Sauerkraut

By Diane Galvan  UCCE Master Food Preserver

“I've noticed fermented foods like sauerkraut are popular. While I'm casually familiar with sauerkraut, what makes it ‘fermented', and is it difficult to prepare?”  -Angela B., Atascadero

While we commonly think of sauerkraut as German, origins of this technique can be traced back to China during the construction of the Great Wall, when workers would add rice wine to their cabbage to preserve it.  In time,...

Kleptoparasites 

By Norman Smith   UCCE Master Gardener 

I thought I might have a series of articles on the different types of parasitization.  In the past, I have differentiated between parasites and parasitoids.  Parasites tend to not kill their hosts (fleas and ticks), while parasitoids do.  But there are different types of parasites, perhaps not what you might call classic parasitism, where a parasite benefits from ingesting the bodily fluids of its host without...

Ammoplanines Wasps

By Norman Smith   UCCE Master Gardener

I'm often asked what it is that I do in my spare time.  Besides golf, bowling, travel and gardening, I like to study my tiny research insects, the Ammoplanines.  I have been studying and publishing on these wasps since first becoming a graduate student at UC Davis.  My professor introduced me to them and I have been infatuated with them ever since.  They are very small, the largest being barely over 3mm.  This is about the same...

Bare Root Roses

By Polly Nelson   UCCE Master Gardener

Hybrid Tea Rose: Mr. Lincoln

Planting Zone: All

Size: 2-6 feet

Bloom season: Spring through Fall

Exposure: Full sun, at least 6 hours per day

Pruning needs: Annually (December-January)

Water needs: Regular

Narrative: This is the month to buy and plant bare-root (BR) roses, the most economical way to purchase hybrid tea roses. BR (without soil around the roots) allows you to see the dormant plant's structure and root system before you plant. Buy a rose with...