Even though your tomato plants and other warm season vegetables are still producing, now is the time to start planning for your fall vegetable garden! Our class will focus on growing vegetables so you can create your own "Salad Bar" at home.

Learn about planting leafy vegetables like lettuce and spinach, and root vegetables like carrots, beets and radishes. Not to mention broccoli and cauliflower. All of these vegetable plants can be grown in the ground or in containers. Great class for beginning gardeners.

We are excited to say that our classes are at nine Stanislaus County Library Branches! We hope to see you there.

August 2023 Library Branch Schedule

• Tuesday, 8/1 at 6:00 p.m. - Salida 
• Saturday, 8/5 at 2:00 p.m. - Empire 
• Tuesday, 8/8 at 6:00 p.m. - Oakdale
• Thursday, 8/10 at 1:00 p.m. - Patterson
• Saturday, 8/12 at 2:00 p.m. – Riverbank
• Monday, 8/14 at 6:00 p.m. – Ceres
• Tuesday, 8/22 at 2:00 p.m. - Waterford
• Wednesday, 8/23 at 6:00 p.m. - Turlock
• Monday, 8/28 at 5:30 p.m. - Modesto 

I have always loved lavender's fragrance, its colorful prolific blooms, its delightful oils, and soaps. I recently had the pleasure of taking a Stanislaus County UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener workshop on lavender. It was led by fellow Master Gardener Heidi Aufdermaur, and I learned so much more about lavender.

History

A member of the mint family, Lamiaceae, lavender (Lavandula spp.) is an ancient herb. It is believed to have likely originated from Greece and is indigenous to the Mediterranean area, including Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Cape Verde. Long coveted for its fragrance, calming presence, and healing properties, lavender use has been documented for over 2500 years in many cultures around the world. The word “lavender” is derived from the Latin verb ‘lavare' which means “to wash.” In Medieval and Renaissance France, women who took in washing were known as ‘lavenders.'

• The Egyptians used lavender for cosmetics, medicines, and embalming mummies.
• Lavender was used in perfumes by the ancient Aztecs, in addition to mummification.
• In the 17^th century, Arabs domesticated the plant and brought it to Spain. The Spanish brought the plant to North America.
• The ancient Greeks used lavender to fight off insomnia and back aches.
• Romans used lavender oil for cooking, bathing, scenting the air, and in soaps.
• In the 17^th century lavender was used as a remedy for the Great  Plague in London.
• Queen Elizabeth I of England required lavender to be served at the royal table and fresh lavender flowers throughout her residence. She also used lavender tea for treatment of severe migraine headaches.
• Queen Victoria took an interest in lavender in the 19^th century and the English variety became popular.
  

  Making a wand involves weaving ribbon around each stem, Rachel Bahn.
• History states that the Shakers were the first to grow lavender commercially in the Americas.
• Today lavender is cultivated commercially in France, England, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, United States and Canada.

Growing and Caring for Lavender

Lavender is an evergreen, herbaceous, semi-woody perennial with silvery-green square-shaped foliage whose spike-shaped flowers come in many hues of purple, pink, and white. While lavender grows well in California Central Valley's Mediterranean climate, and will tolerate some neglect, they do have some basic requirements:

• Full sun.
• Thrives in poor soils with little to no fertilizer providing there is good drainage.
• Since lavender is difficult to grow from seed, it is best to plant a young plant in the spring, after the threat of frost has passed when the soil has warmed up to at least 60°F.
  

  Hidcote (English) lavender, Denise Godbout-Avant.
• If planting in summer, make sure you water regularly to keep the soil moist.
• If planting in fall, choose a larger, more established plant to ensure their survival over the winter.
• They do not like “wet feet.” If use organic mulch, keep it away from the crown to prevent excess moisture. A better choice is inorganic mulch such as pea gravel, decomposed granite, or sand.

 Caring for lavender:

• Water regularly until the plants are established, after which they need little water. Yellowing leaves is often a sign of over-watering. 
• Prune during the fall months.
• To keep plants neat and compact, shear back by one-third to one-half every year immediately after bloom.
• The flowering stems can be harvested while in bloom or snipped off after the flowers fade. Consider letting some of the blooms go to seed for small seed-eating birds such as finches and sparrows.
  

  Spanish lavender, creative commons license.

Varieties of Lavender

The three most common varieties of lavender are English, French, and Spanish:

• English lavender (Lavandula angustifola) is also known as True or Common lavender. Fragrant-rich, coming in both dark and light purple colors, it is a favorite culinary lavender, adding a sweet floral flavor to beverages, desserts, savory dishes, and meat.

o   Cultivars include: ‘Hidcote', ‘Lady', ‘Campacta', ‘Ellegance', ‘Goodwin Creek', ‘Jean Davis', and ‘Pastor's Pride'.

• French lavender (Lavandula dentata) is related to English lavender, but French lavender is larger, has a lighter scent and is less frost tolerant. It has a long bloom time, from spring through summer. It is used as cut flowers and potpourri.

o   Cultivars include ‘Allwood', ‘Lambikins', ‘Linda Logon', ‘Ploughman's Blue' and ‘Pure Harmony'. 

• Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas), otherwise known as Butterfly lavender, are frost tolerant, low bushes with long stems, and distinct dark purple heads that have “rabbit ears.” Due to their smaller size, they grow well in pots. Highly aromatic, they are a magnet for bees and butterflies. Used in aromatherapy, soaps, cooking, in tinctures and oils, as well as cocktails!
  

  Lavender wands, Rachel Bahn.

o   Cultivars include ‘Anouk', ‘Ballerina', ‘Munstead', ‘Otto Quast', ‘Papillon', ‘Regal Splendor', and ‘With Love'.

Lavender Uses

The most popular use of lavender today is in cosmetics and fragrances, including making bouquets, wreaths or wands, small sachets, eye pillows, potpourri, soaps, perfumes, facial and body oils.  Culinary uses include herbal teas, cookies, lavender ice cream, as a flavorful addition to wine, and even as a spice rub for beef and lamb.

If you enjoy doing crafts, make a lavender wand, which makes a great gift.

Here are a couple how-to-do links:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UboN-V4Mv-c
• https://blog.pelindabalavender.com/2021/06/how-to-make-woven-aromatic-lavender-wand-instructions.html

For creative cooks, there are many lavender recipes from sweet to savory. An excellent book is The Lavender Cookbook by Sharon Shipley.

More Love for Lavender

Visit the local Pageo Lavender Farm in Turlock (http://pageolavenderfarm.com/) to see its fields of lavender and visit its shop with many lavender products.

Learning more about lavender has increased my appreciation for this beautiful, versatile plant. I made a lavender wand which lightly perfumes my closet, have a lavender eye-pillow for when I do the savasana pose in yoga (very relaxing!). I look forward to baking lavender shortbread, exploring other uses of lavender, and increasing the diversity of lavender plants in my garden!

If you do not already have lavender in your garden, consider planting some. Along with their lovely flowers and aroma, ease of care, they also attract bees, butterflies, and birds. You will love them!

Acknowledgements: Many thanks to fellow UCCE Master Garden Heidi Aufdermaur for sharing her love and knowledge of lavender!

Resources

• Lavenders for California Gardens: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8135.pdf
• Sunset Western Garden Book
• The Timeless Allure of Lavender by local author Cynthia Tanis (Kindle Edition on Amazon)
• How to plant, grow and care for lavender: www.almanac.com
• Lavandula: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavandula

Denise Godbout-Avant has been a UCCE Master Gardener with Stanislaus County since 2020

 

 

 

If you love gardening and teaching others, you may be interested in applying to become a UC Master Gardener trainee! UC Cooperative Extension in Stanislaus County is now accepting applications for the 2024 Training Program. 

Who are the UC Master Gardeners?

UC Master Gardeners are trained volunteers that help the public by teaching classes, attending outreach events, working in our demonstration gardens, answering our help line, and more!

How are UC Master Gardeners Trained?

Classes are taught by University experts on water management, soils and fertilizers, ornamental and drought tolerant plants, landscape tree care, vegetable and fruit tree care, integrated pest management, to name a few.

Program requirements include weekly reading and quizzes, and a final exam. All “tests” are open book, and collaboration on assignments is encouraged. Trainees are provided any needed assistance by Master Gardener mentors.

When does the Program start?

The weekly training program starts in January and ends in May of 2024. The training is held from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. once a week for 18 weeks. (Trainees must complete 50 hours of instructional time to graduate.)

How Can I Apply and what is the Deadline?

Visit Become a UCCE Master Gardener website page for answers to frequently asked questions, and to download an online application. The application deadline is August 18, 2023. If you miss the deadline, please apply to be put on a waiting list.

Interest List

Last week I sent an email to people that signed up for our interest list. If you did not receive it, your email could not be delivered, bounced back, or was incorrect. (I received several of these notifications.) Please first check your spam, and then contact me if you believe your email may have been problematic.

Thanks!  

*You must be a Stanislaus County resident to apply to this local program. For other county programs, visit http://mg.ucanr.edu/FindUs/ 

photos by Anne Schellman

You may have noticed swarms of flying insects landing on your roses, calla lillies, hydrangeas, and other flowers. If you look closely, you'll see the insect inside the flower, and the chewing damage on the petals. These pests are hoplia beetles, but are often misidentified as Japanese beetles or rose chafer beetles.

Beetles are the most plentiful of all insects on the planet, so it's understandable to get a few of them confused. Let's compare photos and other details about each of these beetles, and also mention the green June beetle, a beetle that is commonly mistaken for the Japanese beetle.

Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles do not have an established population in California. The California Department of Food and Agriculture* (CDFA) maintains traps for detecting this pest throughout the state. When Japanese beetles are found in California, they are targeted for eradication (complete elimination). Read more about this invasive species on the UC IPM website at https://ipm.ucanr.edu/Invasive-and-Exotic-Pests/Japanese-Beetle/ 

Green Fruit Beetles

Green fruit beetles are a dull green color and much larger than Japanese beetles. You may notice them in late spring and summer as they zoom around your garden. Fortunately, they are rarely a pest. https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/PESTS/grfruitbeetle.html 

Rose Chafer Beetles

The rose chafer beetle resembles the hoplia beetle, however, this pest is not found in California. You can read more about these beetles on this informational page from University of Minnesota https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/rose-chafers 

Hoplia Beetles

Hoplia beetles are small, brown, and their undersides look like they've been dusted in gold. If you hold one in your hand, they will “play dead” and not move, making it easy to examine them.

The best way to manage hoplia beetles is to regularly handpick or shake them off flowers into a bucket of soapy water and then dispose of it. This can help reduce beetle populations in the future. You can also fill white, 5-gallon buckets with water and a few drops of detergent. The white color may attract the beetles which will fall into the bucket and drown. Luckily, hoplia beetle populations begin to dwindle in June. Using a pesticide to spray the beetles is not recommended. You can read more details about managing hoplia beetles in the UC IPM Pest Notes: Hoplia Beetles.

*it's important that we help prevent invasive pests from taking hold in our communities and threatening agricultural crops. You can help by saying "yes" when asked if the Agricultural Commissioner's Office can place traps in your landscape.