UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

University of California

UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

May in Sonoma County

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.

Weeding Nirvana or Weeding Neurosis

Love weeding? Or not! Weeds have adverse impacts and superior ability to survive. Click here to learn more about weeds, weed prevention and weed control.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Quick Guide to Sonoma County Weeds, Sonoma County Master Gardener website
Weed Key, UC/ANR Integrated Pest Management
Weed Photo Gallery, UC/ANR Integrated Pest Management
Information by Specific Weed, UC Weed Research and Information Center
California Noxious Weeds, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services

Food Gardening

The 3 Sisters

In May, Sonoma County gardeners are transitioning their spring food gardens to summer which includes planting corn, beans and squash. The 3 Sisters is a traditional companion planting method using these three crops so that they benefit from each other. 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

Workshop Calendar

Event Name	Date
Sudden Oak Death Blitz - Petaluma	5/31/2017
A Healthcare Program for Succulents-Petaluma Seed Bank	6/1/2017
Sudden Oak Death Blitz - various locations	6/3/2017
Food Gardening Workshop--Spring into Summer-Santa Rosa	6/3/2017

View More Events

Find links to workshop handouts under Resources/Workshop Handouts.

Interested in becoming a master gardener? Check back this summer for information about applying for our 2018 training program.

Sundays with Sue

By SCMG Sue Lovelace
SUNDAYS WITH SUE - May 21, 2017

It's been an all out "buns" busting, back aching, mind boggling but totally satisfying, always learning, week in the garden!! It's called "Transition Time," where warm season veggies have now outnumbered the cool season ones planted in the garden and soil and air temps have warmed up enough to do so. Well, almost. Row covers are still in place over the tomatoes and I place class bowls over tiny basils at night. Fava Beans have been harvested (big job, because the greens needed to be cut up and put in the compost) and have been taken out of the outside shell. A new technique of freezing the inner shell (spread on cookie sheet, freeze about an hour or so, then take out and defrost), enables us to just pop out the inner, very yummy bean that we, then, sautéed in garlic and olive oil. Speaking of compost: garden ready compost needed to be sifted to separate rocks and twigs from the actual compost (another big job!), then put in beds where summer plants were planted.

Because I needed more space for trials of grafted tomatoes vs ungrafted ones, I decided to take out some of my garlic. That's when I discovered "green garlic." Looking very much like green onions, but smelling heavily of garlic, I knew I had to Google "premature garlic." It seems that in the process of thinning garlic, gardeners and chefs have come to know the gourmet qualities of "green garlic." The source I found said to roll garlic head in wet paper towels and store in fridge for 5-7 days. Use it in sauces, salads, stirfries, wherever you would use garlic. It's not as strong as bulb garlic but very tasty.

Back to the garden: the tomatoes, peppers, beans, eggplant, basil, cukes, squash, and flowers are in the garden with cool weather peas, lettuces, kale; which will be vacating soon. In the front yard are two pea vines that are bearing daily. There won't be much time before beans will be planted in their place.

I know you all can relate to the long days of working hard in the garden, and most likely, the satisfaction, as well. Be careful in this heat but enjoy your day and your week!

"The best Gardeners are eternal optimists. Unforeseen calamities will happen, plants will die, deer will eat your roses while gophers eat the roots off your lemon tree. But you will keep trying and replanting and hoping for perfect weather to ripen your tomatoes. Gardens are always a work in progress and when you do have a success it wipes away the memory of your failures." ~ Mary Savage, UC Master Gardener of Sonoma County

Master Gardeners in Print

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

The Garden Doctors
Dana Lozano & Gwen Kilchherr

How to Grow Vegetables Vertically

Cover Crops, Worms Keep Your Garden Happy

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

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