- Author: Chris M. Webb
UC Farm Advisor Oleg Daugovish will hold an Irrigation field day Thursday, April 19 from 9:00 am to 11:15 am.
Scheduled topics include:
- Update on conditional waiver and requirements for irrigated lands in Ventura County
- Evaluation of three differing irrigation regimes in California strawberry
- Salts and soil analyses in strawberry beds under different irrigation regimes
- Soil test results interpretation and corrective management
- View experiment plots onsite
VCALIG educational credits have been requested from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.
There is no cost to attend. If you have questions, require translation into Spanish, or to register please contact Oleg Daugovish at 805.645.1454 or odaguovish@ucdavis.edu. More information can be found on the agenda.
In the event of rain, the meeting will be held at the UCCE Conference Room located at 669 County Square Drive in Ventura.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
On the morning of Tuesday, April 3 Oleg Daugovish will hold a fumigant alternatives and soil-borne pathogens field day. This event will be simultaneously translated into Spanish.
Scheduled topics include:
- Regulatory update on soil fumigation
- Alternative fumigants research update
- Soil borne pathogens Macrophomina and Fusarium: biology and management in strawberry
- Advances in steam application technology for soil disinfestation
- Update on Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation studies
- Research update from the California Strawberry Commission
- In-progress results from experiment on display
- View the plots with fumigant alternative treatments
Continuing education credits have been approved from DPR (Department of Pesticide Regulation).
Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Additional details can be found on the agenda.
To insure your participation, or if you have questions, please contact Oleg Daugovish at (805) 645-1454 or odaugovish@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The 2011 UC Master Gardener Vegetable Demonstration Garden Project has recently finished. A group of certified Master Gardeners and trainees spent time each week from January 27 through December 15 learning vegetable gardening techniques through hands-on experience.
They documented their project so that they could impart lessons learned throughout the2011 project. This article is the eighth, and final, in a series to share this knowledge.
Seed storage:
Saving and storing seeds can provide additional fun and learning opportunities to vegetable gardening.
- Be sure that seeds being used are not beyond their expiration date.
- Consider saving seeds from plants with superior characteristics (e.g., hardy during cool temperatures).
- If you plan to save the seeds from your corn plants, you need to take steps to avoid cross-pollination from other corn plants. To keep heirloom corn pure, you have two options: 1) bag the ears and tassels, and hand pollinate, or 2) arrange it so your corn blooms earlier than any other corn around you.
- The female flowers of each crop can be fertilized only by pollen from male flowers of the same species. Cross pollination, however, can occur between varieties within a species. When crosses occur between members of the same species, we do not see the effect of the cross the first year. However, if the seeds are saved and planted, the plants will produce fruit that will be different from either of the parents.
- There is no reason to soak zucchini seeds in water prior to storage since the pulp can readily be separated from the seed. The pulp on tomato seeds, however, is tightly attached to the seeds making it necessary to soak the seeds for a few days. Once the pulp begins to ferment, it is easily separated from the tomato seeds.
- After soaking tomato seeds in water for two or three days, the viable seeds will sink to the bottom of the container. Dispose of the tomato seeds that float to the surface.
- The way to tell if zucchini seeds are viable is to look for plump seeds. Small flat zucchini seeds will most likely not germinate or will be of poor quality. Since viable zucchini seeds will float in water, the float test used to differentiate poor quality tomato seeds from viable seeds should not be used.
Questions on gardening? Please contact our Master Gardener helpline at 645-1455 or contact them by email at mgventura@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The 2011 UC Master Gardener Vegetable Demonstration Garden Project has recently finished. A group of certified Master Gardeners and trainees spent time each week from January 27 through December 15 learning vegetable gardening techniques through hands-on experience.
They documented their project so that they could impart lessons learned throughout the2011 project. This article is the seventh in a series to share this knowledge.
Plant protection:
Necessity in protecting plants from vertebrae pests varies depending on location.
- Seedlings should be protected from animals with cages once planted in the soil.
- When constructing cages for plants, design them so they can be easily removed even if the plants become overgrown. Otherwise, the plants may be injured as the cages are removed.
- Be sure to bury the frame of the frame of the cage to prevent mice from crawling under it.
- Small grocery paper bags make nice collars for corn plants.
- Plants placed in soda bottles for protection from critters will eventually grow out of the bottle making them vulnerable to pests. Cages may provide better protection from rabbits and other grazing animals.
- Don’t leave cages on the plants too long. As the plants outgrow the cages, they will become difficult to remove. Also the stem of the plant will be weak since support provided by the cage does not allow full stem development.
Questions on gardening? Please contact our Master Gardener helpline at 645-1455 or contact them by email at mgventura@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The 2011 UC Master Gardener Vegetable Demonstration Garden Project has recently finished. A group of certified Master Gardeners and trainees spent time each week from January 27 through December 15 learning vegetable gardening techniques through hands-on experience.
They documented their project so that they could impart lessons learned throughout the2011 project. This article is the sixth in a series to share this knowledge.
Garden tools:
Tools in the garden can save time and effort.
- A hula hoe is a great tool to extract small weeds.
- A pocket knife is a handy tool that should be carried while gardening.
- The blades of bypass pruners and loppers should only be sharpened on one side of the blade. If they are sharpened on both sides of the blade, a small gap will be created between the blades allowing the material being cut to wedge itself between the blades and precluding a clean cut. Anvil-type pruners typically need to be sharpened on both sides of the blade. When sharpening tools, only sharpen surfaces that were originally sharpened at the factory.
Questions on gardening? Please contact our Master Gardener helpline at 645-1455 or contact them by email at mgventura@ucdavis.edu.