cooperative extension

Heading into Thursday, June 27, 2019, there's plenty to do and see around the Carson City area as we march toward an action-packed weekend. There's a morning Muscle Powered walk, Food Truck Thursday at Mills Park, a Farmers Market in Dayton, a discussion on climate change at Western Nevada College, a history presentation on Chinese woodcutters at the Nevada State Museum, a presentation by the NNDA Executive Director at a GOP monthly meeting, Cruise Night at Wing Stop, an information meeting on the Ross Gold Park master plan hosted by Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space. Read on. There's more.

With a windy cool down headed our way, activities around the Carson City area Wednesday, June 26 will make for a breezy good time. Looking at the day ahead there's a walk hosted by parks and recreation, kids events, Wheeled Food Wednesday at the Brewery Arts Center, a free "rough cut" feature film screening at the Carson Nugget, Young Chautauquans at Dangberg Historic Park and more.

As we set our radar ahead to Tuesday, June 25, 2019, we say hello Carson City and welcome to a bevy of events ahead including activities for children of all ages, a Muscle Powered morning walk, evening hike and bike ride, a cyber security awareness workshop hosted by DeBug Computer, a job fair at the Carson Nugget, art showings, a delicious taste of France via Bleu Café Culinary Travelers Club and more. Read on for what's happening.

SILVER CITY, Nev. — A number of different groups sponsor an annual summer series of public events in historic Silver City. This summer, events include a free family-friendly concert by Kantu Inka, visits from award-winning visiting artists and writers, kids science and engineering activities, plus a floral design class, a coding workshop, lectures and more for adults and teens.

I bumped into my friend Cat at a nursery buying marigolds to solve a problem her lilacs were having. She said something was eating the leaves along the edges leaving sharp-edged cutouts. She said someone swore that marigolds planted around the base of the shrubs would solve the problem.

Heading into Tuesday, June 18, 2019 we're looking at continued warming around the region with a daytime high around 91. Temperatures are expected to actually lower toward the end of the week. Events around town Tuesday include a Muscle Powered walk, hike and bike ride, yoga, exercises for the mind and body hosted by the Carson City Emblem Club, political gatherings, art activities and more.

My friend Laura who lives in Southern Oregon is the best vegetable and fruit gardener I know. She makes excellent compost from fresh horse and chicken manures, which she combines with green vegetable, fruit and kitchen waste. She then turns it with her tractor. And, coming from a ranching family who grew their own food, she has an innate sense of how to garden successfully.

The Carson City Elk’s Club is hosting a special speaker on Tuesday, June 18 discussing mental and physical exercises that can make a difference in everyday life.

Carson City Emblem Club # 507 will present Lisa Taylor, Community Educator from University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Service to lead the discussion.

I’ve been noticing all the new seedlings coming up around the yard: Currants, Oregon grape, penstemons, sumacs, catmint, caryopteris, feverfew, hardy geranium and many more. I did not plant these; the birds did. The seeds spread in the wind or I accidentally spread seeds when deadheading.

Carson City University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, in partnership with Carson City Parks and Recreation and Friends of Silver Saddle Ranch, is offering two weekly sessions at Silver Saddle Ranch, 2648 Carson City Road in Carson City, for youth who are not able to keep or raise a small farm animal to experience working with either rabbits or goats. Area 4-H leaders will bring their animals for attendees, 9 – 14 years of age, to work with in these hands on day camps.

Our big birch has finally given up after decades of bronze birch borer and sapsucker damage. Rows of regular horizontal holes about a quarter-inch in diameter cover the trunk from bottom to top. These are caused by sapsucker woodpeckers drilling for sap in the tree. Initally, borer damage reduced the flow of water and food within the tree, causing limbs to die each year. The sapsucker feeding finally finished the tree off.

Visiting the garden today at The Greenhouse Project in Carson City, I was discussing perennial pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium, management with Cory King, the Project’s manager, farmer and educator. Controlling this noxious invasive weed organically is difficult.

May is Wildfire Awareness Month in Nevada and an appropriate time to discuss ways to protect your home and property. "Firescaping" is landscape design that reduces house and property vulnerability to wildfires. The goal is to develop a landscape with a design and choice of plants that enhance the aesthetics of the property while creating a defensible, survivable space around the home.

Gardener’s heaven! That’s what I feel when I visit a botanical garden. Last week we went to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens at Fort Bragg, California. It’s not simply the plants that put me over the top. It’s seeing what is done with the design: how the textures and shapes go together; how the colors are coordinated for complement and contrast.

My friend Marie was told recently it was illegal to harvest rainwater in Nevada. She was referring to putting large barrels under gutter downspouts to catch and store water running off a roof. Many people have done this for years, but actually it was illegal in Nevada until 2017.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is once again coordinating the collaborative efforts of federal, state and local fire services; public safety agencies; community organizations; and others to participate in Nevada Wildfire Awareness Month throughout May.

To grow strawberries successfully there are a few things to know: which type and variety to select, the correct growing conditions, how to rejuvenate a bed and how to protect those succulent fruits from the critters.

There are still six garden beds available for use this season at the Carson City Community Garden for residents who are interested in growing their own vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Carson Valley Middle School student Ana Marquez, from Minden, placed second in the National Radon Poster Contest, after taking home first place in the Nevada Radon Poster Contest. She competed against student winners from 10 other states and will receive $300 for her poster, “Radon: Test Your Home Now.”

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s 4-H will host its annual Capital City Farm Days this Thursday and Friday, April 11-12 at Carson City Fairgrounds, Fuji Park.

Last week I went to visit Greenhouse Garden Center in Carson City with my plant buddy Peggy. While a bit early for full inventory, they had some amazing hellebores. They are also called Lenten roses, because they bloom at the beginning of Lent.

Every viable seed is a mini-miracle of genetics and food supply, because each is a potential plant. Sometimes we take seeds for granted and simply buy any packet of seeds. With over 100 seed companies in the United States, there are many options.

I’m ready for spring and suddenly, after multiple snow and rain events, it’s here. However, the weather forecast is for more showers the remainder of the week. We've had more than six inches of rain at our house in February and March.

What the heck is hugelkultur? That’s what I asked my friend Will after he said he was going to try it. He had just finished cutting down a tree and had a load of branches and bark to get rid of. According to centuries’ old Eastern European and German tradition, it starts with no-dig raised beds made out of logs, branches, leaves, grass clippings, straw, cardboard, petroleum-free newspaper, manure, compost and/or other organic matter. Top this raised mound with soil and then it’s ready to plant.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s 4-H presents Capital City Farm Days, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., April 11-12 at the Carson City Fairgrounds and Fuji Park Exhibit Hall, 601 Clear Creek Road in Carson City.

There will be about 30 presenters teaching elementary-age youth about Nevada agriculture, where food and fiber come from, and environmental issues related to agriculture.

Supposedly, spring is less than two weeks away. As I sit here looking at the snow on the mountains and in the yard, I’m finding it hard to gear up my brain to think spring gardening thoughts. In some years, daffodils and forsythias would already be blooming. Instead, these cheery harbingers of spring have been delayed by lingering snow.

Carson City 4-H programs, brought to you through the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, have new and on-going project clubs open to area youth ages 5–18.

The purpose of all living organisms is procreation. In order to survive, creatures must create offspring. One way plants do this by making seeds. Seeds can result when pollen moves from the male anther to the female organ (stigma) of the same flower or a different flower of the same species.

Carson City Cooperative Extension’s Capital City Farm Days is set for April 11-12, 2019. This popular annual event for pre-K though 5th graders takes place at Fuji Park Exhibit Hall and Carson City Fairgrounds.

Good morning Carson City and welcome to Thursday, Feb. 28, the last day of the month. It was quite a ride as we stood strong with rain and snow, local events and welcoming the Nevada Legislature back into session. It isn't over yet. Read on as Elvis is at Carson City's door tonight. Then it is onward and upward to March.