Author: JoAnne Skelly

One of the things University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is known for is diagnosing plant problems. When people bring in samples, we examine them to see what the problem is and what might be causing it. It often surprises people that most plant problems don’t have a pest involved such as insects or diseases. With…

Disaster seemed imminent at the Carson City Community Garden recently. Tomato plants that had been lovingly tended with dreams of tasty fruit, started dying rapidly from the ground up. The master gardener volunteers Jocelyn and Don feared the cause might be the devastating disease late blight, which caused the Irish potato famine. We rushed samples…

Each year 48 million people are sickened with a foodborne illness due to fruit and vegetable production, commonly called “food poisoning.” Children and the elderly are more susceptible than adults are. Home, school and community gardens are at risk. Most illnesses that are linked to home and other gardens result from the use of raw…

If you live with only a small balcony or patio, or if you have a small yard, you can still compost. Even teachers in classrooms can compost. Compost is decomposed organic matter and can be one of nature’s best soil amendments and fertilizers. It feeds the soil, building it up into a wonderful medium in…

Just as aphid season is slowing down, a larger pest problem raises its lovely head – think Bambi! What do you do to prevent deer damage? Deterrents are the best deer management option. These include fencing, chemical or electronic deer repellents and scare tactics. The best deterrent, fencing, has high initial costs, but these costs…

It’s hot – but what else can we expect in July? Someone called the other day and wanted to plant a groundcover from seed this week. Since this person had recently located from cool San Francisco, I had to explain that July is the worst time for planting anything in most of Nevada, particularly from…

Carson City has some of the oldest ornamental trees in Nevada as I recently learned on the Carson City Historical Society Garden tour. The Crisler house on Minnesota boasts the oldest and largest black walnut tree on record in Nevada. The biggest boxelder tree in Nevada is at a Mountain street home. The Bicentennial Tree…

We are having a heat wave. High temperature records are expected to be broken throughout the area. Plants, particularly lawns, may suffer heat stress without proper care. With the extreme heat, lawns will need more water. To help your lawn survive the heat wave, you will want to reset your irrigation controller to provide the…

“My plants are covered with black bugs.” “My tree’s leaves are all curled up.” “There’s sticky goo under my trees.” These are a few of the comments I’m receiving. A reader named Patricia wrote “Is there a reason this year has been particularly bad regarding aphid infestations? We’ve often had trouble with them infesting our…