Archive Nut, Prune and Olive Programs

A poet once said, A weed is but an unloved flower. Sometimes though, a weed, an insect, or a four-legged critter can become a dangerous pest. In a state like California where so much of our economy is agriculturally based, these pests can wreak havoc.

Greetings! It has been a long time since I have written to you all, and I am more than a little rusty! Today's big news is that my new gladiolus bulbs have arrived from the Old Bulbs Gazette and have been planted more or less.

Justin Valliere has been hired to expand the Department of Plant Sciences' reach in the fields of invasion and restoration ecology. Valliere started as an assistant professor of UC Cooperative Extension in July.

A garden with a variety of plants with colorful blooms that produce pollen and nectar attracts and helps to support a variety of birds, butterflies, moths, and beneficial insects year-round. These visitors play a critical role in sustaining our ecosystem by helping our plants reproduce.

Kale has the reputation of being a superfood. This is one of those vague terms scorned by experts, dietitians and scientists but loved by marketers. Kale is, indeed, high in vitamins and fiber.

It's BYOM at the Bohart Museum of Entomology today (Sunday, Aug. 27). That's Bring Your Own Mantis. The open house, themed "Praying Mantises," is set from 1 to 4 p.m., in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane. It is free and family friendly.

We are now finding yet another interesting insect in the strawberries; these have been around before but this year their numbers are remarkably high in some areas and as such worth some of our time to examine more fully.

When Frank Loesser (1910-1969) wrote and composed "Luck Be a Lady" in 1950, he wasn't thinking of a butterfly. But when we spotted this Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) in our garden this week, we knew she was lucky.

In an experimental orchard a few miles west of the UC Davis campus, Thomas Gradziel plucked a nearly ripe nectarine from one of the trees. He whipped out a pocketknife and sliced off juicy chunks for Carlos Crisosto to taste.

Setting up straw bales for growing spring and summer veggies has become an annual event in the Edible Demonstration Garden. Over the years, a number of different edibles have been tried in the straw bales but the most successful have been....