The 2011 UC Master Gardener Vegetable Demonstration Garden Project has recently finished. A group of certified Master Gardeners and trainees spent time each week from January 27 through December 15 learning vegetable gardening techniques through hands-on experience.

They documented their project so that they could impart lessons learned throughout the2011 project. This article is the sixth in a series to share this knowledge.

Garden tools:

Tools in the garden can save time and effort.    

• A hula hoe is a great tool to extract small weeds.
• A pocket knife is a handy tool that should be carried while gardening.
• The blades of bypass pruners and loppers should only be sharpened on one side of the blade. If they are sharpened on both sides of the blade, a small gap will be created between the blades allowing the material being cut to wedge itself between the blades and precluding a clean cut. Anvil-type pruners typically need to be sharpened on both sides of the blade. When sharpening tools, only sharpen surfaces that were originally sharpened at the factory.

Questions on gardening? Please contact our Master Gardener helpline at 645-1455 or contact them by email at mgventura@ucdavis.edu.

The 2011 UC Master Gardener Vegetable Demonstration Garden Project provided many opportunities for learning. Shown above is the container garden section of the project.

Co-sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension Groundwater Hydrology Program, Groundwater Resources Association of California (GRA) will present an educational opportunity February 28-29 at Buehler Alumni Center, located on the UC Davis campus.

Directed toward a broad audience, the Introduction to Groundwater and Watershed Hydrology: Monitoring, Assessment and Protection short course will be taught by experienced instructors.

From GRA’s website:

“This short course will review the fundamental principles of groundwater and watershed hydrology, water quality, and water contamination. It will provide an overview of the most common tools for measuring, monitoring, and assessing groundwater and surface water resources. And it will review current local, state, and federal programs dealing with groundwater and watersheds. The course is geared towards a broad audience that is involved in the management, assessment, and protection of water resources, either professionally, as an educator, as a stakeholder, or otherwise. Course attendees who may have some experience with, but no formal training in hydrology or related engineering or science fields, will benefit from the basic and intuitive, yet comprehensive approach of this course.”

Scheduled topics include:

• Surface Water Hydrology and Watersheds
• Groundwater Hydrology
• Water Rights and Water Law
• Surface Water Quality
• Groundwater Quality, Sampling, and Monitoring
• Surface Water Contaminants
• Groundwater Contamination
• Defining Watersheds and Groundwater Recharge Areas
• Vulnerability Assessments
• Understanding Potentially Contaminating Activities
• Protecting Water Resources

To register, or for more information, please visit this page of the GRA website.

Water is essential to life. Protection of water resources require the cooperation and involvement of many.

The recent LA Times article, Farm Team: Two chefs spend a year at Windrose Farm, lending labor and know-how, and learning from the ground up is an interesting and entertaining article related to the business of farming.

Farmers are busy, multi-talented people. They must have skills in a wide variety of areas for their business to survive. As the LA Times article explains slight adjustments in operations have the potential to make a profound difference on the bottom line.

UC’s Farm Business and Market Place has many resources to help food producers strengthen their business. Including:

• Customer Service and Relationships
  • Building trust with consumers
  • I’m right and you’re wrong: Do’s and don’ts in customer service
  • Selling strategies for local food producers
  • Strategies to attract and keep customers

• Promotion & Branding
  • Adding value to agriculture: Branding and certification
  • Building your brand
  • Creating a winning display for your farm products
  • Reputation as your brand

• Budgeting
  • Projecting costs and returns – enterprise budgeting
  • Cost and return studies
  • Determining prices for CSA share boxes
  • Enterprise budgets – 100 foot rows
  • Partial budgeting
  • Using enterprise budgets to make decisions about your farm

• Marketing Channels & Strategies
  • A guide to understanding the value chain
  • Adding value to farm products: An overview
  • An overview of Small Farm direct marketing
  • Bringing local food to local institutions
  • Community supported agriculture
  • Direct marketing of farm produce and home goods
  • Guide to marketing channel selection: How to sell through wholesale and direct market channels
  • Marketing 101
  • Marketing alternatives for fresh produce
  • Marketing strategies for farmers and ranchers
  • New markets for your crops (available in Spanish)
  • Niche market pricing and strategies for maintaining price
  • Pricing for profit
  • Selling directly to restaurants and retailers
  • Selling to institutions: An Iowa Farmer’s guide
  • Selling to Restaurants
  • Strategic marketing management: Building a foundation for your future
  • Value added agriculture: Is it right for me?
  • What are niche markets? What advantages do they offer?

   

  

  To be successful, farmers must have skills and knowledge in a wide variety of areas.

   

Biological control can be used to control pests and the damage they cause in gardens, landscapes, agricultural, range and wildlands.

What is biological control? Biological control is using natural enemies to reduce the numbers of pests. Natural enemies include: predators, parasites, pathogens and competitors. Pests include: pest insects, mites, weeds, pathogens, nematodes and vertebrate pests.

Using biological control methods can reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides and herbicides. Reducing pesticide and herbicide use is beneficial to improving water quality.

To learn more about biological control, please see UC’s Natural enemies gallery. Resources include:

• Biological control and natural enemies pest note
• Narrated presentation on biological control
• Meet the beneficials: Natural enemies of garden pests
• Descriptions and identification of many predators and parasitoids commonly found on California farms and landscapes
• And much more

Natural enemies resources in Spanish can be found towards the bottom of this page.

Most of these resources are available at no charge. However, some are priced publications. When ordering online, please use promo code PRVEN56 to receive 10% off your order, plus a portion of the purchase price will go towards supporting local programs.

Interested in learning, but not purchasing? Priced publications can be viewed in our office. Please contact us in advance to ensure publication will be available upon your arrival.

Adult leafhopper assassin bug ( Zelus renardii). Photo by Jack Kelly Clark.