Stanislaus

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Dracaena or dragon tree houseplant. (A. Schellman)
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Leach Your Houseplants to Avoid Salt Problems

February 1, 2021
Your outdoor garden plants may not need a lot of attention on these cold winter days, but have you taken a close look at your indoor plants recently? A house plant with brown leaf tips, wilted leaves, lower leaves that are dropping and little or no new growth may be in trouble.
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An almond blossom graces an area near the Benicia marina on Jan. 23, 2021. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Hear That Buzz? Almond Pollination Season Is Approaching

January 29, 2021
Hear that buzz? California almond pollination season is approaching. The season usually begins around Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, but we usually see the first-of-the-year almond blooms in mid-January in a hot spot near the Benicia marina. That's where we saw them on Jan.
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A Master Gardener adds tree branches into her chipper.
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The Saga of the Yard Waste Collector

January 25, 2021
Have you ever had a hobby that turned into an obsession? One of my hobbies is gardening of course, as a Master Gardener. Not too long ago, I acquired a chipper/shredder. One of my gardener friends had two and sold one of them to me at a fair price.
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Size control in temperate fruit trees. (A) Standard variety with no size control; (B) and (C) standard variety on semidwarfing rootstock or semidwarf variety; (D) standard variety on dwarfing rootstock. (from The CA Master Gardener Handbook)
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Prune Home Fruit Trees To Improve Crop Size And Quality

January 18, 2021
Fruit tree pruning ranks high on most home gardeners' to do list during the winter months. While deciduous fruit trees may be pruned at other times of the year, most gardeners do their annual heavy pruning during the trees' dormant period.
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Raised bed preparation. (T. Pellegrini)
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Planning and Prepping for Your Spring Garden

January 11, 2021
It's a cold winter's day here in the Central Valley. But instead of curling up in a cozy chair with a cup of tea, I'm out in my garden, planning and prepping for my spring planting. For me, this is the fun part, walking the gardens, looking at the raised beds, empty pots, and bare earth.
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Fiery skipper butterfly. (Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Want Butterflies in Your Garden?

January 6, 2021
By Anne E Schellman
One of the joys of gardening includes watching butterflies sip nectar from flowers. In fact, many gardeners plant flowers just for these colorful insects.
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Peach leaves deformed by peach leaf curl. (Jack Kelly Clark)
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Time to Treat for Peach Leaf Curl

January 4, 2021
Peach leaf curl is a disease that affects peach and nectarine trees. Although you may not see symptoms right now in the dormant season in California, it's time to think about treatment, especially if your tree had the disease last year.
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