August Tips & Events for Santa Clara County

“Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day.” ~W. Earl Hall

End of MedFly Quarantine in Santa Clara County

The Mediterranean Fruit Fly quarantine was removed effective July 8, 2026.

Visit the CDFA’s bulletin for additional information.

Monthly Tips

Quiz: Disease or Disorder?

Vegetable plants can be affected by diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, or by environmental issues such as excessive sun, heat, or improper irrigation. Can you tell whether these plants are suffering from a disease or an environmental disorder?

Collage of 4 photos: brown, leathery spots on bottoms of ripening tomatoes, yellowing tomato leaves, yellow and brown spots on bean leaves, and white powdery growth covering melon leaves.

Photos: See quiz answer for descriptions and credits

Easy Summer Shade

While many of our plants thrive in the sun and warmth, excessive summer heat can stress them. Intense sun can stall fruit production, scorch mature leaves, and wither tender seedlings. Fortunately, shade cloth offers an easy, low-cost, and versatile solution to protect your garden and reduce water loss. Available in various sizes, colors, materials, and attachment styles, shade cloth can block anywhere from 20% to 90% of solar radiation. The results speak for themselves: using a 40% shade cloth, one UC Master Gardener showed a decrease in surface soil temperature of over 15 degrees Fahrenheit!

Photo credit: Eder Pozo Pérez on Unsplash

Shade Cloth

Choosing Indoor Plants

Looking for an easy-care plant for your living space? A few points to consider before you buy: light, water, maintenance, and resistance to pests. Plants that thrive in low-light conditions are better suited for interior rooms with minimal light. Those that can tolerate dry conditions and are more pest-resistant can survive with occasional neglect. Be careful not to overwater your plants either. Overwatering and poor drainage may promote fungus gnats and can lead to root rot. Match a plant to your home’s conditions and the level of care you can provide, and you’ll find a perfect fit.

A display of leafy plants in brown and tan pots and flowering plants with white and red blooms in white and green pots on wooden shelves in a store.

Photo credit: Beth Basham

Houseplants

Become a UC Master Gardener

We are now gearing up to welcome and train the 2027 cohort of new UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County. The training schedule includes weekly classes via Zoom on Thursday evenings from January through May 2027 plus eight hands-on workshops on Saturday mornings.

Interested in applying? Please attend one of the mandatory information sessions in early September and submit your application by September 22. Zoom interviews will take place in late October, and applicants will be notified of acceptance decisions by November 6.

A diverse group of about 50 people smiling and posing outdoors in a park, wearing hats and gathered in front of lush greenery and a clear sky.

Photo: The 2025 Class of UC Master Gardeners and their mentors at the Martial Cottle Park Demonstration Garden, by Mary Werthman

Informational Flyer

Save the Date!

A busy plant market under a tent, with people selecting young plants from tables.

Photo credit: Hank Morales

The UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County’s Fall Garden Fair returns on Saturday, October 3, 2026 (9:00 am to 2:00 pm) at our Martial Cottle Park Demo Garden.

More information to come!

Fall Garden Fair

Asian Vegetables

August is the time to start planning for your cool-season planting. You may want to consider vegetables such as bok choy, gailon, or napa cabbage. These are just a few examples of the wide variety of vegetables commonly found in Asian markets. Many of these can be grown in Santa Clara County in the fall. Do you want to know which ones will grow well and how to grow them? Come join us for a talk at the McClellan Ranch Preserve in Cupertino on August 15. After the talk, you will get a tour of the community garden and one of our demonstration gardens.

Photo credit: Jack Kelly Clark, The Regents of the University of California

Grow Asian Vegetables

Re-wetting Dry Soil

Using a watering can to give strawberry plants water.

Your potted plant is wilting, so you pour in some water, but instead of soaking in, the water rushes out the bottom. What is going on? Your soil has likely become hydrophobic, meaning it is actively repelling water rather than absorbing it. When this happens, water flows through the gaps between the root ball and the inside of the pot. This can be caused by compacted soil or by the plant becoming root-bound. To re-wet the soil of small potted plants, submerge the pot in a bucket of water. Place larger pots or containers in a shallow container of water. For container plants too heavy to lift, add water slowly.

Photo credit: Benjamin White on Unsplash

Hydrophobic Soil (Video)

Quiz Answer: More Data Needed!

Observe symptoms and research common species-specific ailments to distinguish between diseases and environmental disorders. Consider the plant’s location, recent weather, nearby affected plants, and how quickly symptoms appeared. Diseases usually spread gradually and affect only susceptible plants, while disorders often appear suddenly and affect multiple unrelated plants. Common diseases include powdery mildew, Fusarium wilt, and mosaic viruses. Environmental disorders include too much or too little watering, sunscald, and blossom-end rot.

Need more help? Check out the UC IPM website, UC IPM Plant Problem Diagnostic Tool, or our website’s Garden Help page.

User interface for a plant diagnostic tool, featuring categories for flowers, fruit trees, trees and shrubs, and vegetables, each with corresponding images and an "Add to my list" button.

Image: Screenshot of online UC IPM plant problem diagnostic tool

Quiz answers and photos from left to right: Disorders: Blossom end-rot on tomatoes by UC Statewide IPM Project, Sunscald on bean plant by UC Statewide IPM Project. Diseases: Fusarium Wilt on tomato plant by North Carolina State Extension Program, Powdery mildew on a melon leaf by Tom Isakeit, Texas A&M University Extension

Garden Diseases & Disorders

More August Tips and To-Dos

For more gardening tips and to-dos, visit the monthly tips archive on our website. It is perfect for browsing, and while you may recognize some of the content, you’re sure to find something new. It starts with to-dos for the month, just the thing to review before heading out to your garden.

More Tips and To-Dos

Upcoming Events

PADG: What’s Wrong With My Tomatoes?, Saturday, August 1, 10:00–11:30 am, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

MCP Summer Iris Dividing and Care, Saturday, August 8, 10:00–11:30 am, Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue, San Jose

PADG Open Garden Saturdays- Palo Alto, Saturday, August 8, 10:00 am–noon, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

Planning a Simple Native Garden, Saturday, August 8, 11:00 am–12:30 pm, Berryessa Branch Library, 3355 Noble Avenue, San Jose

Preventing Vertebrate Pests From Eating Your Garden, Saturday, August 8, 11:00 am–12:30 pm, Mountain View Public Library, 585 Franklin Street, Mountain View

Top 10 Habits of Successful Gardeners, Saturday, August 8, 11:00 am–12:30 pm, Tully Community Branch Library, 880 Tully Road, San Jose

Planning Your Cool Vegetable Garden, Sunday, August 9, 2:00–3:30 pm, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 150 E San Fernando St., San Jose

Garden to Glass: Refreshing Waterwise Infusions, Tuesday, August 11, 7:00–8:30 pm, Saratoga Library, 13650 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga

Plant Clinic Online, Tuesday, August 11, 7:00–8:30 pm, Online

MCP California Native, Succulent, and Garlic/Shallot Sale, Saturday, August 15, 9:00 am–noon, Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue, San Jose

MRDG Growing Asian Vegetables in Your Garden, Saturday, August 15, 10:00 am–noon, McClellan Ranch Preserve, community garden area, 22221 McClellan Road, Cupertino

PADG Open Garden Saturdays, Saturday, August 15, 10:00 am–noon, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

STDG Insect Friends and Foes, Saturday, August 15, 10:00 am–noon, Sunnyvale Teaching and Demonstration Garden, 433 Charles Street, Sunnyvale

MCP August Flower Cutting and Arranging Workshop, Sunday, August 16, 10:00 am–noon, Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue, San Jose

Aquaponics: Growing Fish and Food in Harmony, Wednesday, August 19, 7:00–8:00 pm, Cupertino Library

The Monarch Butterfly Crisis, Wednesday, August 19, 7:00–8:30 pm, Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos

Rose Diseases and Disorders in Home Gardens, Thursday, August 20, noon–1:00 pm, Online

SCTDG Native Plants That Are Easy to Propagate, Saturday, August 22, 9:00–10:30 am, South County Teaching and Demonstration Garden, 80 Highland Avenue, San Martin

GDG Discover the Magic of Irises, Saturday, August 22, 10:00–11:30 am, Guadalupe Community Garden, Asbury Street & Walnut Street, San Jose

Improving Soil Health, Saturday, August 22, 10:00–11:30 am, Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley Street, Palo Alto

PADG Open Garden Saturdays- Palo Alto, Saturday, August 22, 10:00 am–noon, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

Planning Your Fall-Winter Vegetable Garden, Wednesday, August 26, 7:00–8:00 pm, Morgan Hill Library, 660 W. Main Avenue, Morgan Hill

PADG Open Garden Saturdays- Palo Alto, Saturday, August 29, 10:00 am–noon, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

PADG Open Garden Saturdays- Palo Alto, Saturday, September 5, 10:00 am–noon, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

Waterwise Landscape Design, Tuesday, September 8, 6:30–8:30 pm, Fremont Unified High School District Adult Education, 589 W. Fremont Avenue, Sunnyvale

Plant Clinic Online, Tuesday, September 8, 7:00–8:30 pm, Online

Check our calendar for the latest schedule of events. Videos of many past presentations are also available.

Interested in Composting?

Composting produces soil-building organic materials for gardens. It also helps to divert organic waste from greenhouse gas-generating landfills. The University of California Cooperative Extension of Santa Clara County partners with cities and the county to offer composting education workshops to residents.

Check out these composting workshops on the Cooperative Extension website!

About Us

University of California Master Gardener volunteers promote sustainable gardening practices and provide research-based horticultural information to home gardeners. Visit our website for more information including:

More Monthly Tips
A complete list of Upcoming Events and Classes
Extensive Garden Help
Videos of garden tips and past online presentations

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