UC Master Gardener Program

North State Garden News

Forest Pests

Do you know what causes these brown needles on your pine tree?  Is it diplodia blight, pine engraver beetles or just seasonal leaf drop?  Come to the Shasta Master Gardener meeting on Thursday, Jan 8th (6:30 pm, Shasta College Downtown Campus, Room 8220) and listen to Don Owens, CalFire entomologist, answer this question.  Don will speak on common forest pests, including mistletoe, bark beetles, Armillaria root fungus (which can affect both your conifers and vineyard) and more.  You'll learn how best to deal with forest pests (when and how to remove dying trees to prevent the spread of disease) and what you can do during drought to help your landscape trees.    

Holiday Cactus

In our office, this Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera buckleyi) is one cheerful plant!  It gets cool temperatures at night (55°F) thanks to our programmable thermostat and received 12-14 hours of darkness per night during the last month.  Both conditions encourage blossoms.  It has rich, well-drained soil and gets frequent misting.  After it finishes blooming, the Master Gardeners pinch off the leaf segments to easily root and propagate new plants for gift-giving during the next holiday season.   

Winter Composting: Plan B

My compost pile and I have been lulled into lethargy with this warm fall weather.  But the first hard frost reminds me that I need another plan for kitchen scraps and organic waste over the winter.  I can keep putting material in the compost pile, but it will decompose VERY slowly, not reach temperatures that will kill pathogens or weed seeds and may leach nitrogen into groundwater. Now's the time to cover my compost pile to prevent leaching in winter rains and let it rest til spring. I've raked up leaves and used them as mulch in my gardens to insulate roots from freezing.  Some of the drier oak leaves were run through a chipper, bagged, stored and will become mulch or compost in the spring.  My dead squash vines, bean and tomato plants went into the burn pile since composting won't kill the plant mosaic viruses associated with those vegetables.  If you can't burn, then bag and dispose of those plants. And lastly, my kitchen scraps now...

Dormant Spraying for Peach Leaf Curl

Did your peach tree have distorted, reddened leaves this spring that maybe fell off and grew back this summer?  If so, your tree may suffer from a fungal disease called Peach Leaf Curl.  You can get more information about the disease symptoms and management from the UC Pest Note  If your tree does have peach leaf curl, the best time to apply a preventative fungicide is in November after the leaves have fallen.  You can apply a copper ammonium spray such as Liqui-Cop or Kop R Spray.  Make sure you follow the label and wear appropriate personal protection.  If you wait til the symptoms appear again next spring, it's too late to control the disease. 

Storing Your Harvest

I'll be speaking at the Shasta County Master Gardener meeting on Thursday evening, September 11th, about "Storing Your Harvest".   You'll learn about storing fruits and vegetables from your own garden, bulk produce from the Farmer's Market or that bucket of apples that your generous neighbor just gave you.  You'll learn the best conditions for long-term storage of fruits and vegetables and which are compatible or not. Did you know pumpkins hate hanging out with apples? Or the best temperature and humidity to ripen green tomatoes? Making damp sand storage bins for sunchokes and cabbage?  I'll provide information on physical storage options, including house microclimates, insulated boxes, in-ground storage, and root cellars.  And I'll share some of our storage "adventures", AKA "mistakes", like trying to find in-ground carrots under 3' of snow.  Join us upstairs at the Downtown Shasta College Campus (1400 Market Street) in Redding...