- Author: Heather Hamilton
Ricinus communis also commonly known as the castor oil or castor bean plants which are flowering perennials in the Euphorbiaceae family. They are native to the Mediterranean basin, East Africa and India. Castor oil has many uses in medicine, pharmaceuticals, skin care as well as a bio diesel component. In ancient Egypt it was used as a fuel and for medicinal purposes.
It has been used as a laxative, moisturizer, also thinning of hair. NOTE: As with all natural homeopathic drugs, you should always consult your doctor with any questions or concerns.
It was studied as early as 1972 and tried early on for use in warfare. It seems to be pretty inconclusive in its results, but has been tried by early Soviet, KGB, as well as terrorist. Ricin which is from the castor bean is toxic if used in the right methods and doses.
As late as 2023 German police were thwarting off ricin attacks thought to be from Islamic terrorist groups.
It is so interesting to learn how certain plants in our daily landscape uses are and have been used throughout history for a variety of uses, not only medicinally but in warfare.
I picked this plant up at my favorite nursery and absolutely love it for its striking burgundy foliage, although my husband secretly says I am just trying to poison him… I tell him, “Time will tell my love”. You should be aware that once it is done flowering it will shoot seeds in all directions. Fortunately, it is very easy to grow and easy to spot so you can control how many you would like to grow or share with your neighbors.
For me it has been a year-round perennial because of our mild climates. It is super fun and easy so check it out if you have the chance.
- Author: Joy Humphrey
I've never been a fan of garden art. I get a kick out of it in other people's gardens—twee fairy abodes, a face attached to an oak tree like a huge Mr. Potato Head—but in my own garden, plants are serious business and there is no time for whirly birds or bunnies sporting blazers. However, shortly after we moved into our home and I began to dig around in the backyard, I started discovering small treasures left behind from the previous owner—iridescent glass pebbles, a strange ceramic face with wire and beads for hair, an abstract glass elephant. I started gradually adding these art pieces to my herb bed. When we trimmed back the boxwoods, we discovered a stone Buddha frog. When we cut back the 30-year-old honeysuckle, we found a smiling sun attached to the fence. A metal turtle with a stained glass shell was hiding under piled up debris by the fence. I kept adding all these objects to my garden because it felt more like honoring the history of the property rather than me turning into a “garden-art person.”
But then I kept seeing bicycle sculptures in my local garden center. Well, I thought, I do live in Davis. However, they were all too brightly colored and decorated with balloons and sunflowers, and various other gewgaws. Not for me. I wanted something classier, more like real art, not something akin to a pink plastic flamingo or, God forbid, gnomes. It took a while but I found an understated, suitably weathered bike sculpture at a nursery in Loomis. No bright colors, just rust. Very classy. One piece of purchased garden art was not too bad. Although, there was a plain white bike sculpture at a boutique in Sutter Creek that wasn't too obvious so I also bought that. Two bike sculptures. Kind of a theme, so that was okay.
But then some weird switch got flipped when my husband and I were at a pottery store, and I saw a statue of a dragon eating gnomes. It was a bright green dragon with bulging white eyes, and clenched in his pointy teeth was a blue and red attired gnome. He held two more struggling gnomes in his hands and another he pinned to the ground with his foot. It was the most garish piece of garden art I'd ever seen. It wasn't rusty, it wasn't understated, it wasn't classy. And I thought it was awesome, so I bought it. My husband suggested we not feature it front and center in our garden. Fair enough. It is currently peeking out of the rosemary in the herb garden along with Buddha Frog.
After the gnome-eating dragon, I decided that I was done buying anymore garden art. What could I possibly add to my collection that would top that? One day recently I received a long box delivered to my front porch from my sister. “What is that?” my husband asked. I opened the box. “It's garden art,” I said. I pulled out a sign that said, “Choose Joy.” Well, one more piece would not hurt. Especially since it was so suitably finished in an understated rust. Very classy.
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
Hydrilla is easily spread since it often breaks apart into tiny pieces that can each produce new plants. It also produces special survival structures on the stems (turions) and in the sediment (tubers). Each tuber can produce a new plant. The tubers can survive up to seven years in the sediment before sprouting, even if no water is present.
What can you do?
Hydrilla can be introduced to new areas on boats, trailers, fishing tackle, and sometimes even waterfowl. Inspect these items and remove any plant material from them before leaving the water. Hydrilla is also commonly sold for use in aquariums. Never dump your aquarium water into waterways or down the drain.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) conducts eradication efforts in multiple counties throughout California. The largest eradication effort is the infestation in Clear Lake which began in 1994. The program has successfully eradicated hydrilla from 15 counties since 1976.
If you find hydrilla, contact your local agricultural commissioner's office or the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Pest Hotline: 1-800-491-1899.
Learn more about this invasive aquatic weed by visiting the links below:
- California Invasive Plant Council https://www.cal-ipc.org/plants/profile/hydrilla-verticillata-profile/
- Educational pamphlet on hydrilla https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/npdes/docs/aquatic-weeds/HydrillaPamphlet.pdf
- Hydrilla Eradication Program https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/ipc/hydrilla/hydrilla_hp.html
- Author: Erin Wright
No matter what you grow - trees, shrubs, flowers, veggies, turf areas - they all require some kind of irrigation in our Mediterranean climate. We had a good and late rainy season this year, so our plants were happy when the growing season kicked off and moisture ‘banks' were full. Dry and warm days are here, so now is a good time to test your sprinkler and irrigation systems to keep your garden happy and beautiful. Watering is one of the key cultural problems (culture in gardening means those activities involved in siting, selecting and caring for plants) master gardeners will ask about as they help to diagnose plant problems. Proper watering can keep some plant problems under control. Keeping ahead of irrigation problems by checking each sprinkler, drip head, or micro sprayer in your garden will ensure your plants receive the proper water to thrive and provide beauty, shade and food for your summer enjoyment.
Use this handy checklist and basic troubleshooting guide to check your watering system.
Warm Season Irrigation Checklist
Walk Your Garden
A visual inspection can help you identify problems with your irrigation system.
- Look for stunted or wilted plants that indicate a clogged or misaimed emitter or sprinkler.
- Turf areas will turn a dull gray color as they get too dry. Conduct a sprinkler/irrigation station test to reveal if there is enough water coverage for that spot. To test, turn on each irrigation station in sequence and observe the results.
- Check your plants for pests since plants suffering from under watering or over watering are more susceptible to pests and disease.
- Pay special attention to how much water is distributed during the station/zone test (see details below). Observe if all the plants are getting sufficient water, or if there is pooling under the plants or runoff onto the sidewalks
- Check any historic problem areas to ensure adequate irrigation coverage.
Irrigation Controls/Timers
If you have an automated sprinkler timer, here are the things to check as you head into the new growing season.
- If you turned off the system for the winter, turn the system back on.
- Replace the battery if your timer has one.
- Set the clock to the proper time and year.
- Check the timing for each valve and zone program
- Set time based on plant needs. You can find watering guidelines below in the Resources section.
- Set watering days and times of the week to match your water agency's watering guidelines/restrictions.
- Test each station/zone on your sprinkler timer (see below for troubleshooting repairs)
Sprinklers
Your station test from above should have helped you identify problems with your system.
- Replace broken sprinkler head “geysers” with a new sprinkler head. Most common sprinklers are easy to replace by untwisting the sprinkler from the riser (the part attached to underground piping) and replacing with the same type. Your sprinkler type may allow you to replace just the watering head. Check the manufacturer's website for full instructions.
- Use the same type of sprinkler in each zone. Not all popup sprinklers deliver the same volume.
- Use Teflon tape in the threads of the riser to ensure a leak-free seal.
- Adjust the sprinkler radius and spray pattern to get full coverage to reduce dry areas and water waste. You can find instructions for sprinkler adjustments on the sprinkler manufacturer's website as many offer instructional videos for the DIYer.
- Modern or smart sprinkler timers offer advanced settings to optimize how you water your garden. One feature, ‘cycle and soak' allows you to divide the total irrigation time into shorter intervals so the water has time to soak in. This setting is valuable for lawn areas as it promotes deep watering for root health. This also works well in sloped yards, raised beds, or heavy soils, preventing wasteful runoff. Even if your system doesn't have this feature, you can schedule several short consecutive watering times that provide the same effect.
Drip Systems
- Clean or replace clogged micro-spray heads.
- Adjust micro-spray head aim and coverage area. Squirrels, household pets and other garden visitors can knock them out of aim.
- Listen for weird squeaks, hums, whistles and gushing water noise that indicate a broken or missing drip emitter.
- Look for hard water buildup which can reduce water volume. Clean off or replace the emitter.
- Replace the broken emitter with an exact match.
- Join torn or broken drip pipes with connector pieces.
- Check that the supply tubing ends are closed to allow the system to build pressure.
- Adjust the drip system to deliver water where your plants need it now vs. when they were planted. Be sure to apply water to the entire root area. Mature plants may need another drip head or two added for adequate irrigation.
Add additional drip heads as needed for maturing landscape. Consult your irrigation design and manufacturer for the number of drip heads each zone can support. - Remove drip lines and heads in areas where they are no longer needed. It's easy to install a plug in the supply tubing.
Garden Hose and Watering Cans
If you water with a hose and watering can, don't let your trusty garden friends let you down when you most need them!
- Fully unreel your hose and inspect it for holes and cracks, smooth out hose kinks if you can and inspect bulging sides for failure. Repair or replace as needed.
- Replace hose rings at the faucet to get a tight drip-free fit.
- Replace hose rings in watering tools - wands, spray heads to keep the flow strong.
- Clean debris from watering can, inspect for holes, clogged spout and sprinkler head.
With this checklist, you have likely identified a few adjustments to your system before the temperatures soar. Continue to monitor your system for problems and make timely repairs for the best health of your garden and to avoid a surprisingly large water bill.
Resources
- Irrigating fruit and shade trees and shrubs
- Watering calculators from the Center for Landscape Urban Horticulture.
- UC Guide to Healthy Lawns
- Cultural tips for trees, shrubs and woody plants
- EBMUD Lawn and Landscape Watering Schedule (opens a pdf document)
Have a gardening question?
We'll help. You can reach us by:
- Emailing acmg@ucanr.edu. Please include a photo of the problem, if you can, plus your name, phone number, city and a description of the problem.
- Using our online form.
- By phone, during our office hours, 10 am to noon Wednesday and 11 am to 1 pm Thursday: 510-670-5645. At other times, please leave a message and we'll return your call during our office hours.
- In person at our Hayward office, during our office hours, only by appointment.
- Author: Laura Snell
Hello All,
I just wanted to give a little update on the 2024 DG Colt Challenge. This is our fifth year completing this program. There are 19 youth from 14 counties in California and Southern Oregon. This year's challenge is open to new 2024 trainers and all returning trainers and horses from the past five years.
The 2024 Colt Challenge competition will be held June 22nd in Alturas, CA at the Junior Livestock Showgrounds on the corner of 8th and Nagle. We will start with registration at noon and classes will start at 1pm. There will be three classes like years past, obstacle, halter, and showmanship. For returning horses, who are over three, there will be an option for equitation on horseback and to complete the obstacle course on horseback.
Video Challenge
Each April we have held a video challenge for youth to show us how far they have come with their horses. This was a great activity during Covid but has continued to be a highlight and opportunity to share more about our youth and their horses with partners and interested parties. Videos were evaluated on 4 criteria: Creativity, Horse Behavior, Trainer Ability, and Grooming. The winners this year are below, please enjoy watching their videos. Thank you for your support of this program and the unique opportunity it provides for youth in California. Please feel free to share this with other contacts that may be interested in the success of this program as well.
Third Place Olivia and Chili, San Luis Obispo County – Creston 4-H Club
Second Place Gracelyn and Wren, Shasta County – Foothill High School FFA
"Wren and the $1M Halter" (can only be watched on YouTube)
First Place Merideth and Cosmo, San Diego County – Surfside 4-H
Mustang Camp, June 28-29 in Susanville
This year we are also hosting a Mustang Camp in Susanville June 28-29th to reach youth who want to learn about wild horses but are maybe not in a situation to take a wild horse home yet. This is part of a national grant funded by BLM with a group of west-wide extension agents. Registration closes June 14th.
Thank you for your continued support of this program,
Laura
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