Archive Nut, Prune and Olive Programs

Sarah the Bee Girl stands in front of a cluster of first graders sitting by a six-foot worker bee sculpture in the UC Davis Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven.

Have you ever seen a bee buzzing around your garden and wondered: "What's that bee?" Or have you ever seen a bee nectaring in a community garden and wondered "How can I attract THAT bee to my yard?" Just like all floral visitors are not bees, not all bees are honey bees.

When we talk about weeds, we often use the definition of "a plant out of place". While that's a bit human-centric for some folks, it does provide an introduction for me to share some of my favorite plants-out-of-place photos.

The annual Alfalfa and Forage Field Day at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center (9240 S. Riverbend Ave., Parlier, CA 93648) will take place on Wednesday, September 20, 2017. Registration begins at 7:30am, and lunch is offered at the end of event.

So, every few weeks the question comes up of whether to install soil moisture meters which leads to the question of which to buy and install or have installed. And then come the questions of what do the readings mean and why aren't the readings consistent.

Bee ready! This is the week of the 40th annual Western Apicultural Society's conference, set Sept. 5-8 at the University of California, Davis.

Who isn't fascinated by a praying mantis, that pre-historic looking predator that lurks on a plant and snags honey bees, butterflies and other insects in lightening-quick lunges? And who isn't fascinated by those who study them, rear them and share their knowledge with others?

PDF form - sorry for the goof. Enjoy the issue.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2017 -- The least appreciated part of an avocado could soon undergo a trash-to-treasure transformation.

Migratory monarch alert! They're on their way. Camera ready? Check. Notebook ready? Check! Entomologist David James of Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., who studies the migration routes and overwintering sites of the Pacific Northwest monarch population, told us last Friday, Aug.