During his recent trip to Ventura County to work on tracking the movement of the Brown Widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, UCR entomologist, Rick Vetter discovered a spider never before reported in this hemisphere.

Rick is asking the Ventura County residents to help him collect more specimens for a paper he is currently writing on this find.  He expects that these specimens may well end up in either the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco or the American Museum of Natural History in New York because of the importance of this discovery.  Your work will become a part of entomological history!

Please refer to the image of the spider to help you identify any possible finds. Rick has noted, “The spider is chocolate brown in color and some females lose A LOT of the light marking on the abdomen.”

Toward this end, Rick is asking Ventura County residents willing to help him, to please:

Have a few amber prescription containers on hand.

Search in your yard for this new spider:

• under plastic patio furniture
• in the indentations under garbage cans
• under potted plants that are raised off the ground
• under picnic tables

If you suspect that you have found the spider, use a stick to carefully maneuver the spider into the amber prescription container.

Please place a piece of paper towel in the container so the spider has something to hold onto during transport but also enough space to move around some; perhaps a piece that doesn’t exceed 1/3-1/2 of the size of the container.

Please mark each specimen container with the following:

• Date and yard location of find
• Complete house address of find
• Your name and phone number

Please mail your live spider within one week or so of its collection, keeping it out of the heat in the meantime.  A padded envelope would be helpful.

Please send your specimens to:

One further note from Rick:  “the mature female is as large as a black widow and therefore, is large enough to inflict a bite; however, the effects of the bite are minor.”

Exotic Spider Discovered in Ventura County is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

So says Andrea Wulf of the L.A. Times.

She continues:

As America’s gardeners dig, plant, weed and grow lettuce, beans and tomatoes in their vegetable plots this summer, they are part of a tradition that harks back to the beginnings of the United States. Just by working on a compost pile this weekend, you’ll be in good historical company.

The first four presidents of the United States — George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison — were all utterly obsessed with manure and recipes for compost. Adams even jumped into a stinking pile when he was America’s first “minister plenipotentiary” to Britain in London in 1786. Teasing apart the straw from the dung (clearly not minding the muck on his hands), he declared with glee that it was “not equal to mine.”

Well, I like compost as much as the next guy, but there is a limit… This is a good read; read the full story here: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-wulf-gardens-20110529,0,4593400.story.

Our Founding Farmers… is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Please be observant in the garden and watch out for our garden snakes – please do not harm the garden snakes – they are our friends.

What do snakes eat? Gophers, squirrels and rabbits have been a problem at the Antonio Garden, which backs up to the brushy hillside. These creatures are also prey to the local snake population. I like snakes better than vermin…

Freeing a garden snake

A short while ago, Eileen found a gopher snake in distress and called for help. She was not sure of snake type, but thought it was a gopher snake; it was.

I used to keep a boa constrictor named ‘Panama’ and am not afraid of them so I went to help free the poor creature. It was trapped in a wad of the bird netting people are using in the garden to keep rodents out.

The net was cutting into the gopher snake’s scales and were keeping him/her from breathing. Eileen supplied a pair of scissors to cut away the mesh strands and then kept him occupied (or was taking this garden snakes photos) while I cut him loose.

Close Up of Gopher Snake Head

While we were working on freeing this one, Eileen mentioned the one in her Antonio Garden plot.

This garden snakes been there for a year, and it is getting bigger. Snakes are not vegetarians – this guy has been helping us restore the balance of nature to not too many rabbits and squirrels.

Last night I got a post from Greg D, which read:

I rescued a large gopher snake, tangled up in black mesh. I saw a snake in the shed the last time I came to the garden and this is the second visit in a row that I’ve seen a snake. Gophers bad, gopher snake good.

The reason the snake is in the shed is possibly from being trapped in there, but much more likely, he/she was after mice or other such pests. Garden snakes will go after the garden rodents and may be found any where. Today I got a report of still another sighting. Please watch your step, and look where you are reaching.

A word on local poisonous snakes:

know your snakes

There aren’t any to speak of. You will find rattlesnakes in the dry, hot, stony areas of the Coastal Range, Simi, Ojai, Santa Paula, but in 60 years of knocking about the hills have not encountered a single one in the Heights. The high number of gopher and king snakes (which do eat rattle snakes), our environment and the amount of development and agriculture probably accounts for that.

This is not to say you won’t run across a poisonous one, but your chances are slim in the garden.

Here’s how to tell what kind of snake it is

rattle snake differences

Here are two illustrations showing the differences. Primarily, look at the head – rattle snakes heads are much larger than the body, while gopher snakes are much smaller. King snakes heads are the same size as the body.

Body shape is much different, as are the scales. Rattle snakes appear to be rough skinned even from a distance. The ‘Keels’, or sharply raised ridges running the length of each scale are very noticeable. Gopher snakes are (sometimes) slightly keeled, but are generally simply curved. King snake scales are very smooth.

This page shows the varieties of gopher snake colorations you are able to find in the state, from almost black to almost yellow, but generally golden to dark brown in this area. While gopher and rattle snakes both have diamond-like patterning, the scale of the patterns is larger on the rattler.

king snake showing 'red and black'

The other common snake in this area is the king snake, which comes in two distinct variations. The California king snake (lovingly detailed and documented on this page) comes in two varieties, striped and banded. The striped ones I see are chocolate brown, almost black with a yellow racing stripe running their length. The banded variety is shown in the two links above are somewhat less common (at least where I live 1/4 mile from the garden) is sometimes found with red banding, and is often confused with a coral snake, which does not occur here. The kings’ color have red and black stripes adjacent to each other while the coral snakes banding has red and yellow stripes adjacent (“Red & Black, venom lack, Red & Yellow, kill a fellow” – 30s Boy Scout Handbook).

Don’t get bit!

Gopher snakes are constrictors and are not venomous, but they do bite. They can strike a surprising length if startled or they feel threatened (like when you reach for them). They do not have fangs, and the teeth are too short to penetrate all but the thinnest skin, but the teeth point backwards and once they bite can be tenacious in hanging on.

If you do get bit, lift the upper jaw of the snake off of you, then peel away the lower jaw, and try not to harm the creature while you do it. Treat the bite with antiseptic or alcohol swabs – snakes have very poor oral hygiene…

Yes, I said they were constrictors, and that they bite. Constrictors need to hang onto their prey while they coil around it, and their teeth do this. The saw-like shape also allows them to eat prey many times their size. They ratchet their way around the animal after it is deceased.

A final note on the bird netting… I worry that it is counter productive. I have removed numerous lizards trapped in netting like Eileen’s snake, but none of them survived. I also doubt the effectiveness of the soft netting in keeping out rodents. I feel 1/2″ wire mesh from the supply big box, which can be formed into durable cages, is much more effective in protecting your crops and the garden pet who are helping us.

Gopher snakes will also buzz their tails on the ground and hiss. The tail shaking may be mistaken for rattling, but notice the sharp pointed tail without the buttons.

What to do if you encounter a snake in the garden

Don’t panic. It won’t pursue you, doesn’t care to be around you and will leave.

If you find trapped garden snakes and need help, call me at 207 4457 – I am less than 5 minutes away.

Garden Snakes is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

One of our more active garden members, John, is a bee-keeper. Last year, we tried to establish a hive in my orchard area. Competition from the black Argentine ants drove off two different hives. Since we were trying to get them established, I was particularly observant of bees this year.

With the exceptionally long, wet winter we’ve enjoyed, we re up to our knees in new growth, and the gardens are alive with new life. Actually, the Shen Gi’ Ku – edible Japanese Chrysanthemum – is already more than shoulder high – so I guess this organic stuff must actually work…

Among all the new life, I have seen quite a number of native solitary bees in the area. These ‘solitary’ bees are not hive dwellers, but rather live (mostly) solitary lives. With no hive to defend, they tend to be non-aggressive. There are 1,600 varieties of native bees in California and these contribute greatly to crop pollination. Reportedly, they are responsible for more pollination than the European honey bee, which is suffering a serious decline.

I have found a large increase in the number of ground dwelling bees here on my property. These bee ‘houses’ are ~1/4″ diamter holes on the ground with a mud-walled tube extending 1/2″ to 3/4″ above the soil surface. The bees can be seen entering and leaving these tubes.

Although I have not kept an accurate count, it appears there are more native bees active in my gardens, orchards and native plant areas than there are European honey bees. You can help these native bees survive by making housing available for their use.

‘Bee Blocks’ are wooden 4×4 blocks drilled with random sized holes 1/4″ to 3/8″ diameter. More sophisticated housing feature rolled parchment paper linings cut to size, rolled and slid into the tubes. The following year, these are removed and replaced to give clean fresh housing to the next generation of bees.

The finished blocks are attached to posts, tree trunks or other low-level location. Bees will find and use these, bringing a new dimension of wildlife to your garden.

Here is an informative article on How To Make A Solitary Bee House.

This ANR News Blog, Backwards is the New Forwards, has an interesting update on the colony decline issue…

(The following article is reprinted with permission of the author, Kimberly Benedict, Cortez Journal Staff Writer)

Native pollinators

Researchers study relationship between local bees, plants

Research into the relationship between native bee populations and native plants and grasses is poised to have an impact in Montezuma County.

The research is focused on domesticating bees native to the Four Corners, rather than the more common honey bee.

“Honey bees are not a native bee,” said Bob Hammon, area extension agent with Tri-River Area Colorado State University Extension office, based in Grand Junction. “Most people assume that when you talk about bees, you are talking about honey bees. But there are hundreds and hundreds of native bees in the area.”

The bees studied by Hammon and U.S. Department of Agriculture researcher Jim Cane, based in Logan, Utah, have a wide range of characteristics, but all vary greatly from honey bees.

“Honey bees are a social bee,” Hammon said. “They have a queen and a colony. The other bees are solitary bees, and many are ground-nesting bees.”

A major difference between the two types of bees is in the use of pollen. Honey bees gather pollen to make honey. Other native bees use collected pollen as a food source for their larvae, turning the pollen “into the next generation of bees,” Hammon said.

Honey bees were brought to the United States by immigrants travelling from Europe and Asia, according to Hammon. The species has been domesticated for centuries.

“Native bees tend to be ignored,” he said. “There are only a few species that have been domesticated, but they are absolutely essential. All they do is pollinate, and without pollinators we wouldn’t have our native plants. They are really important and fascinating to study.”

Hammon has been studying the impact of native bees on seed production at the local farms of Southwest Seeds, owned by Walter Henes, for the better part of a decade.

“We’ve been surveying native bees with Walter for quite a few years,” Hammon said. “We’re looking at the pollinators and what species of native bees are necessary to set seed. It has been a really successful project, and it has been good to see it thrive in Montezuma County.”

New native bee studies have been undertaken to specifically correlate with needs expressed by the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The two federal agencies are working to generate commercial amounts of native seed for grasses and wildflowers that can be used to reseed areas that have been destroyed in wildfires. Finding the right balance of plant and pollinator is essential for producing large amounts of seed.

“My part of the project is to understand the pollination needs of the wildflower the BLM and forest service wants to put in production,” Cane said. “We are looking at that so pollination is not the weak link.”

Cane is specifically working with a species of bee known only by its Latin name, “Osmia sanrafael.” The bee is ideal for the domestication study due to its solitary nature and ability to be moved from one location to another.

“It is not a social bee, and that is good,” Cane said. “We can manage it in nesting straws and move it around from field to field.”

The purpose of the project is to find a practical means of providing stable pollination for native grass and flower growers in the Four Corners, Cane said.

“We are really trying to find something really practical,” he said. “You have to be sure you have the right bees present. There is a real wide range and list of flowers we are using to see how it works with the bee.”

Hammon and Cane are looking for producers in Montezuma County who would be interested in experimenting with the bees. The county is an excellent case study for the project because many of the grasses and flowers federal agencies are interested in are native to the area.

“A number of the plants are in your area,” Cane said. “One of them is the firecracker penstemon, and then you also have northern sweet vetch. There are so many species in Montezuma County.”

Candidates for the research project would have a degree of familiarity handling bees, according to Cane.

“We are looking for people who would be successful in multiplying them,” he said. “Specifically, we are seeking those who have had experience managing another genus (of bees). We want to put these bees in the hands of people who have managed bees before and understand the biology.”

The benefits of the bee project could extend beyond individual growers in the county, Cane said.

“If we can get a few of these native species on the landscape, we would be successful in feeding a big part of the native bee community,” Cane said. “It would benefit the entire landscape of the Four Corners.”

For more information, contact Hammon at 970-244-1838.

Reach Kimberly Benedict at kimberlyb@cortezjournal.com and to read the original article, please see http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20110301/NEWS04/703019959/Native-bees-have-impact-in-county

Notes on Native Bees is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

The coming of Spring is based on the Celestial events, namely the simultaneous arrival of EarthDay, Easter, and the Weed Abatement Notices…

Camarillo’s EarthDay Celebration

Ruby and Piper Get Ready For Plant Sale

EarthDay Camarillo 2011 was a huge success with 54 vendors and over 1,200 visitors. Check out our videos of EarthDay, and also check out the EarthDay Photo Gallery.

Jacky Wallace reports over $100 came from the plant sale. Ruby and Piper may have found their calling…

Ours thanks go out to all our sponsors who helped us make this day a success. Both our sponsors and vendors brought many new and interesting products and ideas.

We learned about solar options and local training programs teaching energy efficient practices.

(Aside: I found this article interesting: Solar Panels Increase Home Value

A study by Berkeley National Labs has found that homes sold in California earned a premium for solar panels. The benefit ranged from $3900 to $6400 per kW of capacity.

An earlier study found that proximity to solar or wind power may also raise home values. These results contradict the arguments based on degrading home values used by putative NIMBY (Not In My Back-Yard) opponents to installing or living near such energy-generating equipment. Read the original article HERE )

We learned about organic gardening while we sampled fresh, organic produce grown at local farms, and ate health-consciously prepared Mexican food (yes, it can be done – and it tasted great!).

Local Farm-Fresh Organic Produce

Two of our long-term partners in establishing our first garden, Agromin and Camarillo Plumbing and Paint, were there and represented two opposite ends of conservation practices.

Since we had food vendors and baked goods, we were required to package a lot of consumable goods. With over 1,200 people there, the clean up could have been over-whelming. I am happy to report, we were very, very good…

I received this report from Nels, who was part of EarthDay, planning, executing and cleaning up:

Nels writes:
One thing I would like to run by you concerns waste the event generated. I had it in the back of my mind and took a photo of the total trash generated and also the recycling “trash”. I took the latter home – it galled me to think of bags with “recycle” signs still attached sitting in stuffed dumpsters – and I separated it out…and took photos. Basically – 5 bags of “recycle” reduced to about a kitchen trash-bag size of refuse, 2/3 of a home-size blue recycling can, and 20 lbs. of recyclable plastic and aluminum which netted the Garden $4.40.
My best guesstimate is the event overall had about 1,200 people over the complete course of the day. The venue was spotless when we left, 11 bags of “trash” generated, and that we reduced to about 6 of refuse through recycling.

Springtime Garden Calendar is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Plant Your Garden And Grow Cash for Camarillo Community Garden!

Buy your garden seeds from Renee’s Garden Seeds and 25% of the order value will be donated to Camarillo Community Gardens.

Here’s how it works:

Simply go to www.reneesgarden.com and choose from the wide selection of seeds for heirloom and gourmet vegetables, cottage garden flowers and culinary herbs, special seed collections and great kitchen garden cookbooks.

At check out, just enter the code FR442A in the coupon code box on the checkout page, and that’s it!

Renee’s Garden will send a year-end check to Camarillo Community Garden for 25% of all orders who use this fundraising code. Code expires December 31 each year.

This is a year-round, on-going fundraiser, so order regularly for spring, fall and holiday gifts. Spread the word to your friends and family!

A Note From Renee Shepherd

I am excited to be partnering with Camarillo Community Garden to grow cash donations for your new community garden through our fundraising program. Here’s a little background about my seed company:

At Renee’s Garden, I offer only the varieties that are very special for home gardeners, based on great flavor, easy culture and exceptional garden performance. This seed line is my personal selection of time-tested heirlooms, the best international hybrids and fine open-pollinated varieties.

I harvest and use the vegetables and herbs in my kitchen to choose the most delicious, and cut the flowers for bouquets to select the finest colors, forms and fragrances. Our varieties are tested and guaranteed for every major US climate zone.

Our individually written packets offer beautiful watercolor portraits, with personally written descriptions, complete growing instructions, a quick-view planting chart, growing tips, harvesting information and cooking ideas.

Inside you’ll find superior quality seed–the top germinating, reliable seed usually reserved for specialty growers.

Renee’s Garden is my practical way to spread the joy of gardening as a meaningful, productive and satisfying activity that connects us to each other and the earth. Please join me!

6060A Graham Hill Rd., Felton, CA 95018 www.reneesgarden.com

Renee’s Garden Sponsorship is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Photo Gallery 1 is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

First, Eileen and the rest of  the EarthDay committee take the stage and receive a proclamation of the Mayor for presenting the City with its 2nd Annual EarthDay Celebration.

First, Eileen and the rest of the EarthDay committee take the stage and receive a proclamation of the Mayor for presenting the City with its 2nd Annual EarthDay Celebration.

Next up, local school teacher Becky Kasper, from Las Colinas Middle School in Camarillo wins a Smart Car from the Earth Day Coalition. Becky was honored for her teaching school children about the environment, recycling and conservation. Becky, thank you so much. We all owe you a round of applause. It is our honor to have you as part of our community.

Then came Earthday…

Don And Jacky Wallace saw it like this…

And how I saw it…

Garden Presents “EarthDay 2011″ is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

One thing that many southern Californians neglect is an edible home landscape. Adding fruit trees and edible landscaping brings you food of course, but it also provides food and habitat for native wildlife, provides shade, reduces noise, and helps brings a sense of quite to our lives.

The site opens with an examination of many benefits of home orchards. This examination also includes the work involved as well as the rewards. This is an important consideration if you have never grown your own in the past. Is this really for you?

The section The Big Picture is a complete education in itself. From the basics of climate and how that relates to different fruits, all the way through successful production. It lays all the material out so it is easy to locate just the articles you need.

The site is packed with  information such as detailed looks at 2 dozen types of fruit and nut trees for the home orchard, including berries, citrus, loquat, persimmon and pomegranate.

The site also covers the basics of site selection and considerations, tree selection, propagation, planting, care, irrigation, pests, diseases, pruning, training, harvest and more…

For more information like this, be sure visit the University of California Garden Web.

Backyard Orchard On-Line Help is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Minutes

Thursday February 17, 2011

at Pleasant Valley Recreation & Park District

1605 E. Burnley St., Room 3, 6:30 PM

CALL TO ORDER

Meeting called to order at 6:30 PM by Eileen Mannion.

ROLL CALL OF THE ACTING BOARD – All present

Eileen Mannion – Chair

Don Wallace – Vice Chair

M. Jaqueline Wallace – Vice Chair

Judith A. Lautenschleger – Treasurer

Marilyn Gardner – Co-Secretary

Ellie Valianos – Co-Secretary

Lisa Cordova Schwarz

AGENDA ADOPTED as written.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING HELD JANUARY 27, 2011 AT 6:30 PM

Minutes approved as written.

PRESENTATION BY EILEEN OF MEMBERSHIP PACKETS & 501c3

• Camarillo Community Gardens has officially begun the process of becoming a non-profit, 501c3 corporation with the assistance of the original filers, Lisa Schwarz and Don and Jacky Wallace AND the assistance of our lawyer, James Devine.
• We must fulfill certain expectations in order to be compliant and be recognized as a non- profit. This includes having membership, signed waivers, Bylaws to be adopted by the members and so forth, IN ORDER to be able to apply for grants and funds, sponsorships, etc and have them be legally tax-deductible by the benefactors.
• Reviewed the packets for each garden member. (Plot Application, Annual Membership Agreement, Plot Maps with Names, Waivers, Garden rules, Expectations (volunteering) volunteer opportunities)

MEETINGS- Utilizing Roberts Rules to conduct meetings.

GARDEN WORKDAY – Saturday, February 19 at 9:00 AM

Bob & Carol Foster will take the lead. Sign in when you arrive.

List of projects:

• Weed
• Distribute wood chips on garden paths and between beds
• Trim Hedges along left sides
• Move bales of hay along front of the garden
• Chicken wire areas where the squirrels are getting into the garden

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS, GROUP DISCUSSION

• Question was asked on potted plants in the garden.  Potted plants are okay in the garden as long as they are in your garden and in good condition (pots and plants)
• Composting: Thank you to Karl Elwell and John & Helen Riley.   No succulents please in the compost bins.  Compost drum can take food items.  Add hay and then mix.  After composted, add to the final compost bin for distribution.
• Plant Protection:  Bird netting is okay as long as you keep it out the walkways.  It can be a tripping hazard.  Cages for seedlings – Wayne Richtler constructed cages for seedlings and moves them around the garden.  Also hardware cloth or other forms of metal fencing materials as long as it’s contained in your garden and not in the pathways.
• Plot 6b, Clark Burroughs reports that his plot has been cleared and ready for planting.
• United Methodist Church in Oxnard has seedlings available, if we are interested.  Contact Lisa Cordova Schwarz.
• New lock will be purchased for the garden.  Same combination

ACTION ITEM: Move squirrel traps to the top of the garden and bait them.

FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE

• Seeking members for our Fundraising Committee. Open for discussion.
• Ideas such as stone pavers with inscriptions.
• Stone garden benches.
• Renee’s seeds - 25% off seed packets to garden members.  Simply go to www.reneesgarden.com and choose from the wide selection of seeds for heirloom and gourmet vegetables, cottage garden flowers and culinary herbs, special seed collections and great kitchen garden cookbooks. At check out, just enter the code   FR442A in the coupon code box on the checkout page, and that’s it!

CAMARILLO EARTH DAY – Sponsored by Camarillo Community Gardens

Sunday, April 17, 2011 – 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Website: www.earthdaycamarillo.com

Email: earthdaycamarillo@gmail.com

• Advertising in the City Scene (cover), Camarillo Utility bill insert, and other publications.
• Vendors/Exhibitors – Earth friendly exhibitors and food vendors
• Silent Auction (donations needed contact Jackie Wallace)
• Live Music
• Kids activities
• And much more.
• Help needed contact Eileen Mannion at earthdaycamarillo@gmail.com

NEXT MEETING – Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 6:30 PM at Pleasant Valley Recreation & Park District,  1605 E. Burnley St., Room 3.  Questions or agenda items should be directed to the board’s chair, Eileen Mannion at hieillen11@yahoo.com

MEETING ADJOURNED at 7:26 PM.

Respectfully submitted by,

Marilyn Gardner

Secretary

Camarillo Community Gardens

February Meeting Minutes is a post from: Community Gardens Blog