University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

Good yard sanitation in the fall is as important to year-long plant health as proper planting, watering, fertilizing and pruning are. This is particularly true for next year’s crop of vegetables and fruit. Remove or cut back all the plants in the vegetable garden that are done for the season.

A reader recently asked me, “How much do I water my lawn at this time of year? It depends. Influencing factors to consider include: temperature, wind, solar radiation, humidity, age of the lawn, soil type and method of irrigation.

Writing this on Wednesday, Sept. 18, the morning temperature reading was 37 degrees and Tuesday it was 35 degrees. If the cold nights didn’t alert me that fall is near, my flowers and trees would. Leaves are turning yellow on the neighborhood poplars and ash trees. Some maples are already changing to autumn oranges and reds.

Gardeners ask me if it’s time to prune. Late summer and early fall pruning can encourage new growth, which will not have time to harden off before freezes occur. If freeze damage happens, the health of the plant can be adversely affected. This is particularly true for roses, which should not get pruned until April.

Good morning and good day, Carson City. It is Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. There's a remembrance this evening at the 911 Memorial at Mills Park beginning at 6 p.m., hosted by Carson City Christian Ministerial Fellowship. Also today is a health screening available through Carson Tahoe Health and Wellness, art workshops and showings, a farm to fork tour in Douglas County, Wheeled Food Wednesday at the BAC and more.

About this time of year, I find my interest in gardening waning a bit. For one thing, it’s hot. For another, it’s already September and the first frost may not be far off, so why bother. In years past, I reminded people to expect the first frost around September 15 in most areas.

Join us for a Farm to Fork Tour in Douglas County on September 11. Planned and hosted by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Educator, Lindsay Chichester.

The day will begin at 10am at Jacobs Family Berry Farm with a tour and berry tasting, followed by a steak lunch at JT Basque, a tour and tasting at Bently Heritage, and conclude with a Bently Ranch Tour.

Do you struggle to eliminate weeds from your lawn each year? The best defense against lawn weeds is a healthy lawn. Healthy lawns are thick with deep roots and enough resilience to handle summer heat. Thin, patchy lawns are stressed and easily invaded by weeds.

In Northern Nevada, many of us have single stream recycling with curbside pickup. However, in an anti-pollution campaign, China has reduced or eliminated what kind of foreign recyclables and what percent (0.5) of contaminated materials it will accept.

One of the things I used to do at University of Nevada Cooperative Extension was diagnosing plant problems. When people brought in samples, I, other Extension staff and volunteers would examine them to see what the problem was and what might be causing it.

Heading into the first day of the work week, if you're an early, early riser or are settling in for the night, you'll want to step outside at around 3 a.m. for the peak of the Perseid shower, which will be in the eastern sky. If you missed them, there will be a viewing party hosted by Carson City Parks and Rec at the Jack C. Davis Observatory at WNC beginning at midnight Tuesday morning, August 13. Otherwise, it's onward and upward into the day with a Cooperative Extension presentation, Shred Kids mountain bike camp, Red Cross sitter certification class, West Coast swing dancing and more.

Ticks not only can carry disease, they are disgusting. I have rarely noticed ticks on our property, but recently, I found two in the house, where they must have come in on my clothes after I worked in the high grasses and wildflowers in the yard. Yuck! Fortunately, they weren’t engorged with blood.

Skunks are back in our neighborhood. Twenty-five years ago we had skunks here regularly, sometimes living under our shed. Our dogs would run through nearby fields and get sprayed. When the golf course was built across the creek from us and numerous houses went in, skunks disappeared.

The long-awaited tomato harvest has begun. Tomatoes are ripening, but what’s with the blackened leathery spot on the bottom? We put in all kinds of time and energy to grow lovely delicious tomatoes and these are ugly. The problem is blossom end rot, a physiological issue. It’s not a disease, so the unaffected parts of the tomato are still edible, once you cut away the blackened part.

I just finished Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior, a heart-wrenching story about monarch butterflies, their migration and the destruction of their habitat. Although fictional, the author provides detailed scientific information about their physiology, migratory behavior, food sources and how scientists study these amazing creatures called “King Billies” in the book.

The word “pest” means different things to different people: weeds that are never-ending, insects on plants or in houses, plant diseases of all types, mushrooms in a lawn or critters digging up a garden or yard. Gardening is not for the faint of heart. Some people spray or use a chemical for everything, whether it is called for or not. This is not necessarily an effective approach.

We are getting a new roommate next week — a kitten! We haven’t had a kitten in over 30 years. We have always adopted older cats and lucky for me they didn’t eat my houseplants. However, kittens are like toddlers, always exploring and getting into trouble, so I have to make sure none of our plants can poison a curious kitten.

Location is University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, 2621 Northgate Lane, Suite 12, Carson City, NV

In addition to a short video on climate change, the meeting will discuss climate change and ways to mitigate its effects. Everyone is welcome to attend our monthly meetings.

A reader sent me a question. “We had an arborist trim our apple tree in March and this is the first year in at least 20 years that the tree had no blossoms. Is this situation common or did we do something wrong?” Neither of my apple trees had flowers this year either. I had assumed a late freeze had caused this because often my trees bloom, then there is a freeze and the flowers wither and die. However, this year there weren’t any flowers at all.

Heading into Thursday, June 27, 2019, there's plenty to do and see around the Carson City area as we march toward an action-packed weekend. There's a morning Muscle Powered walk, Food Truck Thursday at Mills Park, a Farmers Market in Dayton, a discussion on climate change at Western Nevada College, a history presentation on Chinese woodcutters at the Nevada State Museum, a presentation by the NNDA Executive Director at a GOP monthly meeting, Cruise Night at Wing Stop, an information meeting on the Ross Gold Park master plan hosted by Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space. Read on. There's more.

With a windy cool down headed our way, activities around the Carson City area Wednesday, June 26 will make for a breezy good time. Looking at the day ahead there's a walk hosted by parks and recreation, kids events, Wheeled Food Wednesday at the Brewery Arts Center, a free "rough cut" feature film screening at the Carson Nugget, Young Chautauquans at Dangberg Historic Park and more.

As we set our radar ahead to Tuesday, June 25, 2019, we say hello Carson City and welcome to a bevy of events ahead including activities for children of all ages, a Muscle Powered morning walk, evening hike and bike ride, a cyber security awareness workshop hosted by DeBug Computer, a job fair at the Carson Nugget, art showings, a delicious taste of France via Bleu Café Culinary Travelers Club and more. Read on for what's happening.

I bumped into my friend Cat at a nursery buying marigolds to solve a problem her lilacs were having. She said something was eating the leaves along the edges leaving sharp-edged cutouts. She said someone swore that marigolds planted around the base of the shrubs would solve the problem.

Heading into Tuesday, June 18, 2019 we're looking at continued warming around the region with a daytime high around 91. Temperatures are expected to actually lower toward the end of the week. Events around town Tuesday include a Muscle Powered walk, hike and bike ride, yoga, exercises for the mind and body hosted by the Carson City Emblem Club, political gatherings, art activities and more.

My friend Laura who lives in Southern Oregon is the best vegetable and fruit gardener I know. She makes excellent compost from fresh horse and chicken manures, which she combines with green vegetable, fruit and kitchen waste. She then turns it with her tractor. And, coming from a ranching family who grew their own food, she has an innate sense of how to garden successfully.

The Carson City Elk’s Club is hosting a special speaker on Tuesday, June 18 discussing mental and physical exercises that can make a difference in everyday life.

Carson City Emblem Club # 507 will present Lisa Taylor, Community Educator from University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Service to lead the discussion.

I’ve been noticing all the new seedlings coming up around the yard: Currants, Oregon grape, penstemons, sumacs, catmint, caryopteris, feverfew, hardy geranium and many more. I did not plant these; the birds did. The seeds spread in the wind or I accidentally spread seeds when deadheading.

Carson City University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, in partnership with Carson City Parks and Recreation and Friends of Silver Saddle Ranch, is offering two weekly sessions at Silver Saddle Ranch, 2648 Carson City Road in Carson City, for youth who are not able to keep or raise a small farm animal to experience working with either rabbits or goats. Area 4-H leaders will bring their animals for attendees, 9 – 14 years of age, to work with in these hands on day camps.

Our big birch has finally given up after decades of bronze birch borer and sapsucker damage. Rows of regular horizontal holes about a quarter-inch in diameter cover the trunk from bottom to top. These are caused by sapsucker woodpeckers drilling for sap in the tree. Initally, borer damage reduced the flow of water and food within the tree, causing limbs to die each year. The sapsucker feeding finally finished the tree off.

Visiting the garden today at The Greenhouse Project in Carson City, I was discussing perennial pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium, management with Cory King, the Project’s manager, farmer and educator. Controlling this noxious invasive weed organically is difficult.