By Billie Parish, Butte County Master Gardener, March 13, 2015
Spring is around the corner, which means it is time to plant. Starting from seed can be a gratifying and economical way to grow many edibles and ornamentals, but choosing seeds can be confusing. Do you want a black tomato or a striped tomato? Organic? Heirloom? Hybrid? What is the difference?
Heirloom varieties must be open pollinated, meaning that pollination occurs naturally by insect, bird, wind, or animal. Seed produced by the heirloom variety will grow true to type (it will resemble the parent plant) as long as the flowers were pollinated by the same variety. Open pollination creates a more genetically diverse gene pool which allows plants to slowly adapt to local growing conditions.
Importantly, while all heirlooms are open pollinated, not all open-pollinated plants are heirlooms. Hybrid seed is produced when open pollination occurs between two specific varieties carefully chosen for their superior traits. Such controlled cross-pollination producing hybrid seed results in offspring with desired traits, such as disease resistance, uniformity, and greater vigor. Unlike heirlooms, however, the seed saved from hybrids will not grow true to type in the next generation and will be less vigorous and more genetically variable.
Reliance on a single vegetatively propagated potato variety with no genetic diversity led to the Irish potato famine of the 1840s, when a fungus destroyed the potato crop four years in a row, leading to mass starvation. Because only one variety of potatoes had been planted over and over, the lack of genetic diversity led to potato fields that were highly susceptible to disease.
Hybrids should not be confused with Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMO's. GMOs are created by inserting genes from one species into an unrelated species. Some of these combinations might seem like creations of science fiction! Although never commercialized, tomato was experimentally modified with genetic material from fish to improve frost tolerance. On the other hand, papaya genetically modified with a viral protein saved the Hawaiian papaya industry from papaya ringspot, a devastating virus disease.
Although 70% of the processed foods we eat contain GMO ingredients, it is unlikely that the seeds you find in your local nursery are genetically modified. These types of seeds are primarily used commercially for crops such as corn, soybeans, canola, sugar beets and cotton.
Regardless of what kind of seed you choose, it is important to understand the distinctions among them in order to make informed decisions based on your priorities.
By Michelle Ramsey, Butte County Master Gardener, February 27, 2015
While it is not realistic to eradicate all ants from your backyard, you can effectively reduce the number of ants entering your home by following a 3-Step integrated approach as follows:
Minor Indoor Problem (small trail of ants observed infrequently). Prevent further intrusion by:
1) Identifying the location where the ants are getting into the house. Inspect baseboards, floors, electrical outlets, vents, pipes, drains and walls for any entryways and seal them off (caulk is good for this). Destroy any nesting sites found close to the house. Cut back trees, shrubs or wooded material touching the house and clear away mulch or debris that is next to the house.
2) Clean up food and water sources in the home. All sources of “attractive” food should be removed or securely sealed. Use soapy water to kill ants and eliminate their trails.
Moderate Indoor Problem (trails of hundreds of ants) and Severe (several hundred to thousands of ants continue to invade for weeks or months). Supplement steps 1 and 2 above with the addition of bait stations as follows:
3) Install bait dispensers around the outside of the house (UC Researchers have had success using bait dispensers such as KM AntPro Liquid Bait Dispenser). Baits are more effective and less toxic than traditional pesticide treatments for ants. Baits are insecticides mixed with materials that attract worker ants. The advantage of a bait station over an insecticide spray is that the spray only kills the worker ant while the bait station allows worker ants to take the bait back to the colony to feed and kill the colony ants, including the queen ant. When all the queens die, the colony is destroyed. Continue to refill dispensers regularly with liquid borate-based bait until the ant problem ceases. It is critical that you select the right bait/attractant for Argentine ants (liquid baits with 1% or less borate are suggested). Install at least one dispenser on each side of the house, next to structures where ants are trailing (but at least 5 ft. from any nest). Keep ant bait stations out of direct sunlight.
Following the 3-step approach above should correct home ant invasions. For more information visit
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7411.html.
By Michelle Ramsey, Butte County Master Gardener, February 13, 2015
Ladybugs are actually beetles, not bugs. And, while they are sometimes called ladybirds or ladybeetles, of course they are not all female. They belong to the class Insecta and are members of the Coccinellidae family of beetles (Coccinellidae means “small red sphere” in Latin).
Of the 5,000 ladybug species found worldwide, 450 are native to North America, with 175 of those species found here in California. Adults mate in early spring (when temperatures reach above 650F) and again in June if the aphid population is abundant. When aphid populations decline, ladybugs migrate to higher elevations.
Adult ladybugs are four to seven millimeters long (around one-quarter of an inch). The ladybug anatomy consists of a head, two antenna, two eyes, a pronotum covering the thorax, an elytra (the hard shell that covers their wings), six jointed legs, abdomen and wings (these are so thin you can actually see through them). Interestingly, ladybugs beat their wings 85 times per second in order to fly. When threatened a ladybug can draw its heads into its pronotum, like a turtle does, to protect itself.
Ladybugs hibernate in the winter months and will not fly when temperatures fall below 550F. They feed on pollen and nectar and live on stored fat through the winter. Ladybugs are not preyed upon by birds or other vertebrates because they exude a very distasteful fluid from joints in their legs; their distinctive colors are a reminder to would-be predators they taste “bad”. When threatened, ladybugs will play dead.
How can you attract ladybugs to your garden? Wait for spring and check that you have a ready supply of aphids available. If there is no food, ladybugs will not come. For successful handling and release of ladybugs purchased at retail stores, keep them refrigerated until time for release. They may be dehydrated when purchased, so mist them with water from a squirt bottle before putting them in the refrigerator. Do not release them into your garden during the daytime or they will fly away immediately. Instead, release them at dusk or early morning. Before releasing, spray a fine mist of water on plants that have aphids on them and place the ladybugs at the base of the plants. Do not release ladybugs on plants that have been sprayed with insecticides as the chemical residues may kill them. Be prepared for ladybugs to fly away in a few days as they typically don't lay eggs on the plants they have been released on.
When you see ladybugs, remember that they are considered lucky in many cultures, for various reasons. Enjoy them in your garden until they fly away, fly away home.
"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."
—Henry David Thoreau
Cold grey winter days provide the perfect opportunity for gardeners to succumb to the lures of beautifully-illustrated seed catalogs and dream of their spring and summer gardens to come. It is often that case, though, that home gardeners spend more money than they need to, and purchase more seed than they can possibly use. Who hasn't discovered when those lovely seed packets arrive in the mail, that they actually have room for only a small percentage of those seeds in their home garden?
Luckily, Butte County residents now have a source of reliable and FREE seeds for our own growing conditions: the Seed Lending Library at the Chico branch of the Butte County Library. A library card enables gardeners to “check out” seeds that have been saved in local gardens. The gardener then saves seeds from next year's garden, and returns them to the Seed Lending Library, and the cycle continues. With this wonderful resource, home gardeners instantly gain the ability to plant free locally-grown and acclimated seeds.
Why consider saving seeds when most seeds are inexpensive anyway?
- Locally-selected and saved seed varieties may be better suited to our local climate.
- Seed-saving methods attract beneficial insects by leaving plants to complete their flowering or fruiting cycle.
- Saving heirloom varieties helps keep these plants from extinction.
- Many flowers and vegetables grown today have no commercial seed sources.
- You can share or exchange seeds with other seed savers to gain seeds you might not have been able to save yourself.
While it is not difficult to save seeds, there can be some pitfalls. Only seeds from open-pollinated plants will produce the same crop next year. Most hybrid varieties do not breed true to type. This means that the seed saved from last season's frilly cosmos hybrid may produce a much simpler, plain cosmos next spring. Many vegetables (root crops, cole crops, parsley and others) are biennial and do not form seeds until the second year. Some common garden vegetables (like peppers and corn) need to be separated by variety to prevent cross pollination by insects and wind. Tiny seeds need to be separated from the chaff by sieving and hairy daisy seeds need trimming. But beyond these pitfalls, most flower and vegetable annuals are easy to harvest for beginning seed savers. Seeds don't need special care; plants complete their life cycle in one season; seeds are harvested and stored when dry and are ready for planting.
Getting started: head to the Chico branch of the Butte County library to get seeds at the Seed Lending Library. While there, look at or check out books that contain information on saving specific seeds. Plant encylopedias, for example, generally contain detailed seed-saving instructions. The internet is full of tips for seed saving. The websites organicgardening.com, motherearthnews.com and ucanr.edu are good resources for information about seed saving and seed viability. Spend some time this winter learning how to save seeds from next year's garden to share and to plant the following year.
Many plants that do well in our Butte County Mediterranean climate flourish during the rainy season and can survive during the long dry summer. Gardens may receive too much rainwater when it is not immediately needed and too little when plant water demands increase. Annual rainfall in Butte County averages 26.6 inches in Chico, 30.7 inches in Oroville, and 58 inches in Paradise, with rain falling mostly between October and April.
With the current prolonged drought, we clearly must learn to save water up for the dry days to come. In California every drop of water counts.
Harvesting rain water is something we can all do. Every residence has two potential sources for harvesting rain to use in the yard: direct rainfall and rainfall from roofs.
Direct rain can be saved by thoughtful planning, including the incorporation of swales in the landscape. Swales are depressions dug into the ground that collect and store rain runoff, allowing the water to slowly seep back into the soil. A swale is lower at one end; this low end empties water into backyard ponds, lawns, or flower beds. Swales can be planted with native vegetation that is hardy and attractive, with the added benefit of providing habitat for birds and butterflies. Swales can be dug into pathways and then filled with water-retaining mulches like sand or gravel. Small-scale swales can be dug directly in flower beds and vegetable gardens, while larger-scale swales can be designed for entire neighborhoods. These landscape depressions can turn flooding problems into water assets by slowing runoff and allowing water to soak into the ground, thereby reducing runoff into sewer systems.
Roof rainfall can be collected in receptacles ranging from simple rain barrels to large sophisticated cistern systems. Unless a catchment is planned, water captured in small barrels will be exhausted very quickly once the rainy season ends. The expense for barrels or cisterns to capture roof rainfall makes the most sense when other water sources are very limited. While a one-inch rainfall on a 1500 square foot roof generates over 900 gallons of runoff, plants covering a one-tenth acre landscape use roughly 4,750 gallons of water per week during July.
Rain barrels attached to rain gutter downspouts hold about 55 gallons, an amount useful for keeping very small areas or container plants watered during our dry season. They can be as simple as garbage cans, covered between rains with lids to keep insects out. Commercially-produced rain barrels generally have a spigot that can be attached to a hose. Placing this type of rain barrel on raised cement blocks set over a leveled bed of gravel will put barrels higher to provide water pressure for using the hose. Rain barrels can be set up singly or connected in groups for any size yard. Commercial cisterns come in larger sizes. They require more yard space and some technical expertise for putting together the rain retrieval system. Whether home gardeners use swales, rain barrels, or cisterns to harvest winter rain for a dry day, the effort will be a welcome contribution to our current water conservation needs.
