News & Information Outreach

Blog Article by Lorenza Gibson Seasons come and go. As gardeners, we’re constantly racing against time, always at the mercy of changing conditions. With climate change*, the seasons we once thought we could rely on no longer follow predictable patterns. Winters may stretch longer or feel unexpectedly…

A new season of Master Gardener Workshops is about to start! The series begins Monday, September 8, with an increasingly important and relevant workshop on irrigation and concludes in mid-December with our popular repeat workshop on gardening as we get older. In all, this Fall 2025 Series totals 18 workshops…

 Question: "Can you find the queen? She's in here with the worker bees and drones. The worker bees are the girls and the drones are the boys." Chlld: "What does the queen look like? Is she wearing a crown?""No, she's wearing a number!"Child:"I see her! There she is! I found her!"Finding the queen…

A few strands of thin, feathery, green plants growing under the dock didn’t catch anyone’s attention last spring. But those strands spread quickly and within months the lake’s calm waters were tangled in mats of the feathery Eurasian watermilfoil, an aggressive aquatic plant that grows quickly and clogs…

Floating mats of dark green leaves and bright yellow flowers is a common sight in most irrigation canals and waterways around our rice fields. For the most part, these mats are comprised of creeping waterprimrose (Ludwigia peploides) and Uruguay waterprimrose (Ludwigia hexapetala), which are prolific…

There will be a field day at 250 Natividad  Road on new mulch technologies for strawberries on August 27.  Details of the meeting is attached below, there are examples of several of the mulches for audience review in the field.Be sure to RSVP - more information below.

 Rod Stiefvater de Oro Vista Farms dona dinero y recursos agrícolasEn anticipación al efecto que el cambio climático pueda tener en un futuro muy cercano en la producción de pistachos en el sur de Valle de San Joaquín, un equipo de investigadores de la Universidad de California se ha dado a la tarea de…

Blog by Brenda Altman Snugs came into the house one afternoon with a boo-boo on his left paw. There was a speck of blood, but it turned out to be nothing. Since he was already in my hands, I started to groom him and found these small seeds attached to his body! Snugs, the gardener, is spreading seeds to…

 The UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP) staffed three tables at the Vacaville Museum Guild's annual children's party to introduce "the wonderful world of bees" to children ages 3 to 9.CAMBP members displayed a bee observation hive and encouraged them to "find the queen'; answered…

 The impact of the life work of renowned chemical ecologist Jeff Aldrich (1949-2025) continues to unfold.Aldrich, a research entomologist at USDA-ARS from 1980 to 2011, who then worked with UC Davis  Department of Entomology and Nematology researchers for a decade, died June 28 at age 75 in Fort…

Manejo integral de malezas, gestión de tierras, mano de obra, tecnología post cosecha y maquinaria agrícola especializada son algunos de los temas de una serie de videos que está siendo producida por varias universidades y colegios comunitarios, para capacitar y actualizar a gerentes y empleados en el tema…

We have posted about potassium deficiency before, but we have gotten a couple of calls and messages about this recently. When potassium is deficient, leaves start showing reddish spots on the tips. These spots can be somewhat elongated and give the impression of a narrow lesion. The lesions appear late…

Blog by Peter WilsonI began the Wilson Flock of Cluckers after a family reunion in Kauai, HI, in July of 2013. By August, I had baby chicks arriving. I began researching the best way to raise chickens naturally. I…

 Tributes are pouring in for renowned chemical ecologist Jeffrey Richard Aldrich (1949-2025), a longtime researcher at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center,  USDA Agricultural Research Service, who retired in 2011 and then worked with UC Davis researchers for a decade.Aldrich was considered…

  Summer days call for unique ways to beat the heat, so here’s a well-kept secret: the best place to cool off is a warehouse-sized freezer, tucked away at CALFIRE’s Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center (LAMRC). The freezer’s primary residents are thousands of tree seeds: species like Jeffrey…

Time for This Month In The Garden for the month of August! Tips, to-dos, and more on today’s show called In The Garden with UCCE Master Gardeners (of Orange County of course)! All of the following tips here are from the August Garden Guide found in the UC Master Gardeners of Orange County website under…

Blog by Betsy BuxtonIt’s been a while since I last wrote from Weedy Acres, and I hope you remember me.  The wind is still blowing and the weeds are still thriving, BUT something new!  As I looked out the window for inspiration, what should I spot but a bloom on my Star magnolia (Magnolia stellata)!…

I have seen several issues with arthropods and diseases so far this year. Here’s a quick rundown:  Bakanae: Like in previous years, there have been several fields with heavy Bakanae infections. While the number of plants infected is high, I don’t think any of those fields are going to experience a…

Imagine a healthy garden that grows, blooms, and produces food for you, your family and your neighbors, a garden that costs you very little money because everything it needs is already provided. Welcome to the sustainable garden! The Cambridge Dictionary defines sustainable as “causing little or no damage to…