Archive Nut, Prune and Olive Programs

By Faith Kearns. Finding a tree that produces the right amount of tasty fruit or nuts under the unique growing conditions of a given orchard takes a lot of science and a little bit of art.

Cold Weather Gardening As the days get shorter and colder, there are still many gardening activities you can take part in. As we welcome winter into this difficult season of our lives, we can turn to gardening as a way to relax and be revived.

Honey bees have nothing on the late Helen Reddy (Oct. 25, 1941-Sept. 29, 2020), an Australian-born singer who roared like a lion: "I am woman, hear me roar." Her hit song, "I Am Woman," released in 1972, became an anthem for the women's liberation/equal rights movement back in the '70s.

I stood by our courtyard wall and worked my spade into the hard, clay soil. I'd always wanted to grow pomegranates, but my shaded half acre of Monterey pines and oaks in Cambria ruled out that possibility.

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"A Virtual Conference to Discuss Real-World Weeds". That's a great tag-line for the California Weed Science Society conference and a sign of the times.

You should inspect healthy and unhealthy trees on a regular basis. Although some tree failures are not predictable and cannot be prevented, many failures can be prevented. Large trees have a greater hazard potential than small trees and should be inspected more frequently and in greater detail.

Since the drought of the late 1970's, the University of California researchers, UCCE San Joaquin Master Gardeners and many others have compiled an arsenal of resources and tools to help the California gardener cope with a Mediterrean climate and all too-frequent droughts.