- Author: Barbra Braaten
Summer is flying by and somehow it is already August, kids are going back to school and we are starting to dream of fall gardens. Our August gardens still need our love and care though. Here are some tips to keep your August garden going:
- Morning Watering: Water your plants early in the morning while it's still cool. This practice reduces evaporation and moisture loss, ensuring plants receive the water they need to thrive. Additionally, morning watering allows the plants to dry off during the day, reducing the risk of fungal diseases.
- Keep Young Plants Watered: Monitor fruit and shade trees, shrubs, and perennials planted within the last year closely. Young roots are especially vulnerable to drying out during their first summer. Check soil moisture regularly to prevent dehydration.
- Monitor Vegetable Plants: Wilting or drooping leaves on vegetable plants during hot afternoons do not always indicate dry soil. Check the soil moisture by digging down and water only when necessary to avoid overwatering.
- Prune Fruit Trees: After harvesting fruit, prune the new summer growth of your fruit trees. This is a great way to properly manage growth, shape the tree, and an opportunity to remove dead or diseased wood. The pruning will also help sunlight penetrate the interior wood, encouraging the development of fruiting wood for the next season.
- Regular Harvesting: Harvest beans, cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes at least every other day. Regular harvesting promotes further production, ensuring a continuous and bountiful supply of summer vegetables.
- Protect Tree Trunks: Apply a coat of light-colored interior latex paint to tree trunks to prevent sunscald, a condition where the bark on the south or southwest side of a tree becomes sunburned. The light-colored paint reflects sunlight, helping to keep the bark temperature more consistent and preventing damage from the sun. This is particularly important for young trees, as they have not yet developed a thick bark to protect them from the sun's rays.
- Weed Control: Continue pulling weeds before they form seed heads and scatter their seeds. Consistent weeding now will reduce weed problems later in the season.
- Prune Berry Canes: After berry harvest, prune the canes that have finished bearing fruit. Different berries require specific pruning techniques, so know your variety and prune accordingly.
- Tomato Care: Watch for pests and diseases on your tomato plants. Maintain a consistent watering schedule to prevent issues like blossom end rot and monitor for destructive pests like the tomato hornworm caterpillar.
- Care for Roses: Hose off the foliage of roses frequently to reduce the likelihood of powdery mildew and discourage spider mites. Contrary to popular belief, this practice benefits the plants' health. Complete this task early in the day to allow leaves to dry before evening, it's important to ensure proper air circulation and avoid prolonged wet conditions to prevent other fungal issues.
- Planting Warm-Season Vegetables: July is still an excellent time to plant warm-season vegetables such as beans, cucumbers, eggplants, okra, peppers, squash, and tomatoes. These vegetables thrive in warm weather and can be harvested in late summer or early fall. Ensure they are well-watered to support their growth.
- Plan Cool-Season Vegetable Garden: It's time to start planning our Fall gardens. This is a time to plant cool season crops like leafy greens (kale, chard, mustard greens, arugula, lettuce, spinach, bok choi and more), brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, romanesco, Brussels, kohlrabi), root veggies (radish, beets, turnips, carrots) plus peas, garlic, onions, and leeks.
Keep your August gardens going with these tips and enjoy dreaming of the cooler weather coming soon!
Ask your local UC Master Gardener Program.
Have a gardening question? UC Master Gardener volunteers are available to help. Click here to Find a program and connect with your local UC Master Gardener Program. You will be redirected to your local county website and contact information. UC Master Gardener volunteers are available to help answer questions for FREE. Happy gardening!
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- Author: Jennifer DeDora
- Author: Ben A Faber
Ag Labor Management Education Program:
General Descriptions and Dates
Ag employers and their supervisory staff must remain informed of new labor laws and regulatory requirements to protect workers, their operations and their assets. The Ag Labor Management Education Program will help agricultural employers, HR managers and their field supervisors to better understand and comply with numerous requirements using a two-tier approach that includes a series of seminars and workshops as described below:
Ag Employer Seminars
Three seminars will be offered in English by labor experts including attorneys and enforcement agency representatives to provide updates and guidance on key issues impacting agricultural labor.
Topics include:
- wage and hour;
- union card-check elections;
- new worker health and safety requirements;
- paid leaves of absence;
- requirements and best practices for H2A Visa workers, and
- a range of other potential issues and liabilities.
Registration Fees per Person: Early Bird-$60; Late-$75; Walk-in*-$95
* Walk-in registration dependent on space availability.
Dates and Locations:
August 14, 2024 |
San Diego County Farm Bureau Escondido, CA |
Register |
February 19, 2025 |
Santa Maria, CA | |
March 5, 2025 |
Coalinga, CA |
Ag Labor Supervisor Workshops
Five training workshops will be offered in Spanish by highly experienced bilingual instructors to help supervisors learn about their critical roles and how to better manage and communicate with employers and workers.
Supervisors will learn to:
- implement required policies and procedures;
- to foster employee retention; and
- more effectively prevent and manage -
- work injuries,
- harassment claims,
- union interventions, and
- wage and hour issues.
Registration Fees per Person: Early Bird-$50; Late-$60; Walk-in*-$80
Note: Please register early - Space limited to first 60 registrants.
* Walk-in registration dependent on space availability.
Dates and Locations:
August 15, 2024 |
San Diego County Farm Bureau |
Register |
February 5, 2025 |
Palm Desert/Coachella, CA |
|
February 6, 2025 |
Imperial, CA |
|
February 20, 2025 |
Santa Maria, CA |
|
March 6, 2025 |
Coalinga, CA |
- Author: Sarah L Marsh
We are excited to announce the launch of a new rice podcast, "Thoughts on Rice", hosted by the UCCE Rice Advisors and found wherever you listen to podcasts.
This podcast is for growers, PCAs, consultants, and other industry professionals in the California rice industry. We'll primarily be focusing on the Sacramento Valley and Delta Region of California. We aim to deliver extension information relating to the California rice industry, but we are also looking for suggestions for topics that would be of interest to our stakeholders! Reach out to your local farm advisor for more information.
The podcast website can be found here.
The feedback poll can be found here:
- Author: Ben A Faber
Avocado Irrigation Workshop
September 3(Tuesday), 2024
1:00 – 4:00 P.M.
San Diego Farm Bureau
420 S Broadway, Escondido, CA 92025
Workshop registration link: Registration
1:00 - 4:00 p.m. |
|
1:00 |
Welcome |
1:05 |
Crop Water Use of Avocado Orchards – Ali Montazar, UCCE Irrigation and Water Management Advisor, San Diego, Imperial, and Riverside Counties |
1:35 |
The Other Uses of Water in Avocado Orchards – Ben Faber, UCCE Subtropical Crops Advisor, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties |
2:05 |
Salinity Management in Avocado Orchards – Khaled Bali, UCCE Irrigation Water Management Specialist, Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center |
Break: 10 mins. |
|
2:45 |
Soil Moisture Monitoring in Avocado Groves – Gary Bender, UCCE EmeritusSubtropical Horticulture Advisor, San Diego County |
3:15 |
Development and Evaluation of Pathogen and Salinity Resistant Avocado Rootstocks – Patricia Manosalva, Director of the Avocado Rootstock Breeding Program, University of California, Riverside |
3:45 |
Mission RCD WETA and Ag Irrigation Efficiency Programs – Jameson Meyst and Mia Lorence, Mission Resource Conservation District |
4:00 |
ADJOURN |
For more information about the workshop, please contact Ali Montazar, amontazar@ucanr.edu.
Pending CEU CREDITS: CCA (2.45 hrs.)
SDRILG (2.0 hrs.)