Cheryl Wilen, IPM Specialist in Weed management provides tips on using weed block fabric to effectively manage annual weeds as well as how to manage small infestations of nutsedge can be viewed on a U-Tube Video.  Each video is about 2 minutes.  To view go to: 

http://www.youtube.com/Ucanr#p/a/u/0/Cv2QO7fus20

http://www.youtube.com/Ucanr#p/a/u/1/3I4BR5Q8mT0

You take a few days off from the garden and all of a sudden it becomes a battle ground between you and the various insect pests that invade....I noted that there were numerous holes in my once perfect broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage plants.  I also saw a number of velvety green worms camouflaged within the foliage with the only telltale sign of them being there were the holes in the leaves and an abundance of frass (insect excrement) they leave behind.  These are relatively easy pests to control though.  Generally, in a normal size garden, they can be handpicked and crushed.  They most commonly feed along the mid-vein and then as they grow, they tend to feed further out and may even bore into a head of cabbage.  If hand picking isn’t possible or for those that are squeamish, the best treatment is Spinosad, and insecticidal soap for newly hatched larva or an application of BT (bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki).  BT is a bacteria that can invade the larva and kill them without harming other beneficial insects.  It is pretty interesting how BT works.  Once the bacteria is ingested, there is a toxic protein crystal produced by the bacteria that is responsible for the insecticidal effect.  It is released in the gut of the insects that causes them to stop feeding immediately with death occurring within a few days. BT works best on just hatched up to 1st or 2nd instars larva but since there are overlapping generations, it is good to treat regularly with a freshly prepared batch of the BT since it doesn't last long once mixed.
To learn more......

Cabbage worm adult

Spring is when most people get energized to plant trees in their garden but fall is a much better time if you live in a temperate climate.  There is less stress on the trees because of lower temperatures, reduced transpiration and a higher moisture availablity.  The roots have a chance to grow out into the native soils during the winter before the onslaught of high summer heat.  Also, if you are choosing trees for their fall color, they should begin to show some color now depending upon the location and the species.  By the way, if you chose something that has fall color, that doesn't mean it will have the same color in your garden.  Rather, it just assures you that the color is genetically possible.  Often our landscape trees get far too much water and fertilizer for good fall color.  Typically, trees under a moderate degree of water stress later in the summer will show better fall color. 

Choosing the right tree is always a trial.  To learn more about the right tree, right place.....

As a Master Gardeners and Advisors, we receive a lot of samples of plant problems. Some problems are easy to identify but others can be perplexing and often confounded by inadequate information.  I recently received a sample of Bradford pear leaves (Pyrus calleryana) with very interesting symptoms.  At first, I thought that the plant may have been picking up something that was toxic to it because it appeared that the leaf was showing dieback progressively from the middle of the leave out to the margins.  At least I thought that was what I was seeing.  However, upon further inspection and discussion with the owner, I realized that the dieback was actually a fairly quick but progressive drying from the margins inward toward the middle.  The brown part at the mid-vein was from sunburn and was last to dry out whereas the margins dried very quickly without actually sun burning.  It turned out that the woman and her husband were very ill for a month or so in the middle of summer and were unable to get out and water (they didn’t have automatic sprinklers).  The point of the story?  Snap judgments can be dangerous.  To learn more about pests and problems with Bradford Pear…….

Is it really fall?  It is going to be 101F today but yet, the nights are cooling off and that makes all the difference in the fall garden.  I went to a nursery to purchase some transplants and they said..."we don't have them in yet because it is still too hot".  I wanted to say nonsense!  It is almost too late for planting broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and the other cole crops for much of California.  The reality is, if you wait until it really cools off, your plants will just sit there for the rest of the winter doing nothing and you will have very small heads to harvest in early spring.  So get going and get your planting done.  Vegies you can plant now in the interior valleys include: beets, carrots, chard, endive, fennel, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuces, mustard, green onions, peas, white potatoes, radish, rutabaga, spinach, and turnips.  If you are on the south coast, you can plant much of the same things but you can plant continuously over a longer period of time...through early spring.  In the north coast, it is almost too late for most things with the exception of broccoli from transplants, peas and spinach.  You can try many of the same crops but because your season is so much shorter, they may or may not do well. To maximize your plantings consider covering them with a floating row cover to retain heat.  In the desert valleys, plant all of the cool season crops between now and November/December.  Click Here to learn more on how much to plant, when and how to use these wonderful crops.

'Redbore' Kale-photo by P. Geisel

cabbage leaves-Photo by Marcy Hachman