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UC Gardening Blogs
A Gardener's Dream Day
On a hot and smoky Saturday, equipped with a NIOSH N95 rated respirator mask, and a garden hat, I drove to the 2018 Harvest Day in Fair Oaks. The event was hosted by the Sacramento UC Master Gardeners. They called it “A Gardener's Dream Day,” and they were right on.
There was plenty to see and plenty to do. All the different gardens were fabulous. I was especially drawn
n to the vineyard, particularly after I sampled at least 10 different grapes. I went home with my new favorite the ‘Black Monukka', a large, sweet and crisp purplish-black grape.
There were educational talks on various topics. I attended one on grape pruning. I've allowed my three grape vines to grow “wild” and they need to be trained so I can have space to grow more plants.
I also attended a talk on unusual edibles with names like Cucamelon (Melothria scabra), a vine native to Mexico and Central America, where it is called sandiita (little watermelon); and hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta), native to Japan, Korea, Northern China, and Russian Siberia. It produces a small fruit resembling the kiwifruit, but with smooth skin.
There were many garden-related vendors. I went home with a moisture meter that I won from a spinning prize wheel. One vendor gave me an irrigation riser with a spray mister that resembles a magic wand.
I also brought home a silk scarf I dyed myself with beet juice, decorated with different flowers and leaves.
The food was amazingly good and reasonably priced. I had a plate of delicious Ethiopian food served with the traditional injera bread, a flatbread made with yogurt. It was truly a gardener's dream day.
Get fall garden going with help from harvest fest
Growing plants in the off-season is easy, productive and beneficial to our native birds, bees and...
Why the Bohart Museum of Entomology Rocks!
The Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, rocks! Directed by Lynn...
Entomologist Joel Hernandez adds the finishing touches on a rock painted by his wife, Melissa Cruz, the outreach coordinator for the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What's a rock without a butterfly on it? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Isabelle Gilchrist, a second-year entomology major who staffed the family crafts activity table, displays a paint rock she created. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Members of Brownie Troop 3124 of Sacramento participated in the rock painting. In the foreground is leader Suzanne Enslow. The Brownies (from left) are Antonia Fedele-Mcleod, Adair Enslow, and Amelia Pacheco, all seven years old. At right is activity leader Isabelle Gilchrist, a UC Davis entomology major. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The family craft activity at the Bohart Museum of Entomology "rocked." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sarah Luckenbill, 5 of Davis, created this colorful caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sticky mess on plants
Are you seeing cars, sidewalks, driveways, or other plants covered in sticky stuff, especially...
Good Day for Two Open Houses Saturday, Sept. 22 at UC Davis
If you've often wished you could clone yourself to be able to attend two events on the same day at...
Watch out! A honey bee buzzes into the habitat of a praying mantis. Praying mantids will be exhibited Saturday, Sept. 22 during the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. UC Davis student Lohit Garikipati will display some of his mantids, including orchids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A potter wasp sips some nectar. Potter wasps will be featured at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's "Crafty Insects" open house. Their nests are works of art. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This image by Allan Jones of Davis is of a sweat bee, Halictus ligatus. It will be among his images on display at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven Sept. 22. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
