Spring is finally here, but unfortunately so are the pests!
While doing your spring cleaning or staying indoors due to our recent rain, you may have noticed some insects and spiders have moved in with you. Many pests are emerging from their winter rest, and taking cover from the cool, wet weather.
If you've found tiny brown, white, and black patterned beetles on windowsills, curtains, or walls near entryways, they may be carpet beetles. Adult beetles are about 1/10 inch and feed on pollen and nectar from flowers like crape myrtle and spirea. They can be brought indoors on cut flowers or they may fly in from nearby plants outside. A few adult beetles inside your home are typically not a problem. However, be on the lookout for their larvae or signs of their damage. Carpet beetle larvae feed on natural fibers such as wool, silk, leather, fur, and pet hair. They can damage rugs and carpets, yarn, clothing, and leather book bindings. Larvae will not feed on synthetic fibers like polyester. You can reduce sources of food for larvae by cleaning up lint, hair, dead insects, or debris. Adults can be relocated to the outdoors, but larvae are more difficult to control. See Pest Notes: Carpet Beetles for management strategies.
Spiders often end up inside while looking for food and if the right conditions are present–dark, dusty, hidden areas–they may stay a while. Some people may not mind the occasional spider, as they feed on other pests like flies, moths, and beetles. It is uncommon for most California spiders to bite you, contrary to what many people think. This includes the brown recluse spider, which does not exist in California. To identify the various spiders you might come across, see the Pest Notes: Spiders.
There are many other household pests you might encounter now and throughout the year. Fortunately, UC IPM has tons of great information on what they are and how to control them! See Pests of homes, structures, people, and pets for more information, or watch UC IPM's webinar recording on Springtime Household Pests.
- Author: Paula Pashby
Spring has officially arrived, and I am ready for gardening! I always get excited to see my seeds sprout and I enjoy giving them the tender loving care they need to establish resilient roots for later planting. The soil in my garden is in good condition, but I want to take one extra step of adding mulch to make sure the seedlings have the best chance for growing strong and healthy. There is nothing like fresh mulch to give a garden new life!
One question we often get as Master Gardeners is, “what type of mulch should I add to my garden”? There are so many varieties of mulch available at nurseries and home improvement centers, so selecting the best for your garden can be a bit overwhelming. Let's get back to the basics about mulch to help identify what best fits your garden needs.
Mulch is used in the garden to:
- help control weeds
- reduce the amount of water and timing needed for irrigation
- add nutrients to the soil
- retain soil warmth in winter and cool during extended hot weather
- enhance the look of the garden.
To better understand the benefits of mulch, let's consider how plants grow in their natural environment. Organic material from multiple seasonal growth cycles will accumulate in the surrounding areas. The organic material will decompose over time and add nutrients to the soil. In contrast, we tend to remove retired seasonal plants and litters of leaves from the garden for general aesthetic notions. Consequently, we need to reintroduce the lost nutrients to improve our soil. Adding layers of mulch can enhance the soil and growing conditions for your garden.
Mulches come in both organic and inorganic forms. Inorganic mulch comes from non-living compounds and includes synthetic chemicals. Whereas, organic mulch comes from living matter and do not include synthetic chemical additives.
Inorganic mulch is quite effective in blocking weeds, retaining water, and tends to last longer than organic mulch. Some examples of inorganic mulch include gravel, rocks, rubber, landscape fabric, and plastic sheeting. This type of mulch may also be altered in appearance, such as color-dyed rubber to simulate wood bark, for preferred curb-appeal landscapes.
There are a few things to consider when using the inorganic type of mulch. Rocks will not usually help to maintain soil moisture and can absorb heat, so make sure that you garden plants can handle this type of environment. Plastic sheeting will not allow water or nutrients to penetrate the soil, and suppresses beneficial insects and microorganisms that are crucial for soil to thrive. Keep in mind that inorganic mulch will not add soil nutrients and other supplements that may be needed, another item for your chore list.
If you are looking for a mulch that will add important nutrients to the soil, it is better to go with the organic type. Some examples of organic mulch include wood bark and chips, grass clippings, straw, cocoa hulls, and compost. Organic mulches tend to be more expensive, but will lead to a more healthy soil for seasonal plantings.
There are different types of organic mulches, and each offer its own unique benefits to the soil. Your choice in mulch will depend the specific plants you are growing in your decorative, vegetable or flowering garden. For example, hardwood chippings will turn your soil acidic during decomposition, while softwood chips will decompose more quickly and add more nutrients to your soil. Woodchip mulch is good for trees, bushes and shrubs, or just for its appearance longevity.
Straw is good for starting a veggie garden, straw and compost are probably the best options. Straw is very useful in preventing the plants and lower leaves from touching the soil, which can cause diseases. Just make sure to get straw and not hay, which can have seeds that produce invasive weeds.
Compost is an excellent choice for most types of gardens. Compost consists of organic materials like newspapers, grass clippings leaves and food wastes. This source material will decompose down into dark humus and will be rich in nutrients, which is the reason why gardeners generally refer to this mulch as “black gold”.
You will still need to do some homework on the specific mulching needs for your selected garden. Who knows, your research may also lead to new fun projects, like starting your own compost pile at home.
- Author: Anne Sutherland
¡Saludos a los jardineros maestros, especialmente a la clase del 2023!
Primero un saludo para los creadores del grupo actual: Elicha Gastelumendi, Lori Palmquist y Joyce Brahms Hennessey. Segundo, un poco de historia: creamos un modelo de nosotros mismo después de Growing Gardeners en 2020-2021para impartir un curso virtual sobre los conceptos básicos de jardinería en español. Pero, desafortunadamente, a pesar del fabuloso equipo de organizadores, traductores, oradores e investigadores y posiblemente debido a Covid, no obtuvimos la asistencia que esperábamos.
Actualmente: varios jardineros maestros de UC del grupo original tienen otras actividades, proyectos, o nuevas obligaciones familiares que atender, pero tenemos nuevos miembros que hablan español. Además, hemos reestructurado nuestro trabajo en los proyectos de CoCoMG que requieren apoyo en español. Yo he entablado valiosos contactos con la comunidad, gracias a que me he acercado a ellos en sus propios términos, en lugar de intentar que ellos se adapten a los nuestros.
Yolanda González, directora de Monument Crisis Center, en Concord cuenta con un grupo de voluntarios muy comprometidos. A ella le encantaría que estuviéramos en esas instalaciones, los lunes, martes y miércoles por la mañana para ofrecer, semillas gratis y consejos a los participantes de ese programa. Por lo pronto, ya hemos organizado ahí dos eventos: un sorteo de plantas y tierra, que se llevó a cabo en la primavera pasada, y un taller de jardinería práctica, realizado durante un campamento de verano, para jóvenes.
Asimismo, a través del Concord Hispanic Better Business Bureau, se nos invitó a instalar un puesto de información en el Festival Latino. Ahí, pudimos conocer y dialogar con muchas personas de la comunidad, muchos adultos y niños que estaban interesados en conocer más sobre nosotros. Richard Schmidt, Mary Stewart (miembro no oficial) y yo sobrevivimos un largo día de actividades y disfrutamos de la música.
A Marisa Neelon, asesora de Ciencias de la Nutrición, Familia y Consumidor de Extensión Cooperativa de UC, la conocí en el evento Families CAN Harvest Day, en el huerto comunitario de Ambrose en Pittsburg, en donde Neal Hoellwarth y yo instalamos una mesa de información para responder preguntas sobre el programa Jardinero Maestro. Marisa me puso en contacto con los organizadores de su programa de nutrición en el que participaron varias personas hispanoparlantes. Son 15 mujeres que se reúnen cada viernes en la primaria Mountain Meadows en Concord y los organizadores estuvieron encantados de que hiciéramos la demostración de manos a la obra. La primera clase consistió en la entrega de plantas de hortalizas y tierra y la instrucción sobre cómo cultivar vegetales en macetas. Ahí, conté con la valiosa asistencia de la maestra Sol Puenzo, cuyo primer idioma es el español. La segunda clase, impartida en el mes de enero pasado, trató sobre cómo plantar árboles frutales a raíz desnuda y de nuevo se regalaron árboles y tierra. En ambas ocasiones, nos recibieron muy bien y la organizadora del grupo, Marta Flores nos ofreció un excelente apoyo.
Sol Puenzo y yo estamos a cargo del servicio de asistencia al público Help Desk (servicio de asistencia) y podemos responder las preguntas de las personas que hablan español.
El futuro: somos parte del proyecto de apoyo voluntario, CoCoMG Volunteer Support Project y queremos invitar a todos los jardineros maestros de UC, especialmente a los líderes de proyectos, a que se pongan en contacto con nosotros en caso de que requieran apoyo en español para eventos especiales ya sea en las escuelas, o en huertos comunitarios AAMG . Espero fomentar los contactos con CoCoMGs del condado de Alameda para ampliar nuestra difusión y compartir ideas. La BBB Hispana de Concord y el sitio Latin Bay Area Events proporcionan información sobre eventos especiales. Además, yo quiero continuar con la instrucción práctica y seguir ampliando nuestros contactos. Necesitamos actualizar nuestro sitio web y la página de Facebook. Estoy trabajando en el presupuesto para el próximo año fiscal (julio del 2023 – junio del 2024).
Desafortunadamente, yo estuve fuera de la ciudad el año pasado y perdí la oportunidad de participar en el evento del Día de los Muertos. Pero, este año quiero asistir a varios eventos y regalar crisantemos y caléndulas, dos de las flores tradicionales del Día de los Muertos. Si cualquiera de estas actividades les entusiasma, por favor ¡póngase en contacto conmigo! ¡Díganme!
Adaptado al español por Leticia Irigoyen del artículo en inglés
Editado para su publicación por Norma De la Vega
