What in the world is garden sanitation? It’s simply the removal of plant material that can harbor pests and disease. By removing debris from your garden, you reduce the ability for pests and pathogens to negatively impact your garden next spring. Remove all badly diseased or pest infested plants, trash, weeds, and dying plant parts. […]
Clean up to Prevent Garden Problems Read More »
Spring is around the corner, and there’s a whole lot of planting going on. One of the features of the winter nursery is the availability of bare root plants. Bare root plants are not actively growing plants. They’re usually dug when they’re dormant and then refrigerated until it is time to ship to the nursery
Make Plant Choices to Prevent Pests and Disease Read More »
What do blue cheese, conks, penicillin, athlete’s foot, and soy sauce have in common? Fungus! These represent both the good and the bad that come from this amazing group of living things. Neither plant nor animal, the fungi inhabit a world mostly hidden from view, the mushroom-like things popping out of the ground often the
Are those Mushrooms? Read More »
Warm days and cool nights are happening now. These are perfect conditions for powdery mildew to thrive in the garden. This common disease is easily recognized by the talcum-powder like appearance on new and old leaves, tender new shoots, some flowers, and fruits. It affects a huge range of plants – roses, crape myrtle, sycamore,
Got roses? They’re at the peak of bloom right now. Hopefully, they’re free of the ugly disease called rust, that loves the cool, moist morning temperatures. This fungal disease is easy to identify – look for orange, powdery pustules on the undersides of leaves. Early in the season they’re yellow to light orange, with the
Rust on your Roses? Read More »
May is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and it’s a good idea to learn more about this debilitating disease and how to prevent it. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection; in our area it’s primarily transmitted by black-legged ticks. These tiny arachnids are typically found in wooded and grassy areas. Although people may think of
Ticks carrying Lyme Disease found at CA Beaches Read More »
For many gardeners, a big challenge to growing healthy plants is keeping them free of disease, especially blackspot, rust and anthracnose. Caused by fungi, this trio of diseases are typical in wet spring and fall months but can infect gardens during our dry summers given the right conditions. Blackspot produces characteristic round black spots with
Visions of plump, juicy peaches dance in your head as you tend your fruit trees in the early days of spring; you’re already dreaming of peach pie, ice cream, or fruit plucked warm off the tree. But your daydreams might be squelched by seeing instead, blistered, bumpy, puckered, twisted leaves – not exactly what you’re
Time to Protect your Peach Tree Read More »
For most of us, cockroaches are high in the yuk factor; even worse is seeing one running across the kitchen floor. These are pests of both indoor and outdoor environments that provide food, water, and shelter. During the day, roaches hide in dark, moist areas like cracks, water meter boxes, sewers, and crawl spaces. They
What’s that skittering across the kitchen floor? Read More »
Ticks are sucking insects that can live all year round in our mild climate. If you’re planning to do some hiking around the holidays, learn how to protect yourself from having one hitch a ride on you. If you do get bitten, here’s how to properly remove the tick. These insects are not only a
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