- Prepared by: Terry Lewis
Tasks
- Continue fruit tree spraying and spray fungicide on apple and cherry trees.
- Weed by hand-pulling, hoeing, or if there is no alternative, apply herbicide on a calm day so that spray will not drift.
Pruning
- After bloom, prune spring-flowering shrubs, trees, and vines to improve shape.
- Shear back ornamental grasses and ground covers such as lantana, verbena, Asian jasmine, and vinca.
- Shape hedges.
Fertilizing
- Apply one third of the needed amount of fertilizer to deciduous fruit and nut trees.
- Wait until after bloom to fertilize acid-loving plants and use a product formulated for them.
- Fertilize blooming ornamental deciduous trees 2 or 3 weeks after bloom.
- Sow seeds for summer vegetables. Although many vegetables can be planted this month, tomatoes, summer squash, and beans are better planted later in spring.
- Annuals: impatiens, alyssum (Lobularia), plant from seed.
- Bulbs, corms, tubers: tiger flower (Tigridia).
- Fruits and vegetables: daikon, eggplant, melon, carrots, plant from seed.
- Perennials: Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis), coral bells (Heuchera), gayfeather (Liatris).
- Trees, shrubs, vines: California lilac (Ceanothus), deodar (Cedrus deodara), redbud (Cercis occidentalis), citrus.
Enjoy now
- Annuals and perennials: dianthus, Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis).
- Bulbs, corms, tubers: grape hyacinth (Muscari), ‘Paper White' narcissus.
- Trees, shrubs, vines: saucer magnolia, star magnolia.
- Fruits and vegetables: lettuce, onions, parsley, parsnips, peas.
Things to ponder
- Protect tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant from a late frost by using hot caps or floating row covers.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
That's the theme of the 146th annual Dixon May Fair, the 36th District Agricultural Association.
It's been a long, cold winter and we're ready for that! So are the exhibitors and fairgoers.
When the fair opens Thursday, May 11 and continues through Sunday, May 14 at 655 S. First St., Dixon, you'll see bees, butterflies and blossoms--and much more--exhibited in Today's Youth Building (Denverton Hall) and in the Floriculture Building.
Denverton Hall superintendent Bernadette "Bernie" Jacquot of Gridley, former exhibits supervisor at the Butte County Fair, has served more than 30 years in the fair industry.
A few of the insect-related exhibits in the Today's Youth Showcase (since this is a Bug Squad blog):
- A crocheted bumble bee, the work of Faith Ford, 14, of Vacaville
- A wall hanging of a butterfly by Elizabeth Martinez, 14, of Elk Grove
- A photo of a lady beetle, aka ladybug, by Isabelle Johnson-Lopez, 11, of Fairfield
- Butterfly art hanging (diamond art) by Regan Van Tuyl, 13 of Dixon
- A photo of a butterfly titled "Painted Wings" by Regan VanTuyl, 13 of Dixon (identified by UC Davis distinguished professor Art Shapiro as the ventral side of a Sara Orange-Tip (See https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterfly/anthocharis/sara-sara)
- A "bee happy" tote bag, the work of Jessie Means, 15, of Vacaville
On one wall, Connelly has created what looks like a Matilija poppy plant, complete with a six-sectioned white ceramic platter for the petals, centered with a cluster of yellow ribbons. In another area, her honey bee with widespread yellow wings is heading for a purple flower, already occupied by a golden bee.
Key information about the fair:
Thursday, May 11: 4 to 10 p.m. (Ticket sales and buildings close at 9 p.m.) No re-entry after 9 p.m.
Friday, May 12: Noon to 11 p.m. (Ticket sales and buildings close at 10 p.m.) No re-entry after 10 p.m.
Saturday, May 13: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Ticket sales and buildings close at 10 p.m.) No re-entry after 10 p.m.
Sunday, May 14: Noon to 10 p.m. (Ticket sales and buildings close at 9 p.m.) No re-entry after 9 p.m.
SPECIAL DAYS
THRIFTY THURSDAY, May 11: $5 admission for everyone 5 years of age and older
KIDS' DAY FRIDAY, May 12: Children 12 and under free fair admission all day
GATE PRICES
Adult 13 and Over: $15
Children 5 to 12 years of age: $10
Children 4 & Under: Free fair admission
Senior Citizen Discount: 65 and over, $10
Military Discount, with an active duty card, $10
Parking: $5 per vehicle
Access the fair website for information on musical entertainment, special shows, and rules. The Dixon Fair May chief executive officer is Patricia "Pat" Conklin, a veteran fair manager with 40-plus years of management experience in the fair industry (deputy CEO of the Solano County Fair, CEO of Butte County Fair, CEO of Sonoma-Marin Fairs and then CEO of the Dixon May Fair, beginning in 2012.) She was inducted into the Western Fairs' Association Hall of Fame in 2022.
Pat grew up in Dixon and, as a member of both the 4-H and FFA programs, showed livestock in the same fair that she manages today.
/span>- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was definitely a hot spot.
Honey bees foraging last week on a pomegranate tree on Hopkins Road, west of the UC Davis main campus, competed for food on hundreds of blossoms.
We counted five honey bees on one blossom alone in what amounted to a pushing/shoving match.
Most of the bees probably came from the nearby apiary at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, off Hopkins Road.
The pomegranate is an ancient fruit and the honey bee is an ancient insect. Millions of years ago, they grew up together in the Mediterranean region of southern Europe. European colonists brought the honey bee to our Eastern coast (Jamestown colony) in 1622; honey bees finally arrived in California in 1853. The pomegranate trees were introduced to California in 1769.
Together again...
- Author: Erin Mahaney
When we first purchased our current home, before we even moved in, we stopped by a garden nursery’s going out-of-business sale. A salesclerk caught us eyeing a Japanese flowering apricot (Prunus mume) and burst out “I can’t believe we have one of those left, those are beautiful trees!” Impressed by the salesclerk’s enthusiasm, and frankly, the deeply discounted price, we purchased the tree. It would be the centerpiece in our small front yard. Every year since then, I have referred to it as “that stupid tree.” Each August, I stand before the tree and scold it for its wind-whipped shape, its failure to develop any interesting form, and its dull, sickly-looking leaves, and I threaten to chop it down and replace it.
But then, inertia sets in. Before I know it, the cold, bleak days of January have arrived (at least they do in normal years). And my Japanese flowering apricot puts on such a spectacular, fragrant, flowering show that it earns its reprieve . . . at least until the following August.
According to the Sunset Western Garden book, the Japanese flowering apricot will develop into a “gnarled picturesque tree,” 20 feet tall and wide, suitable for small gardens or near walkways. The blossoms form on leafless branches in the depths of winter—midwinter to early spring—when little else is blooming. Most sources describe the scented blossoms as having a clean, spicy fragrance. To me, my tree smells like glorious cinnamon-spice explosion—I can smell it nearly half-way down the block! Depending on the cultivar, the petals range from white to pink to red, with single or double blooms. The tree produces yellow-green, 1-inch fruit, which can be edible if prepared properly, but are generally considered inedible in the United States. You can see cultivars at both UC Davis Arboretum and the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden.
In retrospect, my Japanese flowering apricot may have been happier if I hadn’t planted it in a hot, windy, location in heavy clay soil (despite our efforts to amend the soil). After 12 years, it’s neither “gnarled” nor “picturesque” by any stretch of the imagination. But in midwinter, on a grey, rainy day, I will put on a coat and sit on our front porch, just to breath in its fragrance and enjoy the rare spot of color for this time of year, and I will be glad of our impulse buy from years ago.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California's pre-spring mid-February weather is pushing open orchard blossoms and raising worries about dwindling bee numbers.
The Madera Tribune yesterday reported that an abrupt disappearance of worker bees within the last two weeks, and in some instances overnight, is spreading alarm throughout the California agriculture industry.
“We are going to have a big shortage of bees,” the story quoted Madera beekeeper Lyle Johnson. “It’s worse than four years ago. Growers don’t know it yet, but a few are starting to ask.”
Johnson told reporter Ramona Frances farmers are scrambling for bees.
"Almond prices are going up but if you don’t have the bees, there will be big trouble," he said.
A story in the Oakland Tribune by Melissa Murphy also reported that bee health problems are continuing.
"They can't shake it for some reason," the article quoted UC Davis entomologist Eric Mussen. "It all depends on who you talk to. Too many stressors all add up."
The mysterious decline in bee populations is called Colony Collapse Disorder. Factors that scientists suspect cause CCD include pests, pesticides, malnutrition and stress from transport.
The Oroville Mercury-Register reported Northern California orchardists will have their needs met for pollination, but that other areas in the state may not get the bees they need. However, the bees that farmers are getting are more expensive and not as healthy as last year. One Northern California beekeeper negotiated contracts at $150 a hive, but said farmers are now paying $180-$200 a hive.UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Joe Connell told Mercury register reporter Heather Hacking that almond trees in the area will be in bloom Feb. 20.
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