- Author: Debbie LeDoux
Are you ready to transform your yard into a more sustainable landscape but don't know the first thing about irrigation systems? Our very own UC San Bernardino County Master Gardener Anita Matlock really knows her “stuff” when it comes to irrigation! She has enough experience and in-depth knowledge about irrigation to teach anyone how easy it is to transition their landscape from spray sprinklers to a drip irrigation system. She has provided numerous in-depth presentations and hands-on workshops that helped attendees increase their knowledge of beneficial irrigation concepts and decrease water usage in the garden.
As a Master Gardener, Anita has been our “de facto” trainer on irrigation systems since 2003. She says, “there are still many people who are unaware of how much water and money they could save by simply swapping out standard sprays and rotors for those with integrated pressure regulation. Communities everywhere continue to face the problem of high water pressure. High water pressure causes irrigation systems to experience a higher water flow rate, which results in wasted water, higher water bills, and damaged system components.”
Before retiring, Anita's professional background since 1991 had been in the irrigation industry. She was familiar with the irrigation concepts related to the "plant, water, soil relationship," but she was not familiar with growing plants. In 2003, she was inspired to join the Master Gardener program because she wanted to learn how to prune grapes and rose bushes. Through the Master Gardener program, Anita learned about growing roses and developed enough expertise and knowledge to teach a rose pruning workshop in January 2020.
Anita says that if you enjoy gardening and want to give back to your community, consider joining the Master Gardener program. You will experience many hours of pleasure spent in your garden while also teaching others about the many joys and benefits of gardening. She also wants to remind everyone to consider joining the UC San Bernardino County Master Food Preservers program if you enjoy growing edible gardens, especially if you grow many fruits, vegetables, and herbs. You will gain a lot of satisfaction from growing your own food, preserving it for your family, and giving your preserved foods as gifts! Joining the Master Gardener and Master Food Preserver programs will open opportunities for you to develop your interests in many different directions and make life-long friends with similar interests and passions.
Anita has used her expertise in irrigation to lead several Master Gardener landscape renovation projects. Her most recent project was in the summer of 2018, at Micah House in Redlands. Along with fellow UC Master Gardeners Betty Richardson, Trisha Fitzgerald, and other volunteers, she participated in transforming a grassy area in the front yard of Micah House into a lovely drought-tolerant garden. Master Gardeners removed the existing lawns and replaced them with drought-tolerant plants watered by a new drip irrigation system. The project was made possible through a grant from the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD).
In 2018, Anita donated irrigation equipment to a research project that measured the impacts of gardening on 82 first and second-grade students at Norton Space and Aeronautical Academy, a charter school in an ethnically diverse neighborhood in San Bernardino. It was a team effort with Master Gardeners Loleta Cruse, Jackie Brooks, Robert Simpson, and other community volunteers. The study found that students participating in planting and caring for the garden had greater concentration and group cohesiveness than students participating in other group activities. These positive outcomes corroborated research from several other studies worldwide, linking enhanced mood, feelings of self-worth, improved cooperation with others, and even higher standardized test scores and grades to school gardening.
Anita's previous career in marketing and consulting sales presenting to customers and potential customers, and becoming a Toastmasters member helped her develop the confidence to speak in front of groups. She has presented at Master Gardener events too numerous to list in this article. In 2018, she presented SoCal Landscape Transformation – The Hunt for Water Savings, a workshop at Western Municipal Water District (WMWD).
In April 2020, she presented at a free webinar on DIY water-efficient landscape irrigation hosted by IERCD in partnership with the (San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District (SBVMWD.) She led attendees through the ins and outs of retrofitting and drip irrigation to increase their knowledge of effective irrigation practices and help decrease their water usage.
If you are interested in presenting as a Master Gardener but are hesitant to take that first step, you don't need years of public speaking experience like Anita has. She has some great tips to get anyone started. The first step is to study and understand the subject you are presenting. Prepare an outline for your presentation and practice it in front of your family and friends. Here is a great tip that worked for Anita when preparing to present a new topic to her fellow Toastmasters. She would introduce a shorter version to get feedback and gain the confidence to fine-tune her final presentation. Try it yourself and see how it works for you! Don't hesitate to ask your fellow Master Gardeners for help by giving you feedback on practice presentations or co-presenting with you on your favorite gardening topic.
Anita's latest gardening project reflects her interest in vertical gardening. If you have not already “dipped your gardening toes” into this fascinating and fun gardening activity, I highly recommend trying it! I think you will be inspired to try your hand at vertical gardening when you read about Anita's vertical herb and vegetable garden.
In 2003, Anita (and her husband Tony) decided they wanted something more visually appealing to look at while enjoying their patio than a bare wall separating their property from their neighbors. They also wanted herbs to use for cooking that they had grown themselves, so they built a vertical herb and vegetable garden made of wood. After 7 years, the wood had deteriorated. They recently created a new vertical system made of HDPE drainpipe to replace the old wooden system. Be creative and start your own vertical garden using unique and fun materials.
You never know where the path of being a Master Gardener will lead you. In 2003, Anita and her husband Tony started a hobby in home wine making. Anita also decided to join the Master Gardeners program in 2003 because she wanted to learn how to prune grapes (and roses.) Fast forward to 2018, when Anita and Tony decided to take their years as home winemakers to turn their hobby into an encore career to establish their commercial winery. Anita is now an award-winning winemaker and serves as a Board Member of the Yucaipa Valley Wine Alliance. She has provided hands-on training at many workshops on growing grapes and wine making.
UC San Bernardino County Master Gardeners are thankful to Anita Matlock for enthusiastically sharing her extensive knowledge of irrigation concepts that decrease water usage. She is a wonderfully approachable presenter, and we are proud to name her as this month's Spotlight Master Gardener!
- Author: Janet Hartin
- Posted by: Elaine Lander
Your customers want their lawns to be beautiful and functional (Figure 1) but dead patches or other problems sometimes occur. Figuring out the cause of turfgrass damage can be a challenge since many plant pathogens affect grasses as well as numerous abiotic (non-living) disorders. can impact the quality of lawns, playing fields, and other turf areas.
Keeping turfgrass healthy is essential for reducing damage due to both diseases and abiotic disorders. Following recommended practices regarding irrigation scheduling, integrated pest management, fertility, mowing height, soil aeration, and other measures is your customer's best line of defense.
Identify the cause of unhealthy grass
Ask your customer the following questions to help determine whether the cause is due to abiotic or biotic issues.
- Is the problem confined to one area or across the entire lawn?
- When did the problem begin? Could it be seasonal?
- Have there been unusual changes in the climate or microclimate?
- What are the lawn care practices? Have there been recent changes?
Some answers to these questions include:
- Too much or too little water that may impact several plant species irrigated on the same valve as the turf.
- Herbicide injury and fertilizer applications can also impact several plant species growing in the lawn area.
- Many fungi resulting in plant diseases are confined to one species of turf and often do not impact surrounding plants.
Knowing that damage from abiotic causes does not spread can be helpful. Disease and insect infestations almost always spread outward from the initial point of damage. Also, diseases and insects can often be identified by specific symptoms.
In addition to the symptoms, damage from diseases often leave telltale signs of the pathogen. Examples include light colored cotton-like growth on leaves, areas of chlorotic (yellow) grass surrounding healthy appearing grass, rotted roots and crowns, and hard structures called sclerotia.
Common Causes of Abiotic Disorders
Nutrients. While over-fertilized lawns often show no damage symptoms, nitrogen-deficient lawns appear chlorotic, thin, and are more prone to fungal diseases such as dollar spot. Most turfgrass needs nitrogen fertilization during the active growing season to stay healthy and attractive. For specific turf recommendations, see the UC Guide to Healthy Lawns at ipm.ucanr.edu/TOOLS/TURF/
Micronutrients such as iron and zinc may also be required. Keep in mind that these and other micronutrients may be temporarily “tied up” in the soil due to high pH (alkaline) but become available to the plant if pH is reduced by adding sulfur or ammonium sulfate.
Another common type of fertilizer damage occurs from uneven application of nitrogen-containing fertilizers across the turf. This results in streaks of dark green grass next to skipped areas that remain light green and later turn yellow (Figure 3).
Dog Urine. Damage from animal urine (especially dogs) occurs most often on dry turf, especially during periods of high temperatures and prolonged drought. Cool season grasses tend to be more impacted since they require 25% more water than warm season grasses. Damaged turf appears wilted and grayish-green initially. Soon it becomes brown and may die depending on concentration, type of grass, turf hydration, and water leaching. Typical damage is a small center of brown grassless than 6 inches apart surrounded by a dark green ring (Figure 4). Contrary to popular lore, female dogs are not the only canine culprit, since puppies of both sexes squat the first year or so of life.
While damage from animal urine can resemble that from dollar spot and other fungal diseases, it has a darker green outer ring that is often much taller than the surrounding grass and does not have fungal structures called mycelium (Figure 4).
For specific information on managing lawn damage caused by dog urine, see UC ANR Publication 8255 “Lawns ‘n' Dogs” at anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/Details.aspx?itemNo=8255.
Remember that proper turf maintenance can greatly reduce the incidence of abiotic and biotic disorders and that more than one factor may be responsible for the damage. Since both insects and diseases often attack plants already stressed by abiotic factors, addressing abiotic disorders is essential to reducing the impact of insects and diseases. Grass that is already suffering from abiotic disorders can be susceptible to disease. This can result in pest and disease outbreaks that otherwise may have been avoided. See to ipm.ucanr.edu for UC IPM Pest Notes that can help you identify both biotic and abiotic problems.
[Original article published in the Spring 2020 issue of the Retail Newsletter]
/h2>/h2>
Plantains are common weeds in lawns, athletic fields, ornamental plantings, roadsides, and pastures. Two species, broadleaf and buckhorn plantains (Plantago major and P. lanceolate) are commonly found throughout California year-round.
These weeds are difficult to control because they can resprout from the crown, even after it's cut off. Early removal of seedlings before they establish dense crowns can be effective as well as mulching with landscape fabrics in ornamental plantings.
For more information on management, see the newly revised Pest Notes: Plantains. UCCE Advisor Maggie Reiter provides new color photos and references, updated species information, and an expanded section on currently registered herbicides to control plantains in California.
Gophers are well-known and certainly unwelcome pests in landscapes, gardens, lawns, and athletic turf. More correctly called pocket gophers, these rodents mostly remain hidden underground in tunnels and feed on plants from below, sometimes pulling whole plants into their tunnels. They prefer herbaceous plants but will eat a wide range of vegetation.
A single gopher can destroy a landscape quickly, so control measures need to begin as soon as the gopher is detected. Mounds of fresh soil are usually the first indication of their presence. Effective integrated management of pocket gophers relies largely on exclusion measures and trapping, although poison baits are also available.
Read more about gophers, their behavior, and management in UC IPM's newly updated Pest Notes: Pocket Gophers, by Dr. Roger Baldwin, University of California Cooperative Extension Specialist in Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution.
What's new in this version? Find updates about current restrictions on fumigant and rodenticide use, optimal trapping techniques, and new carbon monoxide exhaust machines.
Dandelions are broadleaf plants easily recognizable by their bright yellow flower and puffball of white tufted seeds heads. While this plant is appreciated as a food or herb by many, for equal numbers of others it is regarded as a weed when found growing in lawns, ornamental plantings, and athletic fields throughout the year.
For helpful nonchemical and chemical management solutions to help you control this weed, read the newly revised Pest Notes: Dandelion by UC Cooperative Extension Advisor John Roncoroni.