cooperative extension

Have you ever had one of those weeks? Well, thank goodness it's Friday. Carson City will help you decompress and forget your troubles. Students, K-12 and University, will enjoy the free swim day at the Carson Hot Springs. The Carson Nugget is turning into quite the downtown hotspot with a different headlining comedian each Friday, in addition to live music in two places. Check out their newest offering, the Beer Bar, during tonight's grand opening. So much more awaits you today, you'll just have to see what strikes your fancy.

FRIDAY:

Carson City is smoking hot when it comes to great things to do today. Capital City Farm Days takes over Fuji Park with information and presentations for area schoolkids. The Youth Strings Program is ready to dazzle you their Spring Fling Concert tonight at the Community Center. Photographer Fred Howland goes black and white at a special show at Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery. Join Sassafras in welcoming Country singer/songwriter Savannah King for a special one-night only show. You’ll want to keep reading, this is just a small preview of the day’s offerings.

THURSDAY:

Do you believe in magic? The Friends of the Carson Middle School Band Program hope you do and come out to enjoy an evening of illusion at the Community Center. Earth week kicks off at Western Nevada College with a clothing donation drive for Big Brothers and Sisters. Learn about various organizations, Carson City history and heritage, and enter the free raffle at tonight’s ‘Explore Culture and Diversity’ event at the Carson Library. Join the boys of J and M Productions for another fun night of karaoke at Caterpillar’s Hookah Lounge.

WEDNESDAY:

The VC Silver Bricks FIRST Lego League 4-H club began in the Fall of 2016 under the guidance of FLL Coach and 4-H leader Nicole Frens.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s 4-H's Capital City Farm Days in Carson City is set for April 20-21. There will be 28 presenters teaching elementary-age youth about Nevada agriculture, where food and fiber come from, and environmental issues related to agriculture.

Wendy Hanson Mazet, whose expertise is in horticulture, arboriculture, noxious weeds, vegetable gardening, and low water use gardening offers her expertise if you have any questions about your garden or landscaping. Swing on by if you have questions about any insects, bugs or plants.

Here at your local Cooperative Extension office come learn about the sustainable, local, healthy living practices of growing and preserving your own food. Attend one or all eight program classes offered via videoconference to our Cooperative Extension office.

The New Entrepreneur Network of the Hop and Mae Adams Foundation, together with the Carson City Library, will kick off the second Middle School Maker Camp during Spring Break, March 21-23, 2017.

Carson City/Storey County Cooperative Extension’s popular babysitting certification class will return to the office conference room March 20th and 21st.

The class is offered each year during the Carson City schools’ spring break. Class will be held in the Carson City Cooperative Extension office conference room, suite 15, at 2621 Northgate Lane. Hours for the class will be from 9-Noon March 20th and 21st.

The class this year has been condensed to only two days; 3 hours each day. Students attending the class should be at least 12 years-of-age.

With flooding possible in parts of northern Nevada Monday into Tuesday, residents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with what to do before, during and after a flood.

Organizers of the Carson City Fair are looking for volunteers and donors to help with this year’s event.

Organizers of the inaugural Carson City Fair are reaching out to the community for sponsors and donors of the mid-summer event making its debut at Fuji Park in July.

The topic of gardening can, at times, appear unchanging. Plant needs are consistent and basic: water, support, nutrients, sunlight and carbon dioxide. Seeds are generally planted in the same way. Maintenance doesn’t change much. How many ways are there to harvest a tomato, an apple or other delectable edible? However, since gardening is one of our most popular hobbies, it is big business.

Registration is open for the Northern Nevada Wildfire Awareness Multi-hour Trail Event hosted by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Living With Fire Program in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and Desert Sky Adventures. All proceeds from the race will be donated to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.

The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Office in Carson City will be closed Monday, January 9 due to inclement weather.

I was awakened last week out of a sound sleep by the windows rattling and the bed shaking violently. The wind chimes were going crazy. About 15 minutes later, it happened again.

Earthquake!

With flooding likely in parts of northern Nevada this weekend, residents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with what to do before, during and after a flood. The best local resource for information on flooding is the Nevada Floods website. Residents are encouraged to visit the website now, but here is some basic information.

Wendy Hanson Mazet, whose expertise is in horticulture, arboriculture, noxious weeds, vegetable gardening, and low water use gardening offers her expertise if you have any questions about your garden or landscaping. Swing on by if you have questions about any insects, bugs or plants.

If you would like to visit with Wendy or drop off samples she will be in the Carson City Office this Friday January 6th and Friday January 20th.

There has been a lot of talk this week about the 1997 flood. Twenty years ago, on New Year’s Eve Day, 1996, my Dad and I went goose hunting. We had set out our decoys and had a good early morning hunt, however, it started raining so we packed everything up, leaving the bags of decoys in a dry irrigation ditch.

I have often written that I find the world of insects and arachnids fascinating. This comes from the person who as a child was terrified of spiders. However, my fear disappeared and my appreciation grew once I starting studying them. I thought I would finish out the year discussing a new critter, well new to me anyway.

Wendy Hanson Mazet, whose expertise is in horticulture, arboriculture, noxious weeds, vegetable gardening, and low water use gardening offers her expertise if you have any questions about your garden or landscaping. Swing on by if you have questions about any insects, bugs or plants.

If you would like to visit with Wendy or drop off samples she will be in the Carson City Office this Friday December 30th.

Let your inner floral designer out and do some holiday bouquets. First, choose a container. Then decide what will hold the flowers in place. When I use a vase, I just put the flowers and greens in loosely. You can place clear marbles or pebbles in the bottom to hold the flowers.

Sometimes florists use a crisscross pattern of floral tape over the mouth of the vase to give stability to the arrangement. However, to make a French bouquet, a centerpiece or a one-sided arrangement, use floral foam in a low container.

Here’s another take on gift giving. Give a living Christmas tree in a pot that your gift receiver can plant in their yard after Christmas. If you give a tree, include these tips. While indoors, check the moisture content of the root ball daily. Water it when the top two inches of soil feels dry.

Carson City –– Area 4-H members are on the lookout for donations of fabric/sewing notions and clean, useable household items. Sewing notions, crafting items, sewing machines, etc. are all welcome donations. Donation Days drop off location this year will be at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Office, 2621 Northgate Lane, Suite 15, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 21 and 28. Please note the location change from previous years. If you have large items to donate, please call 887-2252 in advance.

About 25 years ago, I purchased a 1933 three-volume set of The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture by L. H. Bailey, also known as Liberty Hyde Bailey. First published in 1914, the set was “a discussion, for the amateur, and the professional and commercial grower, of the kinds, characteristics and methods of cultivation of the species of plants grown in the regions of the United States and Canada for ornament, for fancy, for fruit and for vegetables: with keys to the natural families and genera, descriptions of the horticultural capabilities of the States and Provinces and dependent islands, and sketches of eminent horticulturists.”

I am ready for a winter respite from gardening chores. The leaves have been raked. I cut back the lavender and other woody perennials. I fertilized the lawns. Now I need to winterize my tools. Are your tools cleaned and stored for winter yet?

I’m writing this before Thanksgiving and stores have been decorated for the holidays with their red, green, silver, gold and white HO HO HO wares for weeks now. Christmas is only a month away and Hanukkah begins December 24.

I’m often asked when the best time to prune fruit trees is. I pruned my crabapple and apple trees last week. I chose this time of year to prune them, not because it was optimum season for pruning, but because I couldn’t stand looking at all the ugly water sprouts (vertically growing small branches) sticking up haphazardly throughout the framework of the main branches. I see these trees from my kitchen window every day.

A reader, Pat, wrote me: We’ve lived here in Carson City for the past 13 years and this is the first year we’ve experienced an issue with black widow spiders. The fact is we had no idea they were here. But a month or so ago, I found one inside our house.

Douglas County and the State of Nevada are hosting an educational event to inform citizens on flood preparation and safety during Flood Awareness Week, Nov. 13-19, 2016. This year’s event will be held on Wednesday, November 16, from 2 pm to 7 pm in the North Room of the Douglas County Community and Senior Center.