Shamrock luck!

Shamrocks  are for  good luck and are a popular house plant, especially during St. Patrick’s Day. 

Shamrocks are easy to grow if you follow these five simple and easy to remember steps:

·       Shamrocks prefer direct sunlight, be sure to place your plant in a window where it will receive plenty of light. Shamrocks will flower, even during winter, if they receive enough light. Each night the plant's leaflets fold up , then reopen in sunlight the following day.

·       Shamrocks like food! Fertilize them regularly with either a liquid houseplant or time release fertilizer during their growing season- always following label instructions.

·     As a houseplant, they prefer moist soil. Avoid allowing your shamrock to dry out during the growing season.

·       Give your shamrock a growing temperature between 50 and 70 ^°F during the growing season. They can be placed outside after danger of frost has passed and are a beautiful addition to your pots or in a grouping of pots.

·       Shamrocks have a dormant period. When your shamrock
 goes dormant, usually in late summer, don’t fret! Just place 
it in a cool, dry location out of direct sunlight for 2-3 months. The purple-leaf types only need one month of dormancy!

Since your shamrock grows from small bulbs, it's easy to divide and create new plants. 

Here's a short video with how-to steps for propagating. 
Happy St. Paddy's Day to you!

Codling Moth Control for the Small-Scale Fruit Grower

Of all of the fruit I have grown in Idaho, my favorite is the apple - not just any apple, a 'Criterion' apple picked fresh off the tree. Biting into one of these juicy, bursting with flavor apples is an orchardist’s delight.

Ironically, for any orchardist, commercial or small- scale operations in which this blog is dedicated to comes with a cost. And for many of those seasoned apple growers, significant cost of time, energy and resource is essential for the perfect marketable fruit. Ideal size (Goldilocks proportions), right color, superb taste and no blemishes. Now if we were living in the Garden of Eden, no problem, but we do not, so comes the consequences of a need for disease management, climate control, soil balance, branch and trunk care, and the dreaded pest control. 

For this article, I am only going to address pest control: one pest in particular that stands head and shoulders of all the other apple pests, the Codling Moth. This moth is a member of the Lepidopteran family Tortricidae. Interestingly, codling means “an unripe, half-grown apple”.  Now add a small worm to this scenario and you have the perfect storm of total destruction of a normal apple. And, just as one perfect apple can bring delight to the dedicated orchardist, it can also bring a grown man to tears when he discovers as he bites into that prospective delicious apple that a black headed cream-colored worm has riddled his sweet meal with several blackened distasteful tunnels…worthless to the core! 
For the untrained eye an outward examination of the suspect apple may puzzle the human consumer for even though many apples may bare the evidence of the unwanted worm that stings and eventually penetrates the skin of the apple many worms find it more convenient to enter through the “calyx end” of an apple. 
Because these worms have such a voracious appetite for apples, the small-scale fruit grower may become discouraged and find it not worth the effort to put up with these pests and so depend on the fruit stand or grocer to be their provider of these sweet worm-less treats. But for the fruit grower who holds to the tenants of religiosity, tenacity and creativity… and who has a plan in place (while these moths are in hibernation) there can be hope and there can be success! One educational source that has done extensive research on the control of the codling moth is Washington State University Research and Extension Services. 
  
 Several practical approaches starting with a better understanding of the life cycle of the codling moth can be helpful in winning the battle of the worm. WSU’s website has numerous charts ranging from life history of the moth to the pesticide spray schedule when the moth is most active throughout the year.  I have in the past used my own method of monitoring moth activity through the use of a molasses-based milk jug traps. I found at a local organic nursery  who recommends this method along with some other valuable advice using a more “organic approach”.
                                  
This is a key component of worm control in your apples. The idea is to know exactly or at least within a couple of days when the moths are on the move and are ready to lay their eggs on strategic apple tree locations to raise their offspring. 
What I like about this website is they take on more of a biological approach in controlling this moth by using pheromone traps and parasitoids I have had little success with these methods but have found a product named Spinosad to be fairly effective if used appropriately with the spray schedule for this area. I have just recently signed up online for the Pacific Northwest Pest Alert Bulletin. I highly recommend this site if you are really committed to being timely with your spray routine which could be several times throughout the life season of the moth.  As mentioned, Spinosad is my pesticide of choice and has some interesting history. In 1982, a distinctive soil dwelling bacterium called Spinosad was discovered on this Caribbean island. Spinosad has become a unique pesticide used in organic gardening.  This year I will be adding another product that meets OMRI standards, an all seasons horticulture oil with Spinosad. This product is considered an excellent fungicide, miticide and pesticide that can be used within 24 hours of harvest. 
            
The above links have some excellent additional advice on how best to control this nasty moth’s offspring appetite so we gardeners and orchardists can better reap the benefits of our fruit tree husbandry. 

Here is wishing you a juicy worm-free apple of your choice this summer. (even though Criterions are the best!) 

Spring Soil Prep - What you can do Now! (or as soon as the ground thaws :>)

The best way to begin preparing your soil is with a soil test. 

Your local University of Idaho Extension office can help you with this. This test is a great place to start because it tells you what to add to your soil to help your garden perform better. 

soil sample probe

Organic soil amendments also provide an important source of nitrogen for your plants.  Till or turn under with a spade 3-4 inches of compost into your soil at a depth of 6-8 inches and rake your bed smooth.

With a soil sample probe, the task is much  easier... and worth the cost - since you'll probably check your soil many times over the years.

This video shows how to gather your soil sample.

The most important thing you can do for your garden’s soil is to add organic matter. Organic matter aids in drainage and minimizes soil compaction, which reduces soil oxygen.

When choosing an amendment, consider carefully what you use. Animal based products and bio-solids are high in salts and heavy metals which build up in your soils. Consider using well aged plant based compost instead.

Now...check your plant temps, and frost days and...enjoy planting! 

Have you seen my pet Gopher Snake?

Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer)

These snakes live in our area and they are a beneficial predator. Gopher snakes are muscular, long serpents that can be intimidating because of their size; however, but there’s little to fear because they are nonvenomous. In fact, they are important to keeping the rodent population in check and maintaining their local ecosystems.

  Physical characteristics

Gopher snakes are large, powerful snakes and typically reach lengths of 36-96 inches [3 to 8 feet]. Compared to other snakes of the same size, they have relatively large eyes with large, distinct heads with narrow necks. They often have two dark lines on their faces that go from the top of their head around either side of their eyes. Gopher snakes’ coloring can depend on their subspecies and location. Often their colors blend in with local vegetation. They range from cream to light brown and have dark blotches on their backs and smaller dark spots along their sides. They generally have light-colored bellies, sometimes with spots.
Gopher snakes are sexually alike, with both males and females being around the same size. They have keeled (ridged) scales.
One way to check if a snake is nonvenomous is by the shape of their eyes. Round eyes and a head shaped like this one pictured are the norm.

  Dietary and hunting habits

“Gopher snakes are nonvenomous constrictors. This means that they squeeze their prey to death. There are some common misconceptions about how constricting works. One is that constrictors crush or break the bones of their prey. Another is that they suffocate it, squeezing the prey’s lungs too tightly to work. “It turns out that the squeezing overwhelms the circulatory system. “Blood cannot get to the brain, and the animal dies within seconds due to ischemia.”
Gopher snakes feed on small mammals, birds, bird eggs, lizards and of course gophers. They actively seek out prey and often follow small mammals down their runways or burrows.

  Reproduction and lifespan

Gopher snakes mate during July and August. It is the only time of year they socialize. Females emit a chemical through their skin that draws males to them and stimulates mating behaviors. Males will mate with as many females as they can each year. Males sometimes engage in ritualistic wrestling for the female.
Gopher snakes are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs. Females sometimes lay two batches (called clutches) of eggs per season. Eggs incubate in nests, which are sometimes communal with other gopher snakes. After a 65-75 day incubation period, 2 to 24 young hatch and are instantly independent. Gopher snakes have no parental involvement after laying eggs. Babies are born 12-18 inches (30 to 45 cm) long and can be up to 3 feet (92 cm) long after one year.

Female gopher snakes reach sexual maturity between 3 and 5 years of age. Males reach it between 1 and 2 years of age. In the wild, they live up to 15 years. They have been known to live up to 33 years in captivity.

Range/ Habitat

 The gopher snake is one of the most widespread snakes in North America. Its range extends from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans, as far north as southern Canada, and as far south as Veracruz and southern Sinaloa, Mexico, including Baja California. This species occurs in a lot of different habitats, including prairies, conifer forests and deserts, but it seems most common in semi-arid brushy areas adjacent to farms. Gopher snakes tend to spend about 90% of their time living in underground dens or burrows and they probable hibernate there during the cold months. When it is warm out, we tend to see them sunning themselves on roadways and dirt lots, but give them space so they can do what they do best. Happy Gopher Snake Day.

  Taxonomy/classification

The taxonomy of the gopher snake,
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Bilateria
Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Infraorder: Alethinophidia
Family: Colubridae
Genus & species: Pituophis catenifer

Dale E. Anderson Memorial

photo taken by UI Brad Beckman

Last Saturday, Sheila Anderson from Trinity Community Gardens in Nampa, and Roberta Ireland, Advanced Master Gardener with Canyon County Extension planted a Colorado Blue Spruce in memory of Sheila’s husband, Dale E. Anderson.

December 23, 2017 marks the third anniversary of Dale’s passing. He is sorely missed by his church and master gardener communities.


Many of us knew and loved Dale. He was an Advanced Master Gardener with 23 years in the program, the last 10 being in Canyon County. His friends and team members remember his selfless, generous ways, sharing freely his years of careful research and knowledge.

Trinity Community Gardens

“Growing to Feed Many,” Nov. 2014, a compact, richly illustrated book in English and Spanish, on which Dale, Sheila and Paulette Blaseg collaborated, demonstrates how Trinity Community Gardens, Inc. gets more food from less space. All produce goes to local food pantries and soup kitchens.  (4,000 # this year). Paulette is an Advanced Master Gardener with Canyon County Extension.

Sheila & Paulette

Besides the garden and the book, Dale and his peers developed an educational course for raised bed gardening. For more information about the book and classes, contact Trinity Gardens

We in the Master Gardener community  are inspired to carry on Dale’s traditions of volunteering, giving generously and developing better food systems to feed the hungry.

A Great Untapped Resource

When working as a Master Gardener for the Cooperative Extension Service at public events, I am amazed at how many people do not know about the rich, untapped resource of their local county extension service.  Some, like me have childhood memories of mothers attending extension service club meetings, being involved in a local 4-H club, and extended family members entering lambs in the county fair.  However, many do not realize the practical information and the resources the Cooperative Extension Service provides and makes available to the public through individual counties.

            You may be asking what exactly the extension service is and what resources it provides?  The

inception of the United States Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service goes back more than 100 years. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 established informal education for agriculture and  rural businesses, thus creating an extension of learning through the land grant college system already set up in 1862, and fully funded in 1890.  Land grant colleges were colleges of agriculture and mechanical arts set up by individual states from proceeds of land sales that the federal government made available in those states.  For example, in Idaho, the land grant college was established in Moscow in 1889 and was named the University of Idaho.  It was the only university in Idaho until 1963.

            The Smith-Lever Act extended research-based education from these land grant colleges to the public in a more informal manner. Research-based information and print material was made available to farmers and ranchers, consumers, and families. Currently the U of I Cooperative Extension Service website demonstrates the diversity of information dispersed by the lead caption which states; "Growing the garden of your dreams? Preserving foods safely? Learning sound financial practices? Practical education you can trust." 

            The Information Age has increased the variety of formats and venues in which education is provided and information is accessed. Information is easily accessed through print, digital, and electronic formats, as well as traditional teaching methods.  A variety interactive and hands-on activities, teaching practical life skills are provided to youth and adults alike. Many great websites are available on the Internet and Facebook, including U of I Cooperative Extension website and individual county extension websites.  Programs are offered to the public through the Master Gardener program, local community service groups, 4-H clubs,  and partnerships with other state organizations, such as Idaho Fish and Game.

            To learn more about the Cooperative Extension Service in Idaho and to access information please refer to the links below:

University of Idaho Cooperative Extension Service:

https://www.uidaho.edu/extension

http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/links.asp

Canyon County Extension Service

https://www.uidaho.edu/extension/county/canyon

https://211idaho.communityos.org/zf/profile/program/id/846011    

 The USDA Cooperative Extension Service

https://nifa.usda.gov/extension

The Smith-Lever Act

https://nifa.usda.gov/history+