Rita's Monthly Gardening Tip

August 2008 - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The rumor around the playground is that the green ladybugs are poisonous. When in trouble, danger or doubt run in circles, scream and shout. Before you grab for your bottle of Acme Kill Everything in Sight Bug Spray let’s rewind, unwind and examine this morsel of gossip being spread around by our young entomologist friends.  First, who are these green ladybugs?  It appears that the wonderful ladybug that we all know and love has an evil cousin.  The ladybug is also known as a ladybird beetle.  The not so nice family member is a common garden insect called a Western spotted cucumber beetle.  This beetle is a bad bug that chews on garden crops such as cucumbers, squash and corn.  It does look similar to a ladybug but is green rather than red.  Although this beetle is not beneficial to the garden, it is indeed not lying in wait for you, to bite you with its poisonous venom.  It only bites plants.  In some areas of the country, it is more of a garden pest than others.  In our neck of the woods if your garden is healthy, your plants will be able to sustain some damage and still provide you with a plentiful crop.  If you suspect a cucumber beetle of doing damage to your crops, first make sure you can positively ID the suspect in a line up.  There are different cucumber beetles in different parts of the country.  So make sure your plan of action is gentle to the earth by being specifically geared toward the right pest.  So to clear the ladybugs virtuous name: Ladybugs are good, cucumber bugs are bad and rumors are ugly.

Enjoy the helpful monthly tips on the Farm's website, "Rita's Monthly Gardening Tip".  Farmer Rita, aka Rita Leroy, has been an educator with VCUSD for years.  Rita Leroy holds a B.S. Horticulture from Kansas State University (Go Wildcats!), and a Masters in Education from the California State University East Bay (expected 2009).  

The Greenhouse at Loma Vista Farm. The greenhouse is 30 foot wide by 120 foot long and is the heart and soul of the Farm's horticultural educational program. All the plants grown at the Farm are started by seed or propagated from stock plants here in the greenhouse. People of all ages and abilities take part in educational activities. Even as young as kindergarten, they quickly become experts at transplanting seedlings into pots. They learn to identify the plant parts, roots, stems and leaves and gently set the small seedling into their hole and tuck it in.

The adult transition program turns the Farm into another form of education, which is job training. Every week these students work in the greenhouse potting up plants, following through on the details from set up to clean up. This work provides them with job experience that will assist them in finding future employment to gain increased independence when they graduate.

Continuing the Farm's educational goals, each year the new 'crops' of Solano County Master Gardeners are taught plant propagation and composting in the greenhouse by Farm staff.

The plants created are used for the Farm's garden and landscape. Many are also available for sale any time during normal Farm open hours. There are flowers, vegetables, herbs, succulents and houseplants for sale at reasonable prices and all proceeds go back into the greenhouse program. Continuing the growth of eager learners.

Loma Vista Farm announces gardening classes for you that focus on the connections between healthy plants, soil and most importantly, you!

Gardening Workshops

March 14, 2008 - Healthy Soil for Healthy Plants
Get your garden off to a good start by learning how to create and maintain a soil that makes gardening easy.
When the soil disappears, the soul disappears.  ~Ymber Delecto

May 9, 2008 - Accessible Gardening
Learn how to garden in ways that increase your physical ability to reach your plants and to make better use of small gardening spaces.  This class will help people of all ages and abilities learn techniques that enhance your ability to garden.

WENDELL BERRY:
One of the most important resources that a garden makes available for use, is the gardener's own body. A garden gives the body the dignity of working in its own support. It is a way of rejoining the human race.

July 11, 2008 - Weeds, Disease and Bugs! Oh my!
Every bug, weed and flower in your garden is interconnected to the environment you live in.  Learn how to grow a healthy garden by using less toxic methods to make the good better and the bad less of a concern.

The old Lakota was wise.  He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too.  ~Chief Luther Standing Bear

Sept 12, 2008 - Grow Yourself Healthy
Learn how to grow nutritious vegetables year round that will keep your family healthy.
He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything.  ~Arabic Proverb

Nov 14, 2008 - Plant Propagation
Learn how to take cuttings, divide and other methods of improving the health of your plants while making more to share.

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.  ~John Muir

Classes are held at Loma Vista Farm from 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.  Limited seats are available.  Please call or email at least one week ahead of class to register, or earlier.  Suggested donations are $5.00 per person per class.

Coming Soon

What's in "The Greenhouse" this month! - Under Construction!
Loma Vista Farm's Garden Recipe for this Season! - Coming Soon!