Ongoing research

Springtime is here! Trees have awakened, roses are budding, and you are preparing the garden for a bountiful growing season. It can't get any better! However, you will improve your bounty when you prepare and deal with these three typical springtime pests.

Many bulb crops are of Old World origin, introduced into horticulture long ago and subjected to selection and crossing through the years to yield modern cultivars. In Horticulture, the term bulb is inaccurately applied to several botanical structures with a similar food storing function.

Elderberry (or Elder) is a flowering plant of the genus Sambucus from the family Adoxaceae. Often seen as a robust and woody 12-foot shrub, the plant bursts forth with creamy white flower sprays in the spring and by summer the dark clusters of juicy, plump berries are visible.

If you have a pan, you can make a plan: baked lemon chicken with asparagus! It cooks together on a single-sheet pan, includes healthy veggies and tastes extra fresh, thanks to the dynamic duo of lemon and garlic. Next up is a Mediterranean orzo salad.

Remember your "golden years? That was when you were a carefree kid! Do you recall playing in the sand, the dirt, and/or the mud in the backyard? Mud balls, castles, race tracks, and wonderful changing textures to experience as you blended materials together were all possible during a lazy afternoon.

MYCORRHIZA: noun (mycorrhizae plural).

Silver bells and cockle shells, how does your garden grow? One chore per week, just four per month, to keep a garden growing. April Ideas ONE Check all of the sprinklers and drip lines to be sure they are working properly and not wasting water.

Master Gardeners are a statewide, even nationwide, community of people who love to garden and who willingly share what they've learned in an effort to make gardening inclusive, enjoyable, and fulfilling. In this larger community of like-minded people, we often share articles with one another.

If there is any doubt about the power of words, one only has to look to the writings of Rachel Carson, a naturalist and biologist who is credited with inspiring the modern environmental movement.

On Saturday March 20 the Master Food Preservers of San Joaquin County presented an inspiring zoom workshop on Dehydration. Whether experienced or a novice, everyone learned new and creative ways to use dehydration to make unique spice mixes, quick meals and tasty snacks.