- (Public Value) UCANR: Promoting healthy people and communities
- Author: Melissa G. Womack
A scorching summer heat wave is bringing triple-digit temperatures and excessive heat alerts to much of California. The National Weather Service is predicting temperatures upwards of 105 and 115 degrees for several days in a row. Many home gardeners are wondering how they can help their plants, trees, or shrubs survive the intense summer heat.
“We are getting a lot of questions from around the state from people worried about how the extreme temperatures are going to affect the plants or trees in their yard,” says Missy Gable, director of the UC Master Gardener Program. “With a little extra planning, you can help your garden beat the heat and survive the hot summer weather.”
UC Master Gardener volunteers are available to help answer gardening questions and provide advice. Here are seven quick and easy ways to help make sure your plants and trees survive the hot summer months:
- Take care of yourself first, only garden during the cooler times of the day in the early morning or evening hours. Limit the time spent outdoors during the peak temperatures. Drink plenty of water, wear lightweight loose clothing, a brimmed hat, and work in the shade whenever possible.
- Shade your plants. Use a shade cloth, patio umbrella or other temporary structure to protect sensitive plants from the direct sun. This can reduce the heat stress on plants and prevent scorching of leaves.
- Water in the morning. Watering plants in the early morning helps to minimizes water loss due to evaporation, which is less prevalent during the cooler part of the day. This practice allows your plants to absorb water efficiently and become fully hydrated before the heat intensifies.
- Water trees deeply and less frequently. Water trees deeply and less frequently—yes, that's right, less frequently! The key is to water "deeply." Deep watering, promotes a robust network of deep roots, which helps the tree access water from deeper in the soil and become more drought-tolerant.
- Mulch, mulch, and more mulch. When temperatures get extreme, having a good layer of mulch prevents soil from heating up excessively and loosing water to evaporation. Apply 4-6 inches of a medium shred bark mulch to insulate the soil.
- Group container plants together: Placing container plants close to each other may help create a microclimate that retains moisture and reduces temperature fluctuations. Consider temporarily moving container plants to shadier areas.
- Watch for radiant heat. Pay special attention to plants located near walkways, patios, and other structures that radiate heat. These plants are often the first to show signs of heat stress and may require extra water to cope with the increased temperature.
- Don't fertilize plants or trees during hot summer months. Fertilizers aim to increase the growth of plants and trees. When a fertilizer is applied, especially one that is high in Nitrogen, a plant is triggered to produce more green growth. An increase in growth means an increase in water and nutrient needs. During hot spells, it is especially hard to keep up with plant water and nutrient needs as soils dry out quickly and water may not be readily available.
Thankfully, we're not trying to garden on the surface of the sun. Unfortunately, sometimes it can feel like it. Stay cool, and don't forget to plan for your garden in the fall—it's the perfect excuse to stay inside with the air conditioning and an ice-cold beverage.
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!
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
As vacation season begins, people will be traveling much more in the coming months. Whether you'll be staying at a hotel, hostel, motel, rental home, or summer camp, you should always be on the lookout for bed bugs. A bed bug check takes only a few minutes to complete and can give you and your family peace of mind when staying at new places.
Bed bugs are small insects, but big enough to see with the naked eye. They are oval shaped, wingless, and reddish brown. Bed bugs feed only on human blood, usually at nighttime while we are sleeping.
It's important to remember that bed bugs can occur anywhere and are not always an indication of poor hygiene or care. Bed bugs can be moved to new places on furniture, luggage, clothing, and bedding.
Follow these steps to do a simple bed bug check:
- Leave luggage in the lobby, hallway, outside the door, or bathtub while you inspect the room.
- Check the bed. Look for signs of live bed bugs, shed skins, blood stains, or eggs.
- If staying in a pre-made bed, pull back the sheets and look around mattress seams, the boxspring and headboard, and behind the nightstand. A flashlight can be helpful when doing this. If there is just a mattress, such as at camps and hostels, inspect the seams of the mattress pad and lift it up to also look underneath.
- Check other areas of the room. Inspect any upholstered furniture, behind picture frames, and along baseboards. Most bed bugs will be around the bed if they are present.
When you return home from your stay, inspect any luggage for bed bugs that may have hitched a ride. People can pick up bed bugs while traveling on buses, trains, airplanes or other locations with upholstered seats. Clothing from your trip can be laundered on the hottest setting to kill any bed bugs that may have gone unnoticed.
Don't let bed bugs ruin your summer fun!
- Watch this short video to learn how to do a bed bug inspection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWCc3Mngo7E&t=2s.
- Learn more about bed bug identification and control in UC IPM's Pest Notes: Bed Bugs https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7454.html.
Rats can contaminate our food, damage structures, and spread diseases. To help residents and urban pest professionals safely and effectively manage rats, UC IPM has updated the Pest Notes: Rats publication. This revised fact sheet is authored by UC Cooperative Extension Human-Wildlife Conflicts advisor Dr. Niamh Quinn, a recognized expert in urban rat management. Updates include additional information on rat damage, specific sanitation tactics for both Norway and roof rats, tips for rodent-proofing your home, and new illustrations to clearly show correct placement of traps. Rules and regulations regarding rodenticide use in California are constantly changing, so up-to-date information about rodenticides are summarized in tables including their availability to residents and licensed professionals.
Visit Pest Notes: Rats to learn more and register for our November webinar on rat management!
Summer is here and so are the pests! Keep an eye out for the following pests and take these steps to prevent problems in the garden or landscape this June. To see more tips specific to your region, visit the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist on the UC IPM website.
- Check plants for leaf stippling or webbing from spider mites. Irrigate adequately, mist leaf undersides daily, reduce dustiness, or spray horticultural oil to manage them.
- Maintain a fire safe landscape by creating “defensible space”. Thin out thick vegetation and eliminate fuel ladders that allow fire to climb up trees or structures. Remove dry, resinous or dead plants and flammable debris. Cut branches back 15 to 20 feet from buildings. Use non-combustible surfaces for walkways, patios and driveways.
- Inspect plants for aphids and their natural enemies. Protect young plants with covers; most established plants can tolerate aphid feeding.
- Monitor for redhumped caterpillars. Look for skeletonized leaves or individual caterpillars feeding on sweet gum, plum, walnut, redbud, and other deciduous trees and shrubs.
- Check for fire blight on pome plants such as apple, crabapple, pear, and pyracantha. Signs include oozing and dead limbs. Make proper pruning cuts in the summer or winter when the bacteria is no longer spreading through the tree.
- Look for leaffooted bugs feeding on fruit and nuts such as almonds, pistachios, and pomegranates.
- Inspect apple, citrus and especially stone fruit for bacterial blast, blight, and canker. Remove entire affected branches in the summer, making cuts several inches away in healthy wood.
Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!
- Author: Anne Schellman
What do pumpkins need?
Space - Pumpkin plant vines can grow over 20 feet long. Give plants plenty of space to grow. Use a tomato cage or small trellis for mini pumpkin varieties. For larger pumpkins, vines can grow on a fence. Make sure to support each pumpkin with a “sling” like a t-shirt or tied nylon stocking tied that is also tied to the fence.
Mounds - Make a small mound or hill and plant 3-5 pumpkin seeds per hill. Create a small basin around each planting to help keep the soil moist until seedlings appear.
Water – Water early in the morning. As the plants mature, water deeply and infrequently to a depth of 12 inches, allowing the soil to dry out slightly between watering.
Fertilizer – If desired, you can use a vegetable fertilizer labeled for pumpkins.
Thinning – If growing large pumpkins, select the best-looking fruit when it is small, and remove the others. This will send all the nutrients into that pumpkin so it can grow large.
Possible Pests
If you see any of these pests on your plants, visit the UC IPM Website tips on what to do.
Just for Fun
When pumpkins are small, carve your name or a cool design on the skin and it will become more apparent and look extra spooky as the pumpkin gets larger.
Also, if you are on Facebook or Instagram, please follow us @UC Master Gardeners of Stanislaus County and @UCMGStanislaus (respectively).
Resources
Sonoma Master Gardeners: https://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Food_Gardening/Additional_KG_Articles/Pumpkins/
UC IPM Cultural Tips for Growing Pumpkins
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/pumpkins/cultural-tips/index.html?src=307-pageViewHLS
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