pests

In the 1990s, I was the coordinator of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program for four counties. Volunteers signed up for 45 hours of horticulture classes in exchange for a fee and 45 hours of volunteering.

I had one very dedicated volunteer, Michael Janik, now of Michaels Apples, who went on to become a leader in Northern Nevada in raising, training and pruning apples and other fruits.

Each year in spring and fall, the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension horticulture program offers a series of classes called “Grow Your Own, Nevada.” Different topics are offered this week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m.

Mary, a reader from Gardnerville said, “I have a terrible time with earwigs, my most dreaded pest; and the sight of them makes me cringe.” Yes, earwigs do look alarming with pincers at their hind end. They even bother seasoned gardeners who normally have an attitude of “live-and-let-live.”

Last week I wrote about root weevils eating leaves. This week’s pests are the elm leaf beetles. While elms are hardy drought tolerant trees for arid Nevada, they are plagued by elm leaf beetles every year. By this time of year, the trees look half-dead with white to brown ragged leaves.

“Something is eating the leaves on my lilacs,” cried the caller. She wondered why the leaves looked like someone had nipped the edges with pinking shears or craft scissors. I knew immediately when she described the angular cuts on the leaves that her plants were being eaten by root weevils.

There are many definitions of the word “pest,” and personal perceptions of pests can often be very different. A pest might be annoying (ants), damaging to plants (rabbits), a health concern (ticks) or a cause for fear (black widow spiders). However, relatively few pests cause significant injury to plants, so pesticides are rarely needed.

Those pesky ground squirrels are out in force these days. I think they are on their second or third series of babies. I can tolerate them out in our field. However, when they dig under the house, it’s time to get serious about control, before they undermine the foundation.

I first heard about the Rodale Institute a few decades ago when I used to read their “Organic Gardening” magazine. They have been around for 60 years researching and teaching organic gardening. Through the years, I have turned to the Institute and their well-written books when I wanted reputable information on organic growing.

Apples picked fresh off the tree taste so delicious, until you look at your half-eaten apple and find a worm or the brown mess left by a worm. If you had apples with worms last year, it is likely you will have wormy apples this year too, unless you take precautions.

Worms in apples are the caterpillar larvae of codling moths. These relatives of butterflies also attack pears, plums and walnuts. Each female moth lays 30 to 70 tiny disc-shaped eggs singly on the fruit, spurs or nearby leaves. After hatching, the white to light pink “worms” with dark heads bore into the fruit.

The horticulture world is fascinating with many topics to explore. Did you know that “the average carrot travels over 1,800 miles to get to our dinner plate?” Or that “93 percent of our food dollar pays processors, packagers, distributors, wholesalers, truckers and the rest of the infrastructure that a global food system demands?”

Finally, with the fact that “preschool children served home-grown produce are more than twice as likely to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day as kids who rarely eat home-grown produce,” more people are interested in growing their own.

Mason Valley Beekeepers of Yerington, Nevada, will be hosting a one-day Introduction to Bees and Beekeeping workshop for individuals with little or no experience who want to learn more about the possibility of beekeeping as a hobby.

The workshop will be held at the Jeanne Dini Center in Yerington from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM and will include lunch and snacks. Written materials will also be provided to participants.

I’m an amateur entomologist. I am thrilled when someone brings in an interesting insect or arachnid (spiders, mites, scorpions, etc.). Today a client brought me a critter I had never seen, a red velvet mite (RVM). Regular readers of my articles know I have written about spider mites, which are the size of dust particles.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension will present six “Grow Your Own, Nevada!” classes at seven locations across northern Nevada to provide information to homeowners, gardeners, landscapers and farmers who want their lawns to survive and thrive in a desert climate.

“Recurring droughts are a fact of life for Nevadans,” Cooperative Extension Horticulture Specialist Heidi Kratsch said. “This program will teach homeowners how to create and care for landscapes that are resilient to drought events, yet outstandingly beautiful. Yes, it is possible.”

New York Times author Novella Carpenter will be at the 3rd and Curry Street downtown Carson City Farmer’s Market on July 19 at 11 a.m. to chat about her bestselling memoir, Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer.

Carpenter and northern Nevada agriculture expert Mark O’Farrell, of Hungry Mother Organics, are set to engage in a kitchen-table visit. Under a large tent, with seats for 100, the conversation will be led by northern Nevada’s KTVN news anchor Erin Breen. The special event is aimed at raising awareness about the vital role farmers play in our lives.

The average carrot travels over 1,800 miles to get to our dinner plate. Processing and shipment of food accounts for 93 percent of our food cost.

The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension will offer eight new “Grow Your Own!” classes in Carson City and 11 other Nevada cities to help residents who want to get on a path to more sustainable, local, healthy living by growing more of their own food.

The Lake Tahoe Resource Conservation District is calling all boaters, anglers, paddlers, swimmers and water-lovers to attend a talk on September 26, 6:30pm at REI, 2225 Harvard Way, Reno to learn about the spread of aquatic invasive species.
Asian clams, zebra and quagga mussels and invasive weeds like Eurasian water milfoil are just a few of the plants and critters that currently threaten local waters in the Lake Tahoe and Northern Nevada region.

Natural forces and human actions have affected the lake s clarity, physics, chemistry and biology since 1968, when UC Davis first began continuous monitoring of Lake Tahoe.