University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

We have leaves, lots of leaves. I used to pile all the leaves on my shrub and flower beds. I wanted them to decompose and feed the soil, but with the extreme winds here in Washoe Valley, they continually blew back against the door. We ended up raking and moving the same leaves over and over again. Well, that’s not happening anymore!

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension 4-H Clubs held their 2016-2017 Awards Night at the Governor’s Mansion Nevada Room on Nov. 15. At least 100 4-H youth from Carson City and Storey County received recognition for their accomplishments during the year.

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.

I live with a bear and I don’t mean my husband. We have lived in west Washoe Valley for 29 years and have only had one or two bears pass through in all those years.

Tools are an important part of a gardener’s life. With proper care before you put them away for the winter, they can serve you well for years to come.

Proper pruning can be good for trees. However, people often damage trees in the name of pruning. Dr. Alex Shigo, a well-respected tree researcher provides a number of valuable tips in his book "Tree Pruning."

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.

I'm a fan of the Oregon State Extension Service. They have wonderful horticulturists there. I just came across an article by Kym Pokorny titled “What Does That Mean? Experts Take on Gardening Jargon.” Since everyone likes to test their knowledge, see how many of the following gardening words you know:

Carson City, Nev. – University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, in partnership with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, is offering a workshop Nov. 13 to train people throughout the state how to properly use pesticides. The workshop is meant for certified applicators and those wanting to become certified, including people who regularly handle pesticides as part of their jobs, such as farmers, ranchers, park employees and groundskeepers. Attendees will receive continuing education units.

CARSON CITY — Nevada students are invited to showcase their artistic talents and promote radon awareness by entering the 2018 Nevada Radon Poster Contest, offered by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Radon Education Program. The Oct. 31 deadline to enter is fast approaching.

I recently heard an interesting presentation on National Public Radio on citrus greening, a disease that is decimating citrus fruit trees in Florida and other areas.

I was out watering a few days ago and I noticed yellowjacket wasps crawling on the ground. I mentioned to my friend Will that I thought yellowjackets bite rather than sting. He said he didn’t think so, saying not only did they sting, but they could sting repeatedly. Well, he was right, but so was I.

Some weekends are pretty cut and dry, just a few things to choose among. This, however, is not one of those weekends. High-flying, death-defying action takes over the Minden Airport as the Aviation Roundup Air Show takes to the skies. Pasta-lovers won’t want to miss the Eldorado Great Italian Festival in downtown Reno. Carson City’s monthly Downtown Wine Walk gets a dose of nostalgia as the Western Airstream Convention sets up shop and welcomes the curious.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Carson City office announces a new 4-H club beginning October 18. This project club will be focused on youth gardening with workshops on best garden tools for kids, what materials make the best beds, raised beds or not, seeds and how to start them, what grows in the Great Basin, how to plant a garden, the 3 sisters – a Native American way to plant, selecting a site, container gardens, micro climates in the garden, designing a garden and so much more.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension 4-H program offers hands-on learning to local youth

RENO, Nev. – Youth in Nevada are getting a unique opportunity to build their own low-cost wearable fitness trackers, then use the trackers to collect data on their own movement.

Since fall is the best time to plant trees, here is information on staking new trees.

The ideal is to avoid staking or guying trees if at all possible. What determines the need for staking is the size and type of tree, the size of the root mass, wind conditions for the site, soil type and moisture.

Lately I have found a renewed interest in succulents. There are practical reasons for using succulents as part of a Northern Nevada plant palette.

With harvest time upon us, you may find you are blessed with a bounty of late summer treats such as zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes and more. Or, as fruit ripens on your fruit trees, are you finding you have more apples than you need or know what to do with? Perhaps you have too many grapes? If nature has rewarded you with plenty, would you like to share it with your community?

Agencies across Carson City are teaming up to create a safer community for youth throughout the area.
“The goal is to help teach kids how to be more safe in certain circumstances,” said Lindsay Chichester, extension educator with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. “It’s stuff they will face every day. Ultimately, it could prevent a death.”

Silver City, Nevada - Many groups and volunteers came together once again to make the annual summer program in Silver City a success. Each year since 2003, Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey (HCC) has co-sponsored some of the free, public programming in STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math - that the historic Comstock community offers annually in partnership with nearly a dozen groups and lots of community volunteers.

Silver City, Nevada – The historic Comstock town Silver City offers a wide range of public programming year round, but the community really goes "all out" during the summer months.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension presents a free Safety Day event for children and their families. The event, held in partnership with local businesses, organizations and agencies, is 8 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Sept. 9, at Mills Park, 111 E. William St. in Carson City.

Carson City/Storey County, NV – University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s fall Grow Your Own, Nevada! Program presents eight classes statewide to help Nevadans get on the path to more sustainable, local, healthy living by growing and preserving more of their own food.

I recently visited Port Gamble, Washington’s dahlia gardens.

Dahlias are gorgeous and are diverse in color, shape and size. I saw ruffled dahlias the color of blazing sunsets with tangerine outer edges and deep yellow centers.

Our property is 2.5 acres in size. That’s bigger than many people have and huge for folks living in apartments or condominiums. And, some people don’t have any yards at all.

I was reading a Martha Grimes book last week and I learned a new landscape term –
“enameled mead.”

I had never heard of this, and couldn’t imagine what it meant.

Hot sun, low humidity and drying winds create a hospitable environment for tiny pests called spider mites.

With eight legs, these arachnids are related to spiders and scorpions.

In the ideal horticulture world, a healthy soil provides all the nutrients that plants need to grow.

Unfortunately, Nevada rarely has soils that optimize plant growth because they contain little organic matter and few nutrients.

A reader sent me photos and questions recently stating: “I’ve seen this 'growth' on various garden plants at just a couple homes in my neighborhood. They struggled to get rid of it.

"Just recently, I found this growing out in the desert on BLM land about a mile or two past our neighborhood," the reader wrote, "and would like to know what it is, if it's going to spread, does it kill its host, and if I should do something about it.”

The 4th of July was celebrated earlier this month with all its traditional foods, including watermelon. It’s a good thing that watermelon is a part of this summer holiday’s food mix because its health benefits may have helped counteract the impacts of the assortment of less-than-healthy foods we eat that day.