Nutrition & Health

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Grapes September
Healthy Central Sierra: Article

September's Harvest of the Month: Grapes

September 1, 2020
Few things signal the end of summer and the beginning of fall as clearly as grapes beginning to ripen. Many different varieties of grapes are available throughout the season in shades of green, red, purple, and some dark enough to be considered black.
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Caroline Yelle, owner of Pope Canyon Queens, lost some 500 hives during the Aug. 19 Vacaville fire. (Photo by Caroline Yelle)
Bug Squad: Article

What Do Honey Bee Colonies Do During a Raging Wildfire?

August 31, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
What do honey bee colonies do when a raging wildfire heads straight toward their hives (bee boxes)? No, the bees do not abscond with their queen and relocate, says Norman Gary, emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis.
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Oven Loaded with Tomatoes(1)
Master Food Preserver SLO/SB Counties: Article

Solar Drying-Tomatoes

August 31, 2020
Years ago, I learned that what's good for the solar-powered butterflies is good for solar drying. On a hot morning last week, I looked out my window and saw a Monarch and two Swallowtails in the herb garden-the signs of a perfect day for drying outdoors in my solar oven.
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Dried tomato skins in a bowl - dry them plain (as pictured) or add spices before drying. Eat as a snack or grind into a powder.
Food Blog: Article

Too many tomatoes?

August 31, 2020
By Susan Mosbacher
If you also found a silver lining to staying/working at home this summer by planting and tending to your garden, did your wish for a bumper crop of tomatoes come true? What happens if your tomato plants are prolific producers?
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A honey bee forages on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in a Vacaville pollinator garden on July 27. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

A Bee-Line Toward the Tropical Milkweed

August 27, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Honey bees just can't get enough of our tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. We plant three species of milkweed (the host plant for the monarchs), but both the monarchs and the honey bees gravitate toward A. curassavica, a non-native.
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Cherry tomatoes. (Piqsels.com)
The Stanislaus Sprout: Article

Save the Right Seeds

August 27, 2020
By Anne E Schellman
Some of the seeds from plants growing in your garden may be worth saving, but others are genetically incapable of producing satisfactory crops.
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