UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

University of California

UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

June in Sonoma County

Master Gardeners at the Santa Rosa Vets Farmers' Market

Farmers' Markets in Sonoma County
Sonoma County farmers' markets are in full swing. You'll find a Master Gardener information table at most of them. Do you have gardening questions? We have gardening answers! Stop by--we'd love to meet you. Click here to find out the markets where you'll find us!

Looking for something to do with your children this summer?

The Petaluma Regional Library hosts regular summer Friday events. Following these events, there will be 6 great garden events geared to get kids interested in the natural world.
Click here for more information.

Sue Lovelace receives Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors

Sue (second from left) receiving her recognition from Sonoma County Supervisors Susan Gorin, Shirlee Zane and David Rabbitt

This year the County Board of Supervisors membership chose to honor Sue Lovelace as Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. Sue became a Master Gardener in 2007 and has since volunteered over 3,000 hours, a feat shared by few. She is a Food Gardening Specialist and Garden Sense Consultant and has a featured weekly blog "Sundays With Sue."

Click here to read more.

Food Gardening

You Can Water Your Crops Sustainably and Have a Thriving Food Garden

watering veggies taken by Stephanie Wrightson

Our responsibility to our crops relative to irrigation is to 1) replace water loss due to evapotranspiration and to 2) irrigate in a manner that encourages optimum plant health and production. “What?!?!” you say? “What about watering sustainably? Water is a limited and precious resource!” If we take care to water our food garden wisely, we will be responsible stewards of this resource…not wasting a drop. Read more.

GardenSense - On-site WaterWise Garden Consultations

Sonoma County residents wishing to schedule a garden consultation can click here.

Sonoma County Master Gardeners are partnered with the Sonoma County Water Agency on a project called GardenSense. The project is intended to help local gardeners further improve their water conservation practices. A free on-site consultation by a pair of GardenSense Consultants will demonstrate to residents how to easily conserve water (and save money) by creating a climate-appropriate garden that is healthy, environmentally sound, and most of all – beautiful!

Master Gardeners participating have received special training enabling them to become specialist Consultants to advise Sonoma County gardeners how to improve the water efficiency of their gardens.

Topics covered in consultations include advice on lawn removal, low water use plants appropriate to your site, conversion of sprinklers to drip irrigation, an irrigation assessment including overall suggestions for improving water efficiency, and sustainable garden practices.

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

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: Paul Vossen

SCMG Coordinator: Mimi Enright

Interested in becoming a master gardener? Click here for information and the application for the 2018 training program.

Workshop Calendar

Event Name	Date
The Transitional Food Garden- Harvest for the Hungry- Santa Rosa	8/26/2017
Plant 4 Pollinators-Rincon	8/26/2017
Health Care for Succulents- Harvest for the Hungry- Santa Rosa	9/9/2017
The Transitional Fall/Winter Food Garden	9/9/2017

Find links to workshop handouts under Resources/Workshop Handouts.

Sundays with Sue

By SCMG Sue Lovelace
SUNDAYS WITH SUE - June 25, 2017

For me, Experimentation is one of the best parts of gardening! Whether it’s a new plant, a new technique, or merely growing an old favorite in a new spot, the garden is the perfect venue for trying something new. My continuing trials with Square Foot Gardening has led me to try pruning a tomato to a single vine so that it only occupies one square. Pinching off growth in the “armpits” of the branches, keeps the energy of the plant directed to the main stem. So far, so good. ‘Stupice’, an old early fruiting favorite, is climbing and bearing small fruit. Speaking of tomatoes, I am experimenting with a grafted tomato (‘Japanese Black Trifele’). Master Gardener, Steve Ehrmann, asked for volunteers to test out the grafted tomato and a control (non grafted one of the same variety). Grafted tomatoes are supposed to offer disease resistance and higher yields. At this point, both tomatoes have small fruit forming. The ungrafted tomato appears to have taller, leggier growth while the grafted one is bushier. As I am sure with most of you, the tomatoes are growing fast. Isn’t it a pleasure to see all of the warm weather veggies take off? Such anticipation; right? Feasts to be had!

The pole beans have grown to the top of the lattice. I attached string for them to continue their journey over to the chicken coup where shade will be provided and also a green bean tunnel to walk through and harvest, or for little ones to run through. Cucumbers are all being trained vertically (varieties are ‘Lemon’ and ‘Long Improved Green’, an heirloom grown at Monticello)

I have one vertical squash, ‘Ronde de Nice’, and a yellow zucchini type. Peppers, hot and sweet are planted in all the beds (‘Padrone’, ‘jalapeño’, ‘Poblano’ are hot; ‘Gypsy’, ‘Jimmy Nardello’; sweet)

Lettuce is being removed (cut at base to keep root in soil) and basil plants are planted in their place. I always mound with compost or planting mix before planting. Last, but not least, are flowers (zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, nasturtiums, calendulas, asters and clarkia) are interspersed among the veggies.

As always, having fun in the garden! Hope you are, too!

“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.” Gertrude Jekyll

Master Gardeners in Print

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

French versus Korean lilacs and a bad broom to avoid

Find the perfect garden hose for your plant

From mealybugs to earwigs, what’s eating your garden?

Are ‘roly-poly’ bugs a problem?

Prescription for healthy veggies

Over the Garden Fence
Steve Albert, Kenwood Press

Vegetable watering tips

Made Local Magazine
featuring Spring Gardening Tips by Sue Lovelace
(Pollinator Friendly Garden &
Grow Your Own Food)
and Susan Foley (Low-Water Gardening)

Form and Foliage
Delight your senses: visit Sonoma County Master Gardener Sara Malone's Form and Foliage blog. Janice LeCocq, photographer of Sara's Petaluma garden, gives us her unique perspective.

https://formandfoliage.wordpress.com/

Webmasters: Kim Roche, Stan Pawlak

Food Gardening Editor: Stephanie Wrightson

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

Information Desks:
Santa Rosa: (707) 565-2608
M-F 9-12, 1-4
email: mgsonoma@ucdavis.edu
(If clicking this link doesn't work, type the email address in your email program)
or bring plant problems in for analysis
Locations/REQUIREMENTS

Click Here to request a Garden Sense consultation

Donate to Master Gardeners

Become a Master Gardener