other nutrients like zinc or iron are sometimes deficient or unavailable in certain soils, but they are usually not applied unless plant deficiency symptoms appear.
Diagnosing a Plant Problem
Besides moisture, oxygen is also required in the soil for good root growth. Poorly drained soils often have little oxygen in them because excess water fills all the spaces between the soil particles. My advice to gardeners is to correct drainage problems first, then worry about fertilizers. Often problems with sick and dying plants are caused by overwatering or a lack of good soil drainage than by nutrient deficiencies.
If you have an unhealthy plant, gently dig near the root system and check soil moisture and drainage. Since plant roots need oxygen, roots may suffocate if excess water does not drain quickly. Unfavorable climatic conditions, including temperature extremes and drying winds can also affect plant growth, as well as insect pests and diseases. For small plants, pull up a plant or two and check to see if the roots are healthy.
The best way to keep soil healthy, especially in vegetable gardens is to add compost annually to improve soil health. For perennial crops like fruit trees, annual applications of fruit tree fertilizer in spring can be beneficial.
The UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardeners Can Help!
If you need help diagnosing a plant problem, take a plant sample to the UCCE office located at 3800 Cornucopia Way Ste A in Modesto. Master Gardeners are available on Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to noon in person or by phone (209) 525-6802. You can drop off a sample anytime during business hours or fill out an online survey and attach photos using this link http://ucanr.edu/ask/ucmgstanislaus A Master Gardener will get back to you within 5 days of your request.
If you live in another county in California, you can find your local Master Gardener program by using this link https://mg.ucanr.edu/FindUs/
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.
/h4>/h4>/h4>- Author: Anne Schellman
We will keep you updated on our progress through this blog as well as on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and/or our twitter page @UCMGStanislaus.
Many subscribers to this newsletter gave to this campaign, thank you! If you missed your chance to donate, you can still send a check to support the demonstration garden campaign. Please make checks payable to
UC Regents and send them to:
UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardener Program
3800 Cornucopia Way, Ste A
Modesto, CA 95358
Thank you!