- Author: Erin Mahaney
Who knew gopher snakes climb trees? We learned that they could when my husband saw one climb (slither?) up our backyard orange tree.
On a recent afternoon, my husband and daughter discovered a large snake winding its way along a backyard path of our suburban home. The snake apparently tired of having its picture taken and slowly made its escape up our orange tree. Based on the snake’s markings, my husband concluded that it was a California Night Snake, which is described as mildly venomous, but not dangerous to humans. You can imagine my surprise when I was told that we had a venomous tree snake in our backyard! On further research and consultation with the California Academy of Sciences’ Herpetology Department, however, we learned that our snake was merely a “garden-variety” gopher snake.
I am used to see gopher snakes out in the field, but not in a truly suburban environment. Since then, however, I have learned that gopher snakes one of the more common snakes in California. They are often seen around human dwellings, including suburban backyards, because they are attracted to rodents in the area.
Wait. Attracted to rodents? What rodents?! Alas, within two days, we found out when we spotted a rat raiding our bird feeder. Ugh. Now we have given up filling our bird feeders (which I miss quite a bit) and are trying to be better about picking up fallen fruit, and we are rooting for our tree-climbing gopher snake to do its job. Even though we haven’t seen the snake since that one day, we can’t persuade our children to pick oranges anymore!
References:
http://www.saczoo.org/document.doc?id=356
http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/gophersnakes.id.html
- Author: Betty Homer
Last month, I blogged about cultivating oyster mushrooms in the backyard by inoculating a cylindrical plastic bag containing straw, with mushroom spawn. I am happy to report that my mushroom log project was a success and have enjoyed literally, the fruits of my labor.
This month, I will be discussing another simple method of cultivating culinary mushrooms in your backyard. The variety that I am currently experimenting with is Stropharia rugosoannulata, commonly known as the wine cap mushroom. Although creating the substrate and environment to grow wine cap mushrooms is fairly simple and straight-forward, it may not be until a year or more before you know whether you are successful (contrast this with cultivating oyster mushrooms discussed last month, which will mature fully in a month or less from the time you assemble the mushroom log).
Below are instructions on how to cultivate wine cap mushrooms at home.
Materials List:
1. Large piece of corrugated cardboard (e.g. from a shipping box or grab several boxes from a warehouse store);
2. A large basin, clean garbage can, or plastic tote with which to hold water to soak the cardboard;
3. Wood chips (can be obtained from local arborist looking to dispose of his/her tree waste);
4. Wine cap mushroom spawn (can be purchased on-line); and
5. 1 to 2 plastic kitchen trash bags.
Directions:
Creating Cardboard Spawn
Step 1: Soak cardboard for 30 minutes until the cardboard layers separate easily to reveal the corrugated layer.
Step 2: Shake off excess water from cardboard. Cardboard should be damp, but not dripping wet. Separate cardboard by tearing back top layer to reveal the corrugated layer.
Step 3: Sprinkle and distribute the spawn all over the cardboard until a uniform, thin layer forms.
Step 4: Roll up the cardboard at the short-end so that it resembles a scroll. Note that the moisture level in the cardboard is similar to a wrung-out sponge or something close to it. Place the rolled-up inoculated cardboard into a kitchen trash bag, keeping the bag open so that the inoculated cardboard can breathe.
Step 5: Leave the plastic bag containing the rolled-up cardboard in a warm place (i.e., room temperature), out of direct light. Check every couple of days to see whether your cardboard is still sufficiently moist (moisture will evaporate over time). If the cardboard has dried out some, just spray some water on it, enough to keep it moist.
Step 6: After 2 weeks, the cardboard should be fully colonized. You can tell by unrolling the “scroll” and examining the cardboard for white mycelium threads, which form various spider web-like patterns. When it is fully colonized, transplant it outdoors in a shady spot by layering it between woodchip layers (directions to follow).
Creating a Woodchip Bed Using Cardboard Spawn
Step 1: Soak wood chips in clean water until thoroughly saturated.
Step 2: Choose a shady place in your garden and rake aside the topsoil in that spot.
Step 3: Set down one layer of your inoculated wet cardboard.
Step 4: Shovel a layer of wood chips 1-2 inches deep on top of the inoculated wet cardboard.
Step 5: Set down another layer of your inoculated wet cardboard on top of the wood chip bed (think of creating lasagna layers, alternating between your inoculated wet cardboard and wood chip layers).
Step 6: Finish the bed by shoveling another layer of wood chips on top of your inoculated wet cardboard.
Step 7: During the course of the year, keep your wood chip bed moist but not overly saturated. Avoid having water pool or puddle in or around the wood chips.
Step 8: Wait the year for results.
- Author: Libbey McKendry
Recently, in Late September, we harvested our first broccoli (Brassica oleracea) head of the season. It tasted so good! I planted a 4” transplant in early September and it really took off. At the same time I planted a six pack of ‘Green Comet” and as we head into the third week of October, we are picking them one by one. Of all the winter vegetables, broccoli is my favorite because it just keeps on producing. First the large center head then a week to ten days later the side shoots. The shoots get smaller and smaller with each harvest. Finally the shoots are so small they are hardly worth cooking so I just throw them into salads. A bonus of broccoli is the leaves are tasty, too. We add them to our vegetable smoothies.
The biggest problem I have encountered growing broccoli is the imported cabbage worm. When I see white butterflies with one or two spots on their wings fluttering around the garden I take heed! It is the Cabbage Butterfly (Pieris rapae) laying eggs on the underside of the leaf. Males have one spot on each wing and females have two. The larvae are little velvety-green imported cabbage worms so named because they feed on members of the cabbage family (Cruciferae), and believe me they can do lots of damage to the leaves plus get right into the heads. Over the years I have tried a number of methods to deal with the little pests. First I ignored them. That didn’t work out so well as the leaves had big holes in them and the florets harbored little green worms. I picked them out as best I could before I cooked the broccoli but occasionally I missed one and it showed up as a brown cooked worm on the plate. Yuck! My family did not appreciate them!
My second method was to pick off the eggs on the underside of the leaves. They are little yellowish bullet shaped single eggs and fairly easy to see. That was a lot of work and I missed some which left me with the same problem as method #1. So, one year I tried method #3. I used row covers to keep the butterflies out. But, a few sneaky butterflies got under the cover and had their way with my broccoli. I didn’t realize I had a problem until it was too late because I was sure my precious plants were protected and therefore didn’t check the leaves for eggs. It turned out worse than method #1or #2. Now I use method #4 and the broccoli is beautiful with minimal holes in the leaves and no little green worms in the florets or on my plate.
Method #4. I don’t like the hassle of mixing and spraying pesticides on my garden, but I have finally zeroed in on a successful method to deal with the little green caterpillar/worms. When I see the white butterflies I know the green worms will follow in three to five days and they will take two to three weeks to mature so I mix the liquid concentrate B.t. (Bacillus thuringiensis) and spray. B.t. is an organic product that I first used way back in the 70s when I started vegetable gardening (it was a powder then). I spray a very fine mist on the leaves once every 5 to 7 days while the butterflies are active. I try to be vigilant as there can be two to four generations in the spring and fall.
Here is a little secret. Use use Spray- Grip along with B.t. because the spray will not bead up and run off the leaves but will adhere to the leaves and turn them a darker green while the spray is wet so you know which plant you have covered. B.t. is a natural bacterium and needs to be used up the day it is mixed. It only kills the caterpillars or worms feeding on the plant and will not harm birds, earthworms or other beneficial insects such as honey bees and ladybugs. Plus, it can be used up to and on the day of harvest. There is only one thing that would make this method easier and that is to be able to purchase the spray pre mixed and not have to use it up each time. Well, guess what? That is exactly what is coming this spring to our nursery. That is a product I will be watching for to ensure success with broccoli.
- Author: Betsy Buxton
I’m fighting – and losing at this point – with Bermudagrass (Cynodan dactylon). Have you ever had a gardening problem, be it a weed or much-loved plant which fails to thrive, which has you thinking that TNT might be a good herbicide? I have but I’ve decided that explosives might be frowned upon during an IPM discussion.
My foe came into my yard courtesy of my neighbor. Evidently, at one time, they had a lawn in the backyard which extended from the house to the back fence and almost as wide as the entire yard. I never had any stolons come creeping into my yard UNTIL they had a concrete contractor come to install a patio. Well, very soon after that, came little fingers of green from under the fence and into my side yard. Eek, a mouse, er I mean Bermudagrass!
Realizing that since I left to work at 4:30 a.m. and returned around 5pm, I had no time for this “little” green invasion, I put the other adult at home to work (or so I thought). My plan was for Bruce to use the spray bottle of herbicide on the grass slowly creeping toward my roses, but he thought the plan was to merely report the progress the grass was making! Pretty soon, it seemed like only mere minutes, my yard had disappeared under a sea of thick stems and fine leaves. What to do?
Since the day I discovered that “his” plan was not “my plan”, we have been preparing to do battle! Since merely pulling the long, knotty and rather strong strands of grass is not working and our backs are tired; we have gone directly to the last step of IPM and selected our chemical allies.
This process was rather easy since reading the labels on the containers (the 1st step) eliminated a number of products right off the bat. Using gyphosate will not do as it is a non- selective weed-killer and kills grasses as well as broadleaf plants. That left only the selective dicot (grasses) herbicides. By looking around, reading labels, and asking professionals for suggestions, we are using a product whose main ingredient is fluazifop which can be sprayed over the top of roses, daylilies, and other plants which are in my yard. Hopefully next year my acreage of Bermudagrass will be smaller and what I planted will be visible. That will be extremely satisfying to Bruce and me!
All in all, I guess I should be happy that my neighbors didn’t plant either “running” bamboo or horsetail reeds!
- Author: Sharon L. Rico
The Master Gardeners have had a presence at the Erickson Ranch and Dahlia Farm for many years. We have gone to “the Ranch” as many as 3 to 5 times each growing season. We provide a support table with pest notes, compost information, copies of ‘Seeds for Thought’, and info related to the theme of the event.
During the August event, the focus was on tomatoes, so we provided handouts about growing tomatoes, the vegetable planting guide by Dr. Robert Norris, and a page of the assorted tomato diseases and pests with photos. We had many clients with questions about their gardens and heard their stories about tomato successes and tomato failures. We answered questions and made suggestions for next year.
In September at the “all About Peppers” event, we provided the same support table but added info on planting peppers. We listened as people asked us how to get rid of white flies, tomato horn worms, and mildew on their plants.
Saturday was the last event for 2013 and the focus was on pumpkins. There were pumpkins to purchase, pumpkins to carve, and wagon rides out to the pumpkin patch. The Master Gardeners had the support table full of the usual information and added Halloween masks for the kids and instructions on how to build your own scarecrow. The families came in groups including grandparents, parents with babies in strollers and young children. The Erickson’s had their produce, flowers and jams for sale. The Charlie Wade Blues Band entertained the crowds. Nick, the BBQ man was cooking across the blacktop from Angelina’s biscotti table. Lucas was selling home grown plants while Cindy was making crafts with kids (headbands with fresh flowers being a favorite). Suisun Wildlife Rescue Center had an assortment of birds and reptiles on display. Under a white tent, children were carving pumpkins letting their creative juices flow. It was an entertainment extravaganza. And the best part of all was the six MG’s who volunteered in two shifts and were able to educate the crowds and enjoy the day! A real win-win!