Ongoing research

Around this time of year, Master Gardeners are often asked, What is the name of the gorgeous flowering tree blooming in your parking lot? Everyone describes the flower colors differently, with some saying they are pink while others say purple or red.

by Melody Kendall One of the ways to conserve water in your landscape is to reduce or remove your thirsty lawn and replace it with a more water friendly option. Water reduction can be achieved by using native grasses and grass-like plants in place of turf.

I love this time of year when the flowers poke their little heads up and bloom, seemingly to celebrate the coming of Spring. When we moved to Vacaville we found many lovely plants spread throughout our garden, which is one of the reasons why we fell in love with this home.

The Western Extension Directors had our monthly meeting on Tuesday. Our guest speaker was Donald McMoran from Washington State University. Don has gathered a group together to tackle parts of farm stress.

It's hard to believe that zucchini and pumpkins belong to the same plant family, but both are part of the cucurbit, or gourd, family of vegetables.

The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources is calling academics, UC ANR staff, and students to attend the kickoff of their 2025-2040 strategic visioning process at the UC ANR Statewide Conference on April 24-27, 2023 in Fresno, California.

The Center for Science in Public Interest (CSPI) is hosting a virtual 2023 Sugar Reduction Summit to convene researchers, advocates, and stakeholders working in the field of sugar and sugary drink reduction on April 25-27, 2023, from 10:00 a.m.-2:15 p.m. PDT.

The National Water Quality Monitoring Council is hosting a conference to call attention to monitoring water quality/quantity, public health, and ecological health in all water resources.

Did you know rind scarring damage caused by the same pest could look different in mandarins and sweet oranges? A NEW extension article "UCANR publication 8708", brings you a pictorial guide to help differentiate between the damages caused by the same pest on mandarin species and sweet oranges.

As I write in late March, no one is out in the fields yet. It is too wet. This suggests that planting will be later than normal. On a positive note, I did see that NOAA has forecast a drier than normal April. Anyways, with this I would like to suggest some thoughts for planning.