Fall 2021 - Volume 2, Issue 4
Hello Gardeners,
"Autumn carries more gold in its pocket
than all the other seasons"
Jim Bishop
Our CA Mediterranean climate is ideal for fall planting! It is best to wait until our seasonal rains have arrived. We can only hope that during this long drought we will be blessed with much needed rainfall.
In this fall issue we share some very useful tips on water conservation while also helping our plants survive this drought. You will find interesting articles on planting drought-tolerant California native plants including pollinator plants so that our bees and butterflies can survive as well. With many of us coping with heavy clay soil, fall is the time when we can finally put a shovel in the ground … after some good rain that is! Our article on cover crops gives you tips on how to improve your soil to benefit future crops and plantings. In case you decide to plant less this year because of the drought, maybe hardscaping and fire scaping projects can keep you busy this fall.
We are so very proud of our Spanish “Jardineros en el Huerto” (JEEH) team who is offering the course “Cultivo de Verduras” to Spanish speaking-Contra Costa County residents who want to learn sustainable vegetable gardening practices. It is my hope that our future newsletter will include educational articles written in Spanish as well.
Happy reading!
Hedwig Van Den Broeck, Editor
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Saving our trees during a drought |
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Trees need our loving support
Saving our trees during a drought
by Lori Palmquist
As if on a planetary conveyor belt, another drought is upon us, right on the heels of the last one. California is a dry state, getting dryer and hotter due to the effects of climate change. Drought is our new normal. We have experienced a measurable state of drought in 16 of the past 21 years. As with the previous drought, we need to manage our lives and our landscapes with an eye toward water conservation.
Lawns are water-guzzlers and are worthy targets for water conservation. A popular response to the water conservation restrictions is to remove lawns or simply stop watering our lawns. A sad consequence to turning off the lawn watering is the damage to the trees ...
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Watershed moment for sustainable landscaping?
by Kate Verhoef
In her YouTube webinar “Water in your Garden – Taking Control”, UC Master Gardener of Contra Costa County volunteer and irrigation expert Lori Palmquist shares two remarkable and related infographics. The first one shows the dramatic drought we are living through. It also clearly demonstrates why choosing drought-resistant plants and applying mulch are keys to a sustainable landscape. The second one displays an approach to landscaping that views one’s property as a watershed. This article shows how each graph can be applied in the home garden.
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Fall is a great time to plant |
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by Laurinda Ochoa
Here in California, fall is the ideal time for gardeners to plant landscape trees and plants, and sow wildflower seeds before the winter rains arrive. Unlike the rest of the US and most other countries, California is part of only 2% of the earth that has a Mediterranean winter-wet and summer-dry climate. In this unique climate zone, planting trees and plants in the fall gives them time to become established and grow the healthy roots they need to survive our hot dry summers.
Many of California’s native plants and other drought tolerant plants have evolved to flourish in our climate by developing modifications to conserve moisture and survive summer heat.
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Where have all the butterflies gone?
How gardeners can help these beautiful pollinators
by Kate Verhoef
Whose research should we be paying attention to? Dr. Arthur Shapiro is a renowned professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis. He has been counting butterflies at the same ten sites in Northern Central California every two weeks for the last fifty years. Because of this remarkable work, as well as that of his colleagues such as Dr. Matt Forister of the University of Nevada, and even with the help of amateur butterfly counters, scientists have a huge data set from which to hypothesize and make conclusions and recommendations.
Why are butterfly populations declining? For the last two decades, scientists have recorded drastic reductions in all insect populations due to the trifecta of climate change, habitat loss and chemical contamination.
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“You Look Vetching!” cover crops for your home garden
by Melissa Holmes Snyder
Cover crops are a wonderful way to increase the vitality of our garden beds, to replenish them after they have worked so hard for us, producing such lush vegetables all summer. Planting cover crops will enhance the friability of that soil for next season’s seeds and plants, give our beds a rest over the winter, and even add nutrients back into the soil. One of the biggest benefits is a little bit of magic: they take carbon dioxide out of the air and put nitrogen back into the soil.
But cover crops do so much more.
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Hardscapes: An essential component of garden design
by Kitty Lenhart
When we moved into our home in Contra Costa County, the backyard included a pool which took up a large part of that area. At first it was a joy to look outside and see the large expanse of cool water. Soon, however, my daughter informed me that I needed to put a fence around the pool or keep it covered due to safety concerns for our preschool-age grandchildren. After much thought, we decided to have the pool removed and create a beautiful garden instead. With the help of a landscape designer, we started the design process, during which the term “hardscapes” was mentioned several times. We knew it was time to get educated on how hardscapes fit into garden design!
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Living in wildfire country: fences, arbors and trellises
by Marilyn Saarni
A solid wood fence is the worst sort of fencing in wildfire areas, especially when connected to your home or garage. It is the perfect material for capturing wildfire embers and firebrands, which will set your fence on fire. Then that fence will carry the fire to any attached or nearby structure. Attach the wood fence to your home, garage or shed, and you might just as well throw the match yourself as you evacuate your property.
Yes, it’s that bad!
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Gardening in Small Spaces |
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Tools for small spaces gardening
by David George
I had the chance to talk with UC Master Gardener volunteer, “Mr. ToolTime” Keith Silva, about selecting and caring for the right tools for small spaces gardening. He helped me understand the importance of choosing the right tool for the right task, just like cooking a fine meal. Keith loved to help his dad grow produce as a kid and has been a UC Master Gardener volunteer for five years. He is one of our organization’s authorities on the subject.
Surprisingly, Keith recommended just four essential tools for small space gardening. A small hand trowel or shovel was his first pick ...
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Nuevo programa de ‘Jardineros en el Huerto’ en español
por David George
A fines del año 2019, gracias a la visión y el entusiasmo de dos voluntarias de los Jardineros Maestros del condado de Contra Costa, Elicha Gastelumendi y Lori Palmquist, se lanzó un proyecto para proporcionar una versión en español del popular curso del grupo Growing Gardeners llamado “Vegetables Gardening for Beginners”. Poco después, “Jardineros en el Huerto” (JEEH para abreviar) se convirtió en uno de nuestros programas con el objetivo de educar a los residentes de Contra Costa de habla hispana sobre las prácticas sostenibles de horticultura.
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Our popular Garden talks are back!
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Our Garden in Walnut Creek: every Wednesday
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Oct.13: Planting Trees in the Garden
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Oct.20: Growing Potatoes
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Oct.27: Fall and Winter Tree Care
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Rivertown Demonstration Garden in Antioch: once a month on Tuesday. No scheduled talks for 2021
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Richmond Dry Garden: no scheduled talks but certainly worth a visit.
Consult the calendar on our website for more upcoming events and detailed information.
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Our Webinars and Short Talks
Summer going into fall have been filled with 8 great new educational speaker programs. If you were not able to view our programs live, we have you covered: our YouTube channel (@CoCoMGUC) posts our live programs within a few weeks after the live program as well as many other great short talks, such as Growing Citrus in Containers. Questions about growing Citrus is one of the more common questions our Helpdesk responds to.
Other programs from this summer and fall include:
Here are the two programs that we will be closing out 2021 with:
Tuesday, November 16 at 6 p.m.: What to Do About Weeds?
Registration link will be posted 1-2 weeks prior to our program date on our website.
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Growing young gardeners - Tips for family fun in the winter garden
by Kate Verhoef
Gardening with children is a joyful experience. Their inquisitive minds and busy hands are ideally suited to digging in the soil, exploring growing plants, and observing insects and other garden critters. If you’ve cleaned up your summer garden and are wondering what you could grow now to keep the little ones in your life engaged, this article has some ideas for you.
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If you think you have an animal pest but are not sure what it is, this online tool will help you narrow down potential vertebrate pests using signs such as typical damage, tracks, and droppings (scat). The results will show you information on identification and biology with links to more information including management options.
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As many school students resume in-person classes, some school districts are requesting students bring disinfectant wipes into school from home. Read more ...
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Got a Gardening Question? |
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Virtual Ask a Master Gardener (VAAMG) is a NEW online offering to get answers for your gardening questions (pre-registration is required)
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Additionally, our Help Desk is staffed 50 weeks of the year,
Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-Noon.
Currently, we are communicating through email ONLY
In your email request:
- Include your name and city (plant advice depends on local conditions!).
- Describe the problem in detail. Include the name of the plant if known, when the problem began, and cultivation history such as watering, fertilizing, pruning, pesticides, etc.
- Send photographs, if appropriate.
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"Love the trees until their leaves fall off,
then encourage them to try again next year"
Chad Sugg
CORRECTION: Unfortunately, in our 2021 spring issue of News to Grow By, a wrong version was published for the Interview with Master Gardener Steve Danziger (by David George).
Images in this issue are courtesy of UC ANR, Marilyn Saarni, Lori Palmquist, Kate Verhoef, Laurinda Ochoa, David George, Greg Letts, Joyce Brahms Hennessey, Hedwig Van Den Broeck, and Unsplash.com: Timothy Eberly and Farhan Abas.
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