UC Blogs
The Mighty Monarch
We're accustomed to seeing a solitary monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) flitting around a garden. But millions of them? It was interesting...
Monarch butterfly nectaring a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Fall Garden Thoughts
As I was beginning the fall garden clean up, I started to notice how much I missed seeing the ground in my garden. It seemed like there was no safe amount of pruning possible. That's when I realized that, a lot of these plants went in three years ago when there was tons of room for little gallon sized creatures to bloom their hearts out. Now all I see is different shapes and shades of....green. Oh well, no matter. It just needed some selective relocation. Clearing away perfectly good seedlings, cuttings, and pups. Then I got to thinking, what if we, the MGs had a trades page? Somewhere we could post what we have and what we want. It could be anything garden related, not just plants. It always seems someone has an over abundance of one thing and a dearth of another. There's probably all sorts of holes in this idea, admittedly, I haven't thought it out super thoroughly. If any of you have any suggestions on this, I'd like to hear them. Besides, it's more excuses to hang out together!
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Sonoma County grape growers face a triple threat
“Invasive pests are a problem,” said Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission. “They threaten California agriculture in general, and probably our ecology too, so it’s important to try to prevent their import into the state, and if they do get here, to detect them early. If you don’t get early detection, your odds of eradication are low.”
Rhonda Smith, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Sonoma County, said local citizens also need to understand and comply with rules to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species.
“The bottom line is, follow the rules,” Smith said, “because ultimately, the result is pretty dramatic. And who pays the price for that? We pay the price for the enormous effort to eradicate something once it’s here, and/or, we completely lose that industry. We then begin to eat more fruits and vegetables we don’t grow here in California.”
'Two-way learning' embraced
Tim Hearden, Capital Press
Rick Buchner, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Tehama County, was featured as a "Western Innovator" in a Capital Press story published yesterday. In the article, he explained how the UCCE two-way learning model - involving UC academics and farmers - has been successful in solving agricultural problems.
"The beauty of extension is that we all learn together," Buchner said. "The growers know things that I don't, and I hopefully can share things from the university that they don't know. When we work together, it's a pretty powerful team."
Superorganisms, Mimicry and Aphids
Superorganisms, mimicry and aphids... Those are some of the topics to be covered at the UC Davis Department of Entomology's fall noonhour seminars,...
Honey bees are considered a superorganism. Here worker bees form a retinue around the queen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Dividing Bearded Iris
I always seem to be running a bit behind, and that statement holds true for my gardening tasks. I have to go with the attitude of “better late than never.” This past spring, I noticed my Bearded Iris had a notable decline in bloom production. This is most likely due to the fact that were planted over 5 years ago and have never been divided. I decided three weeks ago to divide my irises and replant. As I mentioned earlier, I tend to run late…this should have been done sometime July-August. I’m hoping with this last burst of hot weather, a late division and transplant won’t kill my irises. It’s fairly easy to divide and transplant an iris, just a little time consuming. Start off by carefully lifting up your iris, taking care to not damage the rhizome. I use my pitchfork to do this task. Begin pulling the rhizomes apart with your hands. You will see baby rhizomes growing off the original rhizome. I use a small putty knife to separate the baby rhizome form the original dead rhizome. (Dipping your tool in a solution of 1/10: bleach/water will help avoid spread of disease as you work from rhizome to rhizome.) Try and keep your new rhizomes about as thick as your thumb with a few healthy roots. Discard any rhizomes that are mushy, soft, or feel very lightweight. Lastly, trim leaves to about 3-6 inches long. This helps reduce stress on the plant; focus will be on new root growth rather than leaf maintenance.
I have completed the division and this weekend it’s time to transplant. Easy to do. Keep rhizome slightly visible at the soil surface with the roots fanned out below. I have the large variety of Bearded Iris - space about 12” apart. Once planted, water thoroughly and only water again when dry. Do not mulch. This can cause the rhizome to rot as we go thru fall and winter seasons. The good news is if my tardiness with transplanting late kills my irises, I can always take a field trip to our local iris farm in Vacaville!
Bearded iris rhizomes. (photo by Mary Gabbard)