Most urban sites have some amount of mineral soil in place when the time comes to install plant material, yet these soils are often assumed – erroneously – to be unsuitable. Historically there have been two approaches to this…
Plants have a cellular pH of about 6.8. Coincidentally most plants like to grow in soil at about that same soil reaction. In much of the arid southwest our soils are neutral in pH (7) to slightly alkaline (7.5-8) and…
Pomegranate is a plant rooted in ancient history and mythology. It is native to the sandy or rocky scrublands of its Iran and the Himalayas in northern India to the Mediterranean regions of Asia, Africa and Europe, where it has…
Change is inevitable. With the rapid changes in technology and continued competition for natural and business resources, as a small business owner, you have to up your change strategy. It’s not a choice, its a prerequisite to success.…
As a kid, you might have dreamed of someday becoming a police detective, private investigator or even an archeologist exploring why dinosaurs perished from the earth. Life leads us on various paths, but some of us are fortunate enough to…
With the warm spring breeze, everything feels new, fresh and filled with promise. Unfortunately, this feeling won’t last forever. Soon, the weather will get warmer and people will start complaining about the heat. Seasonal allergies will hit with a vengeance, and…
The South American palm weevil (SAPW), Rhynchophorus palmarum, was discovered in a canary island date palm (Phoenix canariensis) in San Ysidro, southern San Diego County in March of 2016. Since then, nearly 150 additional canary island date palms have been…
Establishing a healthy stand of turf grass is a good start to keeping insects and weeds from becoming a problem in your home yard. However, even the most manicured and healthiest yards can have infestations of weeds and insects that…
Pomegranates are pretty in a number of ways. First of all – pretty hard to decide if they are a shrub or a tree! They are either a short shrub-like tree, or maybe a tall tree-like shrub. Mature plants have…
It’s a new year and things are more hectic than ever. We are all juggling work and home. Live and news is coming at us at warped speeds. It’s time to find our center. My focus this here will be…
