October Tips & Events for Santa Clara County

“The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let the dead things go.”

~Anonymous

Monthly Tips

Quiz: What’s Making My Sidewalk Sticky?

Summer in Santa Clara County means we have no rain washing off our sidewalks. By late summer, you may have noticed that the sidewalks underneath some trees are sticky. You might even find gummy drops on a parked car. Is it the type of tree? Or something else? What’s causing this sticky situation? Scroll down to find out.

Photo credit: City of Winnipeg

A person standing next to a very large pumpkin

Date: Saturday, October 5, 9 am–2 pm
Where: Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Ave, San Jose at the Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden
Cost: Free admission, $6 parking at Martial Cottle Park
Park and MG Fair Map

Fall Garden Fair Is October 5

Summer gardening gets most of the attention but fall gardening offers just as many opportunities! Come to our Fall Garden Fair, hosted in conjunction with Martial Cottle Park’s Fall Festival, on Saturday, October 5, and find out more. We’ll have talks, demonstrations, and booths on fall gardening topics, like cover crops, cool-season gardening, starting a home orchard, native plants, and more. Our huge plant sale offers vegetable, ornamental, and native plant seedlings, succulents, and garlic & shallot bulbs. Plus special activities for kids, a seed swap, and more. Join us!

Photo credit: Santa Clara County Master Gardeners

Master Gardeners Fall Garden Fair

Spooky Insects

Real-life mummies? Bloodsuckers? Zombies? Insects have them all! Join the UC Integrated Pest Management folks on October 17 at noon for a fun and informative Halloween special webinar on spooky insects. They’ll take you on a tour of the creepiest insect predators and parasitoids and bloodsucking creatures. Happy Halloween!

Image credit: Prawny, Pixabay

Spooky Insects Webinar

Pruning Your Ornamental Grasses

Before pruning your ornamental grasses, determine if they are warm-season or cool-season grasses. Warm-season grasses grow when the temperature is warm and go dormant in fall/winter. They can be pruned heavily every year, either when they turn brown in fall or in early spring before growth starts. For plants under 3 feet tall, prune down to 3 inches. For taller plants, prune down to 6 inches. Cool-season grasses grow year-round but slow down or go dormant in hot weather. Rejuvenate them by pruning every two or three years in the fall before new growth starts. When pruning cool-season grasses, do not remove more than two-thirds of the plant, as cutting too much may be harmful.

Photo: Deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens), a warm-season grass, San Diego State University

Pruning Ornamental Grasses

Fallen Leaves Help Pollinators

Want to do your part to help pollinators and beneficial insects such as bees, moths, and ground beetles? Keep some fallen leaves in your landscape this year. They provide valuable shelter for pollinators to help with nesting and overwintering.

If it’s too messy to keep all the leaves that drop, consider keeping at least some of them. You can rake them around vegetable and flower beds or pile them around trees and shrubs as mulch.

If you want to provide even more habitat, leave dead flower stalks through the winter or find a spot to build a brush pile.

Photo: Fall leaves, by Zion National Park, CC by 2.0

Habitat for Pollinators

Photo: Plant komatsuna for delicious winter greens, Maxmann, Pixabay

Cool-Season Vegetables

What do broccoli, chard, lettuce, and bok choy have in common? They are all vegetables that you can plant now and harvest over the winter! Not to mention beets, spinach, mustard, fennel, and so many more. See our website vegetable section for a full list of cool-season vegetables. Use the link below to view our video class for in-depth info and useful tips. Then find a sunny spot in your yard and grow some delicious vegetables this winter.

Cool Season Vegetables Video

Quiz Answer

Sap-sucking insects such as aphids and scale produce a sugary substance called honeydew. When these insects are present in large numbers on trees, the honeydew drips down and can build up underneath, creating a sticky mess. This sticky substance can become covered with a layer of black sooty mold. Additionally, infested trees often attract colonies of ants. These ants feed on the honeydew and protect the pests from insects that are their natural predators. What to do? Use the link below to control the ants, identify the insects, and use UC guidelines to deal with them.

Photo: Scale insects on a branch, Jack Kelly Clark, UC IPM

Sticky Mess on Plants

More October Tips and To-Dos

For more gardening tips and to-dos, visit the monthly tips archive on our website. Perfect for browsing, you may recognize some of the content, but 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

Last Plant Clinic of 2024! Our monthly Plant Clinic Online is an opportunity to chat with a Master Gardener via Zoom to diagnose a plant problem. You can also listen and learn while other people ask questions. The Plant Clinic Online is held the second Tuesday of the month, from 7–8:30 pm, March–October. October 8 is your last chance for this year. Priority will be given to questions that are emailed in advance; instructions are in the Zoom registration confirmation. Registration required.

Fall Garden Fair - Martial Cottle Park, Saturday, October 5, 9 am–2 pm, Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue, San Jose

Composting Basics Workshop, Saturday, October 5, 10 am–noon, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

PADG Open Garden Saturdays, Saturday, October 5, 10 am–noon, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

Worms! The Fun Way to Compost, Tuesday, October 8, 6:30–7:30 pm, First Floor, Mountain View Public Library, 585 Franklin Street, Mountain View

Planning a Simple Native Garden for Beginners, Tuesday, October 8, 7–8:30 pm, Saratoga Public Library, 13650 Saratoga Ave, Saratoga

Gardening Tips for Growing Garlic and Shallots, Saturday, October 12, 10 am–noon, McClellan Ranch Preserve, Community Garden, 22221 McClellan Road, Cupertino

STDG Ask a Master Gardener, Saturday, October 12, 10 am–noon, Sunnyvale Teaching and Demonstration Garden, Charles Street Gardens, 433 Charles Street, Sunnyvale

PADG Open Garden Saturdays, Saturday, October 12, 10 am–noon, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

Flowers and Herbs for Late Fall and Winter, Saturday, October 12, 10:30–11:30 am, Gilroy Public Library, 350 W 6th Street, Gilroy

Backyard Orchard Management, Saturday, October 12, 1–3 pm, Sunnyvale Public Library, 665 W Olive Ave, Sunnyvale

MCP Open Garden Sundays, Sunday, October 13, 1–3 pm, Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue, San Jose

Hands-on Workshop: Soil Testing for Home Gardeners, Sunday, October 13, 1:30–2:30 pm, Rinconada Library, 1213 Newell Rd, Palo Alto

Shrubs and Small Trees to Plant in Fall, Tuesday, October 15, 6:30–7:30 pm, Morgan Hill Library, 660 W Main Ave, Morgan Hill

What is Sustainable Gardening?, Wednesday, October 16, 7–8:30 pm, Cupertino Library, 10800 Torre Ave, Cupertino

Spooky Insects (Halloween special), Thursday, October 17, noon–1 pm, Online

SCTDG California Native Plants, Saturday, October 19, 10–11:30 am, South County Teaching and Demonstration Garden, 80 Highland Ave, San Martin

PADG Open Garden Saturdays, Saturday, October 19, 10 am–noon, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

From Bud To Blossom: Expert Advice on Rhododendron Care, Saturday, October 19, 10:30–11:45 am, Willow Glen Public Library, 1157 Minnesota Avenue, San Jose

PADG Open Garden Saturdays, Saturday, October 26, 10 am–noon, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto

Winter Fruit Tree Planting- Selection and Care, Saturday, October 26, 10:30 am–noon, Garden to Table Silicon Valley, 200 W. Taylor Street, San Jose

Starting a Home Orchard, Saturday, October 26, 11 am–12:30 pm, Berryessa Public Library, 3355 Noble Ave, San Jose

Fruit Tree Basics, Wednesday, October 30, 6:30–8:30 pm, FUHSD Adult School, 589 W Fremont Ave, Sunnyvale

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

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
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