cooperative extension

Tomorrow is the big day, but today offers a sneak preview if you’re willing to drive a little. Every year the town of Kings Beach, on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, gets a head start on the festivities with a July Third Beach Bash and Fireworks Show. The Dayton Senior Center celebrates the holiday today with a BBQ, Cake Walk, BBQ and activities for all ages. The Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada gets in the patriotic swing during this week’s Storytime Adventure program: the Fourth of July is today’s theme.

TUESDAY, July 3: Things to do in Carson City

SILVER CITY, Nev. — Jim Barcellos of University Nevada Cooperative Extension will offer science fun on both July 3 and July 10 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Silver City School House community center. The activities are free and all children ages 8-12 and their parents are welcome to the free events. Parents are asked to stay and join in the fun and help with clean up.

Now that it’s summer, you may be asking the age-old gardening question, “To fertilize or not to fertilize?”

Plants do need nutrients to not only maintain existing leaves, roots, flowers or fruits, but also to develop new ones.

But is this the time to fertilize?

Sticky, drippy aphid goo covers the plants under my ash trees.

Aphids insert their sucking mouth parts into a leaf and draw the sap out to feed as if they are sucking through a straw.

They pull out so much ‘juice’ from a plant, they can’t absorb it all. The excess is ejected out two pipes on their hind ends called cornicles.

My friend Jose asked me if he sprayed cheatgrass would it sterilize the seeds. He hoped if he applied an herbicide before weed-eating, it would kill the seeds, which were going to be spread all over as he cut.

The answer, unfortunately, is “no.”

Spores inoculating roots sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. Yet a healthy soil contains multitudes of fungal spores that establish relationships with the root systems of plants. These relationships are beneficial to plants and are called mycorrhizae (myco=fungus, rhizae=roots).

Managing weeds, particularly with chemicals, is more complicated than most people realize.

A neighbor was spraying cheatgrass recently. He didn’t realize that with the cheatgrass already going to seed and turning brown, his use of chemicals was ineffective and costly in time and money. The seeds will still spread, and he will still have to mow or weed-eat the dead plant residue.

The annual Carson City Fair — a combination of carnival, agriculture, local exhibits and entertainment — is returning to the Nevada state capital July 25-29, 2018 at the Fuji Park Fairgrounds.

CARSON CITY — John Christopherson has been named Deputy Administrator of Operations for the Nevada Division of Forestry, the state's forester and fire warden announced Thursday.

Whether light lavender, dark purple or even white, I love the color and scent of common lilac, Syringa vulgaris. I often see bushes densely covered in blossoms, yet my lilac bushes are sparse with few blooms.

Participants in the annual Battle Born Trail Series: Fire Up for Firefighters Multi-Hour Event in Washoe County raised $5,823.40 for the Nevada Local Assistance State Team Program, also known as Nevada LAST.

Storey County Silver Bricks 4-H Robotics First Lego League club packed their year establishing goals and assisting other First Lego League teams.

Soon it will be time to thin excess fruit on fruit trees according to my fruit tree guru, Michael Janik.

He writes “Thinning is an essential step in producing larger, tastier fruit and will also help prevent damage from insects.”

We’re in for another gray day, but that won’t affect the fun to be had. Bike to Work Week always ends in a big bash. Head down to McFadden Plaza, even if you didn’t take the challenge personally. You’ll find live music, raffles, bike games, and too much fun. Western Nevada Musical Theater Company returns for another weekend of Singin’ in the Rain at the Bob Boldrick Theater. Antsy McClain and the Trailer Park Troubadours are waiting to entertain you at the Brewery Arts Center. There may be some balcony seating still available, but tickets are very limited.

Farmers, ranchers and gardeners everywhere face many of the same challenges: Weeds growing in unwanted places, critters digging holes and insects eating plants. To help producers better understand and overcome these common struggles, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension presents “Weeds, Critters and Insects in the Landscape and Garden,” May 29 at the CVIC Hall in Minden.

May is Nevada Wildfire Awareness month. University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and the fire agencies across the State are asking people to prepare their homes and communities to reduce the risks of a wildfire.

My friend Paul suggested writing an article on windbreaks.

The basic premise for a windbreak is that a vertical element, whether trees, shrubs or fences, or any combination of those, placed perpendicular to the direction of the prevailing wind affects the movement of the air.

RENO, Nev. – As millions across the country tune in to watch the Derby horses burst out of the gate this Saturday, many northern Nevadans will be joining them, including students in the recently resurrected Nevada Equestrian Team, a University of Nevada, Reno club sport that went bust about 10 years ago.

I just returned from visiting beautiful gardens filled with amazing tulips, pansies, flowering cherry trees and many other lovely blooms.

They are the Crystal Hermitage Gardens located on the outskirts of Nevada City.

Residents of local northern Nevada communities are encouraged to help keep their neighborhoods safe from wildfires by participating in “Junk the Junipers" on May 12 with drop off locations in Washoe Valley and Silver Lake.

The Great Basin Basket Farm Share Program delivers to Northern Nevada! Come join Fallon Food Hub Director, Kelli Kelly, April 25 at 6 p.m. at Cooperative Extension, 2621 Northgate Lane, to learn how to purchase farm direct produce and support local farmers. Great Basin Basket now delivers farm shares to Carson City, Minden, Fernley, Sparks and Reno.

It’s mid-April and lawns are starting to green up. I forgot to do my fall fertilization in October, and the grass really needs a
boost. There are weeds, especially clover, invading thinner areas of the lawn.

RENO, Nev. – University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is offering free landscaping trainings taught in both Spanish and English. The workshops are designed to enhance employability skills and increase job retention.

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.

In this week's It's Your City, host Cortney Bloomer sits down with Sandy Wallin of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, which is hosting Capital City Farm Days this Thursday and Friday at the Carson City Fairgrounds and Fuji Park Exhibit Hall.

I’m sad. I just had an old birch tree removed.

After babying the sickly thing for years, I finally gave in and had it cut down.

The tree was here when we moved in 30 years ago and it didn’t look great then. It never really grew.

Why did it die? Bronze birch borers had infested the tree and it never recovered.

School-age youth will be showing their project animals at the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center during University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Washoe County 4-H Livestock Show, 9 a.m., April 15.

I recently pruned my apple and crabapple trees. It’s easier to prune with no blossoms or leaves. You can see the direction of the branches and buds, and the location of the water sprouts.

Kids to Parks Day is a national event hosted by the National Park Trust with the mission of bringing outdoor education and recreation to youth via local parks. Carson City's Kids to Parks Day will be at Silver Saddle Ranch Saturday, May 19 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature:

Last year I wrote, “We are told to bring nature inside. Houseplant gardening is back, just like in my hippie days,” citing www.gardendesign.com 2017 trends.

I admit I haven’t been a fan of houseplants, other than cacti and succulents, for many years. I got tired of watering, trimming, fertilizing, repotting and dusting.