Ongoing research

We're used to admiring street art that showcases such iconic insects as lady beetles, dragonflies and butterflies, but carpenter ants? Carpenter ants? If you walk over the Ulatis Creek Bridge, Vacaville, to enter Andrews Park for the Fourth of July celebration on Sunday, you may be surprised.

Cindy McReynolds, a 10-year outstanding research administrator and scientist in the laboratory of UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock, Department of Entomology and Nematology--and who just received her doctorate in pharmacology/toxicology--is the recipient of the UC Davis Staff Assembly's...

By Carrie Strohl, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Gardening has always been a great way to grow food, connect with nature and stay physically active, and these benefits are no different for children.

Contrary to the messages we are exposed to from popular culture, media, and public health about body size, focusing on how much a person weighs isn't necessarily an effective way to promote health.

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Or: An Ode to Albizia julibrissin (Persian silk tree/mimosa) Spring boughs adorned with delicate pink flowers attracted endless bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Dappled summer shade that opened to let in the winter sun. The perfect breezy spot to sit and observe nature.

Blossom End Rot: Blossom end rot is not a disease but a very common environmental disorder many gardeners see every summer. It affects tomatoes, peppers, and cucurbits. Plants with blossom end rot show small, light brown spots at the blossom end of immature fruit.

Diurnal, or daylight pollinators such as bees and butterflies, have long been considered the champion workhorses in their field; however, a paradigm shift is slowly occurring that brings to the forefront the overwhelming contributions of nocturnal Lepidoptera pollinators: the moths.

A surprising number of serious gardeners confess to at least one occasion of being stumped by a gardening problem with no obvious answer. There are a number of ways to find an answer, one of which is the SJC Master Gardener Help Line.

Spring has arrived with a vengeance! The Amador County Master Gardeners' Heritage Rose Garden is exploding in blooms and welcomed visitors to their first official Open Garden Days on May 15, 2021, and will continue to do so the third Saturday of each month, from May through September.