Ongoing research

by Melody Kendall I recently visited a fellow Master Gardener and saw his wonderful raised planting beds in his backyard. He had an array of extremely healthy-looking tomato plants all neatly encased in wire cages.

I hope all of you and your loved ones are staying well and healthy as the pandemic continues. Involving yourself in outdoor activities is not only a great way to escape 'cabin fever' and improve your physical health but it is also good for you psychologically, as well.

One...two...three... Are you counting down until the much-awaited Virtual Moth Open House, hosted by the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology? The free and family friendly-event is set from 1 to 2 p.m., on Saturday, July 25, coming to you live on the Bohart Museum's Facebook page.

By Penny Pawl, UC Master Gardener of Napa County I was recently at the garden of one of my fellow Napa County Master Gardeners, Cindy Watter, and was amazed by her wonderful Brugmansias (Solanaceae) and their huge blooms.

Lowell N. Lewis, UC ANR associate vice president emeritus and professor emeritus at UC Riverside, passed away on July 17, 2020. He recently celebrated his 89th birthday, but had been in declining health for some months.

Santa Lucia Conservancy manages 18,000 acres of rangeland in Carmel. They are hiring a full-time Grazing Program Technician. The hourly rate is between $21 and $23/hour, depending on experience.

Spotting ants in the home or yard is no reason to reach for insecticide sprays or call an exterminator. UC Cooperative Extension experts say the insects can be managed by residents in ways that are effective, inexpensive, safe and environmentally kind. Ants are probably the No.

Summer is here and your flowers, vegetables, and weeds are really taking off. It is also the hottest time of year and you may wish to work outside after the sunsets. Now you've got to contend with blood-thirsty summer mosquitos.

Bright metallic colors, flitting from flower to flower. Wasps. And they are going after other wasp species and bees. It's hard being a bee. These wasps are parasites, and like their namesake cuckoo birds, they lay their eggs in the nests of other species (wasps or bees in this case).

It's hot. Tomatoes like heat, right? Actually, tomatoes like warm weather, between 65 and 85 degrees. When temperatures soar past 95, tomatoes stop growing. In that kind of heat, their flowers fail to pollinate and instead they dry up and drop off, putting a pause on the production of new fruit.