University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

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.

I'm a choc-o- holic. I love dark chocolate and think it should be considered one of the main food groups.

I saw an article on how chocolate is grown (and gets to my mouth) on CropLife.org.

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

Nevada's rural roots will be on display for school children to see next month in Carson City with the annual Capital City Farm Days, hosted by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension 4-H.

St. Patrick’s Day is here. The four-leaf clover is a well-known symbol of luck for the Irish and Irish fans everywhere.

While the three-leaf shamrock was a sacred plant to the Druids, Saint Patrick taught that it represented the Holy Trinity.

March Madness might just as well describe Nevada’s extremely variable weather this month. That’s why a nonprofit organization finds this an ideal time to recruit local citizens to collect weather data to help meteorologists better predict Nevada’s confusing weather.

The percentage of obese children in Nevada is rising, and nearly one-third of children entering kindergarten are considered overweight or obese. To help teachers and parents teach healthy habits to children before age 5, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension recently launched the Healthy Kids Resource Center website.

We have been waging a battle with gray tree squirrels getting into our bird feeder.

First it was bears, now it’s squirrels!

CARSON CITY — University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and the Nevada Section of the Society for Range Management are now accepting applications for the Nevada Youth Range Camp to be held June 17-23 in central Nevada’s Desatoya Mountains. Applications must be submitted by April 27.

We are back to winter with temperatures well below freezing at night. I have seen
daffodils in bloom already and people are asking, “Will my flowers freeze?”

The answer is, “It depends.”

Gardeners pay attention to weather, and hopefully are also aware of Nevada’s climate.

What’s the difference?

The Carson City, Storey County 4-H Program will offer a babysitting certification class March 26-30, 2018. These dates correspond with Carson City school district’s spring break and will give local participants the opportunity to be prepared sitters for the coming summer months.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension will hold the fourth annual Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities Conference next month in Reno.

Often, gardeners focus on the plants in their landscape. However, successful plants rely on healthy soils to support them.

In Northern Nevada, soils are extremely variable and can provide challenges for the gardener. Before any planting comes soil preparation.

CARSON CITY — University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and their Certified Master Gardeners offer free gardening classes in February and March. “Gardening in Nevada: The Bartley Ranch Series” is for anyone who wants to garden – those with big yards, small yards, or just patio or balcony space.

What gorgeous weather we are having with beautiful sunny, warm days. Buds on trees are swelling, daffodils and other bulbs are poking up their heads. I suspect if this weather continues, soon even the grass could be greening.

My friend Will asked me if I knew that the dawn redwood grew in Reno. I thought there was one at the University, but he had seen one at someone’s home. Since I couldn’t remember the scientific name, I looked it up: Metasequoia glyptostroboides.

CARSON CITY — As the number of families in Nevada being affected by bedbugs continues to increase, eight University of Nevada Cooperative Extension offices across the state will offer a free program Feb. 21 aimed at providing the most recent research-based information on prevention, detection and control measures.

The popular 4-H Fabric and Rummage sale returns to Carson City’s Fuji Park Exhibit Hall at 701 Old Clear Creek Road this weekend, Feb. 3-4.

On Saturday, Feb. 3, the sale is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Visit the sale days for great bargains; most fabric starts at a dollar per yard. Residents still have opportunities to donate unwanted, clean rummage items and fabric to 4-H.

Last week Cory, from The Greenhouse Project, and I were discussing if foliar fertilization of plants was effective. He regularly sprays compost tea and other organic fertilizers on the vegetables in the greenhouse.

Carson Valley Middle School eighth-grader Jacob Pipho, from Carson City, placed first in the National Radon Poster Contest, after taking home first place in the Nevada Radon Poster Contest. He competed against student winners from several other states and will receive $1,000 for his poster, “The Element of Surprise.”

The days have been sunny and have me thinking of spring and flowers. In some areas the daffodils are poking up already. I miss color at this time of year. Wouldn’t it be nice to have flowers outside in December? A friend Paul mentioned that witch hazel (Hamamelis) blooms in winter, an unusual feature for a plant, especially in Nevada.

CARSON CITY — University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, in collaboration with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, will offer a series of eight classes for those in the green industry beginning Feb. 1. The program benefits people wanting to enter the industry, beginners in the industry and established industry professionals.

I was recently reading a magazine called “Garden Design” that featured award-winning eco-friendly gardens. In it was a story by Louisa Jones about ecologist and landscape architect, Gilles Clément. He is renowned for his concept of the “Moving Garden.” It is a concept of biological gardening, the idea of working with, not against nature.

I love pistachios, so when I found out how nutritious they are, I was delighted.

Pistachios contain fiber, essential vitamins and minerals like B6, thiamin, copper, phosphorus and potassium. In fact, two ounces of pistachio kernels have more potassium than a large banana.

You may be one of the lucky ones in Northern Nevada with a yard or garden protected from the wind, but most gardeners battle regularly with gusts and gales.

While I don’t work with test tubes or petri dishes, nor do I paint or sculpt, as a horticulturist, I am a scientist and an artist. I am not only a horticulturist, but also a practicing active gardener. If you are also a gardener, you too are a scientist and artist because horticulture is a science and an art.

Much of my gardening life for most of the year is about doing: fertilizing, mowing, watering, raking, digging, transplanting and pruning. Now, with winter upon us, I have more of a chance to reflect on how the landscape actually looks as I sit in a sunny window watching the birds, the sun rise or set, the deer wandering through, or the weather blowing clouds around.

I’m so excited! I found surprises inside the ‘Fuyu’ persimmons we have been eating: seeds! Perhaps you have discovered seeds when you have eaten a persimmon, but I hadn’t. To non-gardeners, my enthusiasm may seem not only misplaced, but too geeky for words. But to my fellow gardeners, don’t you too sometimes get excited about starting something unusual from seed?