As you practice social distancing during COVID-19, you may find yourself spending more time in the garden. As we move into nice weather, we are sharing a few gardening tips for pest management.
Powdery Mildew
Check for signs of powdery mildew on fruit trees, landscape ornamentals, and vegetables. Symptoms can vary by plant species but common symptoms include white powdery spots developing on both sides of the leaf, leaves that turn yellow or brown and fall off, twisting and distortion of leaves and shoot. Prune out small infestations and remove infected material to reduce spread.
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/h2>As you practice social distancing during COVID-19, you may find yourself spending more time in the garden. As we move into nice weather, we are sharing a few gardening tips for pest management.
Fertilizing
Now is the time to fertilize caneberries, citrus, fruit trees, palms, and heavily-flowering shrubs with slow release products. Maintaining good fertilization can keep your plants vigorous and help prevent pest problems.
Read more about plant-specific fertilization information on our website and see our other April gardening tips on
/h2>As you practice social distancing during COVID-19, you may find yourself spending more time in the garden. As we move into nice weather, we are sharing a few gardening tips for pest management.
Composting
Turn your compost piles and maintain proper moisture. Keep compost bins covered, especially during April showers to avoid sogginess. Covered compost bins can be especially important in urban areas to exclude rodents and other wildlife. Read more about composting on our website.
Stay tuned for more gardening tips!
/h2>March 18-24 was National Poison Prevention Week. While our blog post may be tardy, it's never too late to raise awareness about the risks associated with using pesticides and how to protect yourself and your family from accidental poisoning.
Pesticides are any substance used to kill, repel, or deter unwanted organisms, including insects, spiders, weeds, plant diseases, or animal pests such as rodents. In most situations, effective nonchemical options exist to control pests. However, if you decide to use a pesticide, please consider the following...
- Author: Anne Schellman
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Now is the time to prepare your garden and landscape for winter. The simple tasks recommended below will help prevent perennial weeds, insect pests, and certain disease pathogens so these problems don't get established and become difficult later.
Weeds
- Manage weeds using nonchemical methods such as cultivation, handweeding, or mowing.
- Prevent weeds using competitive plants, mulches, and hand removal.
- Herbicides (weed killers) are rarely needed in established landscape plantings when nonchemical controls are used regularly.
To learn more about managing weeds, see the UC IPM Pest Note: Weed...