The Real Dirt

It's peak season for fruits and vegetables from now through September: peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches, apricots, plums, berries the list goes on and on.

Whiteflies are small, white-winged, low flying insects that flit erratically when disturbed. Ten species are common in California. Whiteflies feed on many crops, weeds, ornamentals, shrubs and trees, including citrus. As one host plant dries up or is harvested, they move on to another host.

Landscaping berms are mounded hills of soil that can serve multiple functional and aesthetic purposes in the garden. A berm can be placed to block or change the flow of water across the property.

Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris) is an attractive green plant with small yellow flowers commonly seen growing prostrate along the side of the road. A native to Southern Europe, it's also referred to as goathead. However, underneath its foliage lies danger: spiky seedpods with needle-point spikes.

Summer has arrived and so has the dreaded, prickly presence of yellow starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis. Reports indicate that yellow starthistle infests between 10 and 15 million acres in California, making it the most wide-spread noxious weed in the state.