UC Master Gardeners are University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) trained volunteers. They are residents of our community that give back all year to provide UCCE researched-based horticultural information to individuals in their communities and throughout the state.

 

They give talks and demonstrations, conduct plant clinics, staff phone help lines, provide training at community gardens, support school garden programs, staff information tables at Farmers’ Markets, fairs, nurseries and much more.

 

If you would like to support our efforts, donate at   https://tinyurl.com/GiveCoCoMG.

Thank you!



Frank McPherson, Bay Area County Director

More than 6,000 native plants grow in California, and more than a third of these plants are endemic to California. Not only do these plants provide beauty, enrich the soil and feed and shelter birds, insects and other wildlife, they evolved with California’s climate of warm dry summers and cool wet winters. No matter what soil type, there is a California native plant that will thrive there, with or without water. They do not need to be fertilized, pruned or mowed.

When planting California native plants, it is critical to remember that many natives are summer dormant and grow during the colder wet winter and spring months . CA natives can easily rot with regular summer watering, so the ideal time to plant them is during late fall to allow their root systems to develop through the wet winter and early spring. A more detailed article on our CA native plants will appear in our fall issue.

For the spring issue, I have selected two easy-to-grow perennial families that can be planted now. Remember to water them carefully!

Read the entire article

Our yards, gardens, orchards, forests and open spaces are teeming with small to microscopic creatures whose very presence is essential to the healthy ecosystem we call home. Many, if not most, people consider the insects in their local environment to be pests and, historically, they have often resorted to rather noxious chemical means to control or eradicate such ‘bad bugs.’ However, nature has provided a safer and, arguably, a better solution to this problem, and if understood and properly supported, ‘good bugs’ can not only control the pest populations, they can also enhance the vitality and the biological diversity of the garden.

A recent missive from the Smithsonian estimated that there are approximately 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) individual insects alive. That roughly translates to 300 pounds of insects for every pound of human on earth. I suspect the person who made that last calculation had far too much time on his or her hands! Regardless, and even in the context of the evolving insect apocalypse, there are really a lot of insects around. 

Read the entire article

photo courtesy Marilyn Saarni

Many beginner gardeners, for the very first time, are preparing to plant veggie plants this spring. Or for experienced gardeners, you are brainstorming on how to have a fast start on expanding your veggie growing capacity during this Shelter-in-Place season. Excellent! To save backs, and dampen the grief due to gophers and other vicious veggie assassins, consider using fabric grow bags, especially if you haven't prepared any space already for plants that require rich soil. Veggies (except for herbs) require richer soil than other plants, and will deplete nutrients more quickly. In addition, they are usually the first item that gophers attack—and we have so many gophers across Contra Costa County! Nothing like weeding in your garden, and seeing a young endive tremble, and suddenly—zoop!—it disappears into the earth!  Read more about gophers  

When you use fabric grow bags, the fabric naturally trims the roots via air exposure at the edges, which is much better than what happens with clay or plastic pots. In those containers the roots turn, and start circling around, in the end strangling the plants, disturbing how the water flows through the soil, and reducing the health of the plant. Also you can buy clean planting mixes from a reputable nursery (sadly, not cheap stuff), which are often treated with heat and tested to prevent soil-borne disease (not what you'd want to bring into your garden!). Fabric grow bags can last two to five years, and at lower cost than building raised beds with wood or stone. Many professional nursery growers use them nowadays, and they are continually evolving and improving. 

If you are also dealing with deer or squirrels that dig in that lovely loose soil, you'll also want to buy bird netting or something similar, and materials to build a simple support over the grow bag, so the barrier prevents harm to your plant babies. This is especially recommended if you plant seeds directly (wait just a bit longer for the soil to warm up!) into the grow bag, since small birds love to nibble on fresh sprouts. 

For healthy tomatoes, expect to use at least a 20-gallon fabric grow bag. A 30-gallon fabric grow bag is even better, especially if you're growing indeterminate tomatoes (cherry tomatoes are usually indeterminate), which will keep growing and growing, with lots of tomatoes to harvest until frost. You'll need cages (think tall; indeterminate tomatoes often vine up to 6-8 feet!) or some sort of support for indeterminate tomatoes. Most peppers (many don’t need support) are satisfied with 15-20 gallon fabric grow bags. Herbs can use much smaller grow bags; you can even mass herbs in a 3-gallon fabric grow bag. Grow bags are particularly popular for growing potatoes, since you can easily add layers gradually as the potatoes grow.  Read more about growing potatoes

If you want a really big grow pot for perennial vegetables or fruits (say, artichokes, berries, rhubarb or asparagus), you can buy 200-gallon grow pots. Just remember that’s a LOT of soil! That’s equivalent to 26 cubic feet, or 1 cubic yard (a typical dump truck delivery from your local bulk soil amendments source). And you have to navigate getting into the middle of it. Typical dimensions for a 200-gallon grow bag is 50" in diameter, and 24" high. (Remember, gophers can’t climb over 18”, so if you’re dealing with gophers, make sure the height is greater than 18”.) Read more about container gardening.

Since we’re all sheltering in place, I strongly recommend online ordering. Grow bags are not available in most local hardware stores, and many of the local nurseries are in reduced services mode. Here’s to our successful Shelter-in-Place veggie gardens for 2020!

The Help Desk

Got a Gardening Question? Our Help Desk is staffed 50 weeks of the year, 

Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-Noon. 

Currently, we are communicating through email ONLY

Email us at ccmg@ucanr.edu .

In your email request:

We truly hope you and your families

are all in good health

Here are a few more resources just in case you run out of ideas while being isolated at home and feel like further educating yourself and your children:

~ ~ ~

The answer to this bonus question will be published in our Summer issue.

" This time of year I grow abundantly in forests and probably in your garden too as long as the weather is cool and damp. At first I look like a little green rosette. Later on, it appears that a small white (sometimes pale pink) flower grows through my mature circular leaves. Alice Waters had me on her salad menu at Chez Panisse. I am loaded with Vitamin C. However, just like spinach, I also contain a lot of oxalates, which are not good for you ". Who am I?

To end this newsletter on a note of hope: we are all part of a larger community of people who believe that another, better world is possible. If we all hold that vision together, we can get there, one day at a time.

Stay strong and healthy!

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