- Author: Diane Galvan
- Editor: Noni Todd
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,...
- Author: Norman Smith
- Editor: Noni Todd
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...
- Author: Norman Smith
- Editor: Noni Todd
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...
- Author: Polly Nelson
- Editor: Noni Todd
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...
- Author: Norman Smith
- Editor: Noni Todd
Red Turpentine Beetle
By Norman Smith UCCE Master Gardener
Most of us have seen the results of an infestation from this beetle - dead Monterey pine trees. But it is probably safer to say that most of us have not seen the culprit, the Red Turpentine Beetle. Like most bark beetles, it is small compared to other beetles, but is actually big for a bark beetle. The adult female beetle looks for Monterey pine trees that are under stress. Apparently...
