Spring Talk with Dr. Angela O'Callaghan

Tucked away behind The Ranch at the beautiful Floyd Lamb park, Dr. Angela O'Callaghan of the University of Nevada's Cooperative Extension gave a talk on spring and summer vegetable gardening this past Saturday at the Master Gardener's Community Garden.

If you've never heard Dr. O'Callaghan talk about veggies then you're missing out on a comically entertaining, as well as deeply informative, good time.

Whether you've been pondering the relationship between mycorrhizal fungi activity and root systems, or if you simply want to know how much real estate your artichokes will take up, you need to make it to one of her talks.

This was definitely a time for some good note taking.

Here are some of the highlights and answers to the great questions that she received:

• Fertilizer - Don't confuse your plants by sending mixed signals with improper fertilizing. In short, know your NPK. 
• N=Nitrogen=green leaves. P=Phosphorus=flowers and fruit. K=Potassium=roots.
• Potassium - This nutrient is essential for the movement of water from the roots to the stems and leaves so be sure not to overlook this nutrient.
• Pesticides- Go easy on them. Remember that chemicals do not have a brain and will not be discerning when killing things. You will be killing the good bugs with the bad ones. Use pesticides as a last resort and always read the label for proper applications. The label is the law.
• Aphids - Inspect your plants early and often to make sure you get a handle on these sucking pests. Not only will they damage your plants, but they can carry viruses that will be transmitted to your hard earned crop. Just like people, plants can't take anything to cure a virus. They either pull out of it or they die. Use a high pressure spray of water to remove the aphids or dilute a small amount of dish soap into a quart of water and spray the plant to assist in pulling them away from the stems and leaves. If you have an overwhelming infestation then you should pull the plant and make sure it goes into the trash, not the compost bin.

Severe aphid infestation on flowering kale plant.

• Squash bugs - (Everyone groans) Plant them late as a prevention. Think Fathers Day. Again, inspect your plants early and often. If you see one or two then you can easily pick them off and kill them. If you see the small golden eggs on the underside of the leaves make sure to destroy those too. If you missed the early boat and have more bugs then you can pick off, pull out the plant and throw it in the trash. Sometimes it's not worth the endless battle.

Angela also gave a run down of often overlooked summer veggies that are really easy to grow:

Sweet Potatoes

Asparagus (be patient and harvest the third year)

Melons

Okra

and of course the most popular:

Peppers

Tomatoes

Squash

Beans

Corn