Posts Tagged: Contra Costa
UC Master Gardeners donate tomato plants to students in May
To plant the seed of healthful eating among youngsters, UC Cooperative Extension is giving away vegetable plants to Oakland families with school children.
On Thursday, May 7, CalFresh Healthy Living, UC staff will give tomato and basil seedlings to Oakland parents who come to pick up food for their children at West Oakland Middle School. The team will also be giving away plants again at Elmhurst United Middle School on May 14 and at Bret Hart Middle School on May 21. The plants are being donated by the UC Master Gardener Program of Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
“Gardening activities can help increase children's interest in eating fresh fruits and vegetables and improve their understanding of the health benefits and major nutrients found in the plants grown,” said Tuline Baykal, program supervisor of the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC team in Alameda County.
UCCE Master Gardeners are donating 100 tomato plants in 1-gallon pots for the giveaway on Thursday. The seedlings are in paper bags with planting instructions in six languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Arabic.
The plants were part of the annual plant sale normally held in April to raise funds for the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County, which is funded primarily by revenue generated by the plant sale and donations. The sale, which attracts thousands of gardening enthusiasts, was canceled due to COVID-19 safety concerns.
“We didn't want the plants to go to waste, we wanted to get them out into the community,” said Dawn Kooyumjian, UC Master Gardener Program coordinator.
“Rather than compost the plants at this time of heightened interest in home vegetable gardening and food security, we saw an opportunity to connect with Oakland Unified School District through the UC Master Gardeners of Alameda County School Garden Support Team, which supports gardens in Title 1 schools by mentoring teachers, parents and Food Corps volunteers.”
In past weeks, they gave away tomato plants at Sankofa Academy, which serves children in preschool through fifth grade.
UC Master Gardener volunteer Devra Laner coordinated with OUSD to distribute plants at the meal giveaways.
“Six to eight Oakland school gardens are being opened up this week,” Kooyumjian said. “UC Master Gardeners will be donating some tomato plants to these school gardens and FoodCorps Service members will be harvesting the garden produce to donate to food distribution centers.”
In addition to the plants being given away to Oakland families, the UC Master Gardener Program in Contra Costa County has donated 30,000 plants to 48 community and school gardens in the Bay Area. They also provided plants to local nurseries that could not keep up with the current demand for gardening supplies that COVID-19 has created.
“Typically, our plant sale takes in $85,000 or more. Because of COVID-19, we turned the Great Tomato Sale into what our gardeners call ‘Our Great Tomato Share' to support our underserved community,” said Frank McPherson, director of UC Cooperative Extension for the Bay Area.
How Grazing Livestock are Beneficial to Vernal Pools
On a global scale, rangelands are a fairly diverse array of biomes - deserts, scrub, prairies, and...
Ranger Rick Olufs discusses grazing to SRJC Range Management class at FWS property in Santa Rosa Plains.
IPM Achievement Award for Cherry Buckskin Project in Contra Costa County
Since 1987, the Cherry Buckskin Project has been working to prevent the establishment of cherry buckskin disease which can decimate entire orchards. “Cherry buckskin disease is spread by leafhoppers, which acquire the disease when feeding on diseased cherries or other plants that host the disease organism. Diseased trees produce pebbly, leathery-skinned paled fruit that is most evident at harvest,” according to the UC IPM website.
Prevention of cherry buckskin disease is a collaborative effort between UC Cooperative Extension, the Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture and local cherry growers; the Cherry Buckskin Project aims at early detection through education and outreach.
A major component of the Cherry Buckskin Project is the training of UC Master Gardener volunteers and local growers. UC Master Gardener volunteers in Contra Costa County are trained annually by Caprile, who explains the history of the disease, how it is transmitted and what symptoms to be on the lookout for.
UC Master Gardener volunteers serve as early detectors and scout for symptoms of cherry buckskin disease, through an annual survey of cherry orchards in Contra Costa County. Since the beginning of the project UC Master Gardener volunteers donated more than 1,100 volunteer hours surveying cherry orchards!
A huge congratulations to Janet Caprile for the well-deserved IPM Achievement Award, and a thank you to all of the UC Master Gardener volunteers in Contra Costa County that have helped make the Cherry Buckskin Project possible with the hours they have dedicated to its success.
Also attending the award ceremony with Caprile were Matthew Slattengren, Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Sealer of Weights and Measures, Jorge Vargas, Agricultural Biologist Weights and Measures Inspector, and Claire Bernardo, representing UC Master Gardener volunteers. The ceremony took place in the CalEPA headquarters Building in Sacramento, Calif.
Resources:
UC Cooperative Extension, Contra Costa County, cecontracosta.ucanr.edu
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County, ccmg.ucanr.edu
UC Integrated Pest Management (IPM), ipm.ucanr.edu
Bed Bugs!!!
Advice From the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Client: I think I've found bed bugs in one of my children's beds. What can I do to identify and get rid of them?
Contra Costa County's Health Department is the County's lead agency to combat bed bugs. The Department has a good website with lots of links to bed bug information for homeowners, tenants, landlords, and pest control professionals. The following link will take you to that website: http://cchealth.org/bedbugs/. There you will find additional links to methods to protect your other children's beds by using easy-to-make traps for the beds' legs that you can use right now. There is also a link that will help you hire a pest control company that is competent to take care of the problem. Treatments can include vacuuming, heat treatment, steam cleaning, clutter control and careful use of pesticide sprays or dusts.
UC document: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7454.html
UC video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORR7yAT-Vic
Please don't hesitate to contact us again if you have more questions.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa County (SEH)
all pictures from the UC Pest Note 7454 on bed bug management
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (//ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
/span>A little Layering Will Do Just Fine, Thank You: Landscape Layering
As some of you might know, over the past 2+ years, I re-landscaped my entire yard – both front and back. It was a large project; tearing out sod and concrete, and putting in new irrigation, lighting, plantings, and hardscape. Last year, I filled in the basic landscape with edibles such as artichokes, lemons, strawberries and grapes. These additions are examples of horizontal layering — planting to give levels of color and interest. Now, I am planting out the area around my fountain to add vertical layers.
The Blue Fescue, Oat Grass, New Zealand Flax and Reed Grass were planted last year. This year, I've added larger rocks and small boulders to create some more texture, then added a few plants. Some of the plants will spread out and some of the plants will grow up. Although I want instant gratification, and everything pretty and full right now, that's not always the best way to plant (ugh, bummer). For this area, I restrained myself and put in just a few small-sized plants.
When planning/planting, it's important to think about the plant height and width at maturity, and how that will work within the space. No. 1. on the diagram to the left is the Feather Reed Grass planted last year. It has that nice shape like a fountain grass, but it's more compact and works well in narrow spaces. It will grow nice and high and full to fill in the space behind the fountain without overwhelming the area. The diagram shows the approximate height and width when the grass grows in for the season.
No. 2 on the diagram is a Day Lily. It's a nice filler for that area, provides a nice pop of color and it doesn't compete with the Reed Grass.
No. 3 on the diagram are ground covers and sedum. The ground cover is a simple summer snow. It works in full sun, is easily maintained and will produce a carpet of small white flowers. It will spread out but not up. The accompanying Sedum is a light variegated green with red rims, which will slowly spread out and provide a nice contrast against the white of the summer snow and the pale grey of the stones.
No. 4 on the diagram is a small evergreen shrub called Coleonema Pulchellum “Sunset Gold” that will grow up and out a little (2′ x 4′ at maturity). It has a nice yellow-green foliage that contrasts nicely against the silver hues in that area. It has small light pink-flowers that bloom in the spring and early summer. Also, tucked in the rocks are a couple of Gazania – just for kicks.
With the weather we experience in this area, these plants should grow/spread fairly quickly. Because none of these plants were particularly expensive, if I need to rearrange them, or take any out, there is very little financial pain.
Check back later in the summer to see how this area filled out.
In the meantime, do you have any layering you've done? Share it here. We'd love to see it.