UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

University of California

UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

February in Sonoma County

Three Months to our Bloomin' Backyards Tour!

Succulents in a porcelain pot in Guma's garden.

Guma's garden is a wonderful example of how an ordinary backyard can be transformed into an amazing and beautiful habitat garden. To find the article, look at the yellow navigation bar just above this article and below the page-header photo; the leftmost tab is labeled "BBY 2020," mouse-over it and you will see a drop-down box listing the articles and information published to-date on BBY 2020. Click on "Guma's Garden" to read the new article! The general information and ticket information articles will be updated as information becomes available. New tabs will be added as we add garden articles.

Prune and Clear Vegetation as Soon as Possible

Bird nesting season is March 1st to August 31st. It is important not to clear brush and trees during this period in order to protect our bird populations. University of California Master Gardeners of Sonoma County, the Sonoma Ecology Center and the Habitat Corridor Project have joined forces to produce an excellent and informative article on the nesting habits of some of our favorite native birds that might visit your property, and how to manage fire safety requirements while protecting the birds.

Food Gardening

The Early Spring Vegetable Garden

Sonoma County's mild weather allows us to harvest food year round. Food gardeners are preparing to plant their early spring gardens. It's all about planting the right plant in the right place at the right time. Read more about which cool-weather crops are the hardiest and can be sowed or planted this month.

Fruit and Nut Trees

When you visit your local nursery in February, you will find a wonderful but bewildering selection of very reasonably priced bare-root fruit trees. January and February are the best months for planting these trees. We suggest reading this excellent article from University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources before making your selection: Selecting Fruit and Nut Trees.

Growing a Thriving Vegetable Garden with Less Water

The Food Gardening Specialists (FGS) of the UCCE Sonoma Master Gardeners are excited to present water-wise food gardening strategies. Given our hot, dry summers along with the prediction of extended drought, we can’t afford to waste a drop. This video demonstrates how home and community gardeners can grow a thriving vegetable garden with less water. In addition, this video is complemented by a planting scheme and a drip system instruction and shopping list that reflect the 4x8-foot demonstration vegetable bed in the video. Click here for these documents along with additional helpful documents for food gardening with less water.

Ask a Master Gardener
Questions and Answers from the Helpline

Watch to Learn What Master Gardeners Do

Fight Invasives!

Master Gardener-staffed Help Desks are located
at Sonoma County Farmers' Markets and Fairs

Master Gardeners are volunteers trained by the UC Davis Cooperative Extension.

Sonoma County Master Gardeners will provide environmentally sustainable, science-based horticultural information to all of Sonoma County’s population. We strive for diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our organization.

UCCE Farm Advisor: Stephanie Larson, County Director

SCMG Coordinator: Mimi Enright

Workshop Calendar

Event Name	Date
Native Trees of the North Bay - Petaluma	2/29/2020
Creating a Sustainable Suburban Garden - Sonoma	2/29/2020
Composting and Vermicomposting (En Español) - Healdsburg	3/7/2020
Healthy Gardens: A Balanced Approach - Healdsburg	3/7/2020
The Single Best Thing You Can Do for Your Garden - Windsor	3/7/2020
Growing Berries - Sebastopol	3/7/2020

View More Events

Find links to past workshop handouts under Resources/Workshop Handouts.

Sundays with Sue

By SCMG Sue Lovelace
February 23, 2020

This week, I spent a lot of time staring out at my garden, saying to myself “What should I do now?” As we know, there’s plenty to do, especially this time of the year! Time can get very involved and a bit muddled when one realizes that tasks to be done may involve many prerequisites. I, personally, can present many examples of such.

As you may remember from last week, I purchased a few native plants to replace unattended roses planted in memory of my mother in law on hard-to-access terraces in our backyard. Excited to get the natives in the ground, I risked life and limb to figure a good placing for them. It was at that point, that I focused on the fact that out-of-control wisteria runners trailing down from an upper terrace, and massive wild blackberry vines trailing from the depths of infinity, were crisscrossing the area of planting! Therefore, the whole rest of the day was spent clipping, untangling and, sometimes, uttering undesirable words when the thorns of the berry vines encountered my skin!

A day later, the natives were planted and the intermingling vines on that side of the yard were taken care of. While up on the terraces, I, sort of, pruned 3 fruit trees and severely cut back a Sambucus nigra (Black Elderberry). This should be the end of the story. However, after turning on the irrigation and seeing a geyser of considerable magnitude, it was obvious a major line had been broken! I will not go into the resulting drama: just know it got fixed shortly after Adam Scott secured the win on the 17th at Rivera Country Club (Sunday golf on TV). That’s okay; I’m patient!

Needing to be on flat ground again, I decided that seedlings started in my back bedroom were ready to be pricked into larger pots, filled with good potting mix, and transferred to the cool greenhouse. I will tell you that many seedlings did not make it inside as they got very leggy before the transfer, because of variable light. (Grow lights work well in these situations.) If you are wondering why I did not seed in the greenhouse to begin with, there are two reasons. One was the need of warmth for seed germination and the other was the need for cleaning and reorganization of my small greenhouse; more prerequisites!!

Out came the vinegar and water (my favorite cleaning solution for cleaning greenhouses, the inside of pots and just about anything else!) and several hours later, I was ready to move the seedlings in. I placed extra covers over the basil but the onions and kale will be fine. Holes were hopefully patched up enough to protect against sneaky little rodents. Isn’t it funny how being sidetracked can lead you to a better place?!

One last example of how no job is ever simple in this garden, is the sifting of our finished compost before applying it to the beds for spring planting. Because my husband empties out our gathered material onto the patio to run over it with the lawn mower (The smaller the materials, the faster it will decompose), rocks, sticks and other debris make their way into the compost. Sifting is important and I have found that an old wire chaise lounge makes a great sifter.

Speaking of the garden beds, the ‘Florence’ fennel is ready to harvest for fresh eating in stir fries and sauces. Parsley is taking off while the arugula is flowering. Leaving the flowers is a good attractant for early pollinators. Other early flowering plants like the Cranesbill geraniums and borage are popping up all over the front yard.

It’s been a busy but productive week in the garden. All we need now is rain, right?! Have a great week!

“No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden.” ~Hugh Johnson

Master Gardeners in Print

The Garden Doctors
Dana Lozano & Gwen Kilchherr, The Press Democrat

How to get roses ready for winter and other helpful tips 12/20/2019

How to care for hanging planters over the winter 12/6/2019

Webmasters: Kim Roche, Stan Pawlak

Website Editor: Penny Fink

Food Gardening Editor: Stephanie Wrightson

Staff Photographers and Videographers:
Cie Cary, Electra de Peyster,
Coby Lafayette-Kelleher, Laura Salo Long