- Author: Karen Giovannini
Fair time is also a great time to see 4-Hers in action! Visit the Livestock area and watch the kids show chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, swine, dairy and beef cattle. Showing livestock at the fair requires months of preparation for the market animals (sold at the auction) and years of work for the breeding projects (ongoing dairy and livestock projects).
Check the Livestock schedule and stop by to see the kids show while you are at the fair (look for Junior, Jr or Market on the schedule). The Large Animal Round Robin class on Sunday, August 3 starting at 1pm is where you can see the best showmen/women take their turn at showing all of the different large species: goats, sheep, swine, beef cattle, dairy cattle and horses. The winner is crowned top showman/woman of the fair.
The Junior Livestock Auctions:
- Lambs – 7/26, 9am
- Goats – 7/26, 1pm
- Rabbits – 7/26, 1:30pm
- Hogs – 8/1, 9am
- Poultry – 8/1, 1pm
- Beef – 8/2, 6pm
- Author: Karen Giovannini
The annual Sonoma County Fair is upon us and the Sonoma County Master Gardeners are participating with their Demonstration Garden. This will be the 16th year that SCMG has participated in the county fair. Their booth will be once again located on the outdoor patio south of the famous Hall of Flowers.
The primary focus is on water wise gardening, including drought tolerant plants, drought tolerant raised bed vegetable and herb gardening, permeable hardscape, and blending in the fairs 60's theme. We will be incorporating a vermiculture and compost bin as well as a rain catchment system. The Sonoma County Master Gardeners Food Gardening Specialists will also be on hand to disseminate information.
Master Gardener docents will be available on-site from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Sonoma County Fair, July 24 - August 10, closed Mondays
- Author: Karen Giovannini
If you have a backyard garden, you know that there are times that everything seems to ripen at once. Or perhaps you enjoy produce gardening, but grow far more than you plan on consuming. What can you do with that excess FOOD? Don't let it go to WASTE!
Last year, the Sonoma County departments of Agricultural Commissioner, Department of Health Services, Information Systems Department and UCCE Sonoma County worked together to create and roll out the Approved Produce Gardener Certificate (APGC). This FREE certification program allows backyard produce growers who follow the required best practices to donate or sell their produce as an approved source grower.
Visit Approved Produce Gardener Certificate, review the FAQ's then complete the annual registration form.
- Enter the responsible party name(s)
- Enter the garden location(s)
- Agree to follow each of the best management practices
- List all of the produce expected to grow in the next year
- The certificate is good for one year from the date of completion
- The certificate lists all the produce entered in step 3
- A copy of the certificate is emailed to the user
- Provide a copy of the certificate to entities that require produce from an approved source.
School Gardens
In order for schools to use the produce grown in their gardens, the garden must have an Approved Produce Gardener Certificate.
When is APGC not required?
If the garden is certified organic or is registered with the Agricultural Commissioner with a Certified Producer Certificate (for sales at Certified Farmers Markets) or Operator Identification Number (for pesticide use), they do not need to complete the APGC. They will need to provide proof of certification to the entity that requires produce from an approved source.
Questions?
Send an email to klgiov@ucan.edu
/h2>/h2>/h2>- Author: Lisa Bell
On Saturday morning, June 28, 35 people attended a sudden oak death (SOD) educational talk and local disease update at our UCCE office. More than half of the people who attended were unfamiliar with the disease, letting us know that we continue to find new people with our outreach. In this 2-hour session, Master Gardener specialists described disease history, biology, and treatment.
Attendees left informed about what can be done for diseased trees on their property, or if they have no disease, how to avoid infection. These talks are given by the Master Gardeners at different locations around the county, periodically throughout the year and on request.
Often the first question asked is “What kind of oak is this and is it susceptible to SOD?” See photos below for common oaks of Sonoma County (click on the picture for a larger version).
Visit Sudden Oak Death for more information.
- Author: Paul M Vossen
Click on photos to see details.
The number of chilling hours (below 45oF) required by fruit trees varies from about 100 for figs to over 1,000 for apples. It also varies by variety within each species. It is even more complicated than that. Using the old system of measurement, which just adds up the number of hours of temperatures below 45oF (November 2013 through February 2014) we had 1,339 hours in Santa Rosa. This is slightly above normal, as the historical average is about 1,200 per year with a range of 950 to 2,012 hours. Consequently, we would not expect to have seen any abnormal growth this spring, but we did. This occurred because not all chilling hours are equally effective and because chilling hours accumulated at night can be cancelled by warm daytime temperatures.
Paul Vossen, Specialty Crops Advisor pmvossen@ucanr.edu
Available as PDF Low Chilling in 2014 Causes Fruit Tree Problems