UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

University of California

UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

April in Sonoma County

Looking for a Plant Sale? Click Here

April 13 Veggie Happenings - Zoom Talk

It is all about tomatoes in April!! Join the tomato experts of the Sonoma County Master Gardener Food Gardening Specialist project. Learn how to select, plant and care for your tomato plants for a healthy and productive bounty. An opportunity for Q&A will follow the presentations. Click here for more information.

April 28 Ask a Master Gardener - Zoom Talk

What happened to our rainy season? Come to our Virtual Farmer’s Market on April 28 from 12:30 to 2:00PM. The Master Gardener’s will answer your gardening questions, and also, present strategies to saving water in your landscape and help you deal with our current drought. We welcome you and your questions. We look forward to seeing you. Pre-registration is required.

Food Gardening

Edible Flowers

It's finally spring and time to plan your spring/summer garden! Why not add some edible flowers that contribute to the health of the garden? Delight both your eyes and your discriminating palate. Read more.

Protect Our Birds: Bird Nesting Season is Here

Bird nesting season is March 1 to August 31. 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."

COVID-19 Notice

To reduce the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and in compliance with county orders, we have adjusted our services accordingly:

All in-person events are suspended. Library talks have been replaced by Zoom events. Please check the "Upcoming Events" section at the top-right of this page for currently scheduled events.

Thanks for your patience during this time. We will inform you when the in-person library talks resume.

Interesting new posts are frequently added to our Facebook Page. Check it out! And please check our Food Gardening page, and Food Gardening Articles for help in starting, upgrading or extending a veggie garden.

Master Gardeners in Print

Advice to Grow By, The Press Democrat
Sonoma County Master Gardeners
Contributor to this week’s column: Janet Bair
How to control weeds without using chemicals 3/20/21

Butterflies are vanishing in the West. Scientists say climate change is to blame, The Press Democrat
Quoted: Suzanne Clarke
Climate change threatens butterfly populations 3/16/21

Advice to Grow By, The Press Democrat
Sonoma County Master Gardeners
Contributors to this week’s column: Janet Bair, Kim Roberts & Debbie Westrick
Have limited space in your garden? Consider planting potatoes 3/6/21

Advice to Grow By, The Press Democrat
Sonoma County Master Gardeners
Contributors to this week’s column: Janet Bair & Renee Hayes
How to Fight Slugs Safely 2/20/21

Petaluma Argus Courier
Suzanne Clarke
Climate change, loss of habitat decimating monarch population; but Petalumans can help 2/16/2021

Advice to Grow By, The Press Democrat
Sonoma County Master Gardeners
Contributor to this week’s column: Janet Bair
Sebastopol’s mysterious balls of leaves solved. It’s mistletoe 2/6/2021

The Garden Doctors, The Press Democrat
Dana Lozano & Gwen Kilchherr
Why is my phormium changing color? 12/18/2020

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

Getting Help

We are not currently accepting walk-ins or specimen drop offs at our Master Gardener Information Desk at the UCCE Sonoma office. Please email your questions and attach photos if you have them. One of our Information Desk experts will get back to you.

New to Gardening? Click here.

Upcoming Events

Event Name	Date
Can the Monarch Butterfly be Saved? via Zoom	4/10/2021
April Veggie Happenings - Zoom Talk	4/13/2021
Succulent Saturday Pop-up Sale - Healdsburg	4/17/2021
Plant Sale at Harvest for the Hungry Garden	4/24/2021
Plant Sale - Willowside School Nursery by appointment OR drop-in if space available	4/24/2021

View More Events

Sundays with Sue

By SCMG Sue Lovelace
April 4, 2021

Wisteria

Happy April and Happy Easter Everyone!

Spring is definitely springing as evidenced in all the growth and blooms. In our front yard, perennials are waking up and leafing out along with the persimmon trees that brighten up the space with their light green leaves. The apple trees are in blossom and the wisteria in my sister in law’s memory garden is in full bloom. She would be happy indeed. An Easter Day celebration is not the same without her, but memories of Anne are strong when we see her favorite plant in bloom. I know that the family will feel the same when they come to enjoy the day. Needless to say we’ve been scurrying around trying to catch up on tasks in preparing the garden for company.

There are so many things to do in the garden this time of the year, and for me keeping on task is nearly impossible! Distraction is my curse. With all the best of intentions, I start with a list. We have a chalk board in the garage where I scribble my to-do list. I love the satisfying and somewhat symbolic act of erasing completed tasks. Guess what? It’s been several days and no erasures!

I’m thinking that if I write “unexpected tasks” on the list, erasures would be sure to happen because that’s where the distractions in the garden are born. Let me give you an example. A

Peanut the Chicken

couple of days ago I walked out to the chicken coop to greet “the girls,” change their water and generally clean their environment. To my horror there were a series of holes in the ground inside the coop area. I first thought of gophers, however there were not the telltale crescent shaped mounds that gophers make. Also, gophers tend to cover their holes. Unfortunately, rodents (rats) had somehow figured a way to tunnel under an underground barrier that Paul had built into the foundation. Needless to say we’ve been busy creating more barriers around the perimeter with hardware cloth hoping to prevent their progress.

When I said things were growing I was not kidding especially when it comes to weeds. Where did those gnarly garden hogs come from? Overnight, a huge variety of weeds had sprung up everywhere. Talk about distraction; Pull, pull, pull! Oh the chickens were so happy to dig and peck through the piles of fresh greens as if they were grown just for them! Such grateful little busy bodies they are. No wonder we go to such lengths to secure their environment; they brighten our days with their sweet chitter chatter and engaging personalities. They even laid us some Easter Eggs!

Apple Blossoms

Harvesting peas from 10 foot vines has yielded lots of yummy snap peas. I like purple varieties of both peas and beans as they are easier to spot on the vines. The purple blossoms of ‘Sugar Magnolia’ looks so pretty in the veggie garden and will make a great accompaniment to Easter dinner. The broccolis are sprouting and I try to pick the buds quickly to keep them from going to flower. They are so tender to enjoy in salads but are also good lightly roasted.

I wish everyone a lovely Sunday and a good week, especially if you are outside. If you celebrate Easter, Happy Easter!

"The great gift of Easter is hope." – Basil Hume

Webmasters: Kim Roche, Stan Pawlak

Website Editor: Penny Fink (Opening in May, MGs please apply!)

Food Gardening Editor: Open, master gardeners please apply!

Staff Photographers and Videographers:
Cie Cary, Electra de Peyster