irrigation

Did you know that Nevada is the driest state in the nation, with less than 11 inches of precipitation per year? As such, groundwater resources are crucial to Nevada’s natural environment, economy, and quality of life.

Although I have never tried Epsom salts, named for a town in England, in my landscape or garden, I have heard many gardeners rave about what they call a miracle cure for plants. Whenever I wonder about whether something is a horticulture myth, I turn to Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D., a well-respected horticulture researcher at Washington State University.

Four Carson High School students were named candidates for the Presidential Scholar at Tuesday's meeting of the Carson City School District Board.

CARSON CITY — Did you know that Nevada Day is the largest celebration of statehood in the nation? Nevada Day is more than an extraordinary parade, it is Nevada’s heritage celebration – a gathering of communities to salute our State’s past and embrace its future.

RENO — Mountain snowpack is a primary source of water for the arid western United States. This region, which includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, receives precipitation in mountains far from agricultural fields, and during the winter months when crops are not grown.

Here is the Carson City area road report for the week of Sept. 17-23, 2018. The first day of fall is this Saturday, Sept. 22 and that means Nevada Day is around the corner. The Curry Street project will be ready in time for the Nevada Day parade. Here is this week's construction schedule:

Here is the Carson City area road report for the week of Sept. 10-16, 2018. Work continues on the Downtown Curry Streetscape Project. This week construction workers will:

Here is the Carson City area road report for the week of Sept. 3-9: Work continues this week on the Downtown Curry Streetscape Project.

Trees are dropping leaves or needles. Leaves may be turning brown. Some are showing fall colors. What’s going on with trees?

The days are getting shorter, and many plant processes are triggered by day-length. However, there may be stress issues at work as well.

Have you seen a tomato with a blackened bottom and wondered what it was? This unsightly condition is called blossom end rot.

It affects not only tomatoes, but also peppers, eggplants, squash, cucumbers, melons and watermelons.

Chautauquan and noted local historian Michael Fischer will portray “Heinrich Friedrich Dangberg, Sr.” in a free presentation at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Saturday, August 4, at 10 a.m.

CARSON CITY — Even before the Martin Fire burned more than 430,000 acres in northeast Nevada, many of which contained prime sage-grouse habitat near Paradise Valley, a project to enhance this critical sage-grouse habitat was already in the works.

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection’s (NDEP) Bureau of Water Quality Planning has approximately $1 million in federal funding available to provide grant assistance for projects that prevent or control non-point source water pollution, the leading cause of water quality impairment in Nevada.

This month, California Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown signed probably the most restrictive water consumption law in the country. Under the new statute, starting in 2022 every California man, woman and child will be restricted to 55 gallons of water use per day. For a family of four, that’s 220 gallons per day.

The penalties for using more water than your allocation under this newest socialist Democrat program? Between $1,000 and $10,000 per day.

Spores inoculating roots sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. Yet a healthy soil contains multitudes of fungal spores that establish relationships with the root systems of plants. These relationships are beneficial to plants and are called mycorrhizae (myco=fungus, rhizae=roots).

Hello fellow anglers, there's a lot going on in June as I will be fishing with around 2,000 kids over the next couple of weekends. This weekend I will be at the Lampe Park Kids Fishing Derby in Gardnerville and the Sawmill Pond Kids Fishing Derby in South Lake Tahoe.

The Carson City Fire Department is holding a Green Waste Collection Day this Saturday May 19, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Residents can bring pine needles, pine cones, branches and other vegetation to Carson River Park, located at 5013 Carson River Road.

May is Nevada Wildfire Awareness month. University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and the fire agencies across the State are asking people to prepare their homes and communities to reduce the risks of a wildfire.

I’m sad. I just had an old birch tree removed.

After babying the sickly thing for years, I finally gave in and had it cut down.

The tree was here when we moved in 30 years ago and it didn’t look great then. It never really grew.

Why did it die? Bronze birch borers had infested the tree and it never recovered.

The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is helping educate Nevada residents about the unique importance of groundwater in Nevada during National Groundwater Awareness Week, March 11-March 17, 2018.

Miles Construction, a general contractor based in Carson City, has renovated a vacant Verdi manufacturing facility into a cannabis cultivation and production venue. The 100,000-square-foot facility has been outfitted with fully-automated nutrient-enrichment, irrigation and environmental control ...

What gorgeous weather we are having with beautiful sunny, warm days. Buds on trees are swelling, daffodils and other bulbs are poking up their heads. I suspect if this weather continues, soon even the grass could be greening.

I was recently reading a magazine called “Garden Design” that featured award-winning eco-friendly gardens. In it was a story by Louisa Jones about ecologist and landscape architect, Gilles Clément. He is renowned for his concept of the “Moving Garden.” It is a concept of biological gardening, the idea of working with, not against nature.

Greenhouse management was not my career forte. My expertise is in ornamental plants and landscape design. Being involved with the non-profit The Greenhouse Project since its inception has given me a great opportunity to improve my understanding of how greenhouses work.

Hello fellow anglers, the 2017 California fishing season has closed in Inyo and Mono counties for lakes and streams. Alpine County rivers and streams have also officially closed for the season. With the exception of the East Carson River that flows form Hangman's Bridge to the Nevada state line, this section is open all year with special regulations.

As I write this, we are looking forward to a week of lovely autumn weather, possibly with rain toward the end of the week. However, this article will be published toward the end of the month and it will be time to stop watering plants and drain irrigation systems. A colleague asked me today how to winterize the drip system at a school garden she has been working on, a timely fall topic.

Scattered rain and snow showers remain possible with a very chilly airmass that is spreading over Carson City and much of western Nevada, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a Freeze Watch for late Friday through Saturday morning.

Michael E. Fischer will portray the tenth governor of Nevada, John Sparks, at Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Wednesday, August 23, at 6:30 pm.

YERINGTON — Lyon County may have seen the highest water flow in the Walker River Basin with levels now beginning to drop some, County Manager Jeff Page said Wednesday. Many in the communities of Yerington, Mason Valley and Smith Valley have begun to take flood protection measures down.

Thanks to support from our generous neighbors in Northern Nevada, progress is being made at the Veterans Healing Camp complex in Silver Springs. There is an exciting new life to the property. The three-bedroom group home has been completely cleaned out, repainted and new carpeting has been installed. There is a veteran moving into the home who is ready to help other veterans in need.