Ongoing research

It will soon be time to start planting many cool season crops.  There are several reasons to plant a winter garden. Many crops actually taste better and grow best in cooler weather. Also, a winter garden is less work: the weather is more comfortable and there is less weeding and watering to do.  Finally,…

Do those nice, neat rolls of “weed blocking” fabric seem like the perfect solution in your battleagainst unwanted vegetation? Visions of freeing oneself from this perennial struggle areenticing and the task seems simple enough: just lay it on the soil, cover with an attractive layerof mulch and the foul…

 There’s a “mom” in the word Stagmomantis, as in Stag-mom-antis limbata. That genus name seems quite appropriate for a gravid mantis, don't you think?Take the mama-to-be that's a permanent tenant in a Vacaville patch of African blue basil. She knows this is the place to "bee."We've nicknamed her …

 If you’re taking a break this fall and winter after growing summer veggies, then plant a cover crop to enrich and protect your soil as well as to attract beneficial insects. Choose a variety of cool season cover crop seeds, such as flowers, grasses and a legume, for sowing in early fall. See Cover…