UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

University of California

UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

January in Sonoma County

Four months to Bloomin’ Backyards!

But in the mean time we are adding articles about the gardens to whet your appetites.

Here is our second article featuring Jan's beautiful garden.

The first article features Sara’s garden. Enjoy! And, watch this space for new articles.

The Bloomin’ Backyards team is still working hard to prepare the six unique Petaluma gardens belonging to Master Gardeners for the 2020 BBY Tour. The gardens have been selected for their beauty and as displays of sustainable gardening practices. Each of the gardens will be featured in an article on the website over the next six months. You will learn what to look for in each, and understand what to appreciate such as: goals of the gardener, special features of a particular garden and important gardening practices such as sustainability, firewise choices and other valuable horticultural methods.

The Spring 2020 Bloomin’ Backyards garden tour is scheduled for Sunday, May 17, 2020 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Petaluma. Recognized experts will be on hand to demonstrate and answer questions on organic gardening, soil development, drip irrigation, integrated pest management, habitat gardening, growing fruits and vegetables, water catchment, firewise landscaping, and much, much more. The tour is a biennial event presented by the UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County.

Ticket information will be posted on our website on April 2, 2020. Please visit sonomamg.ucanr.edu for regularly updated information.

Food Gardening

Food Gardening Resolutions

Ringing in the New Year includes making resolutions to improve various aspects of our lives. How about resolving to better plan our food gardens and applying sustainable food gardening principles? We will benefit from healthier and more productive crops while employing practices that benefit the environment. Read more.

Fruit and Nut Trees

When you visit your local nursery in January, 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
Healthy Gardens: A Balanced Approach - Sonoma	1/25/2020
Rain Gardens. A beautiful way to keep water in the garden -Rincon	1/25/2020
Bee Dazzled- an Introduction to Native Bees and a Workshop on Raising Mason Bees - Windsor	2/1/2020
Fake news in the Garden - Healdsburg	2/1/2020
Keep Your Soil Alive: Cover Crops- Compost and Mulch - Guerneville	2/8/2020
Pruning and Caring for Fruit Trees - Sebastopol	2/8/2020

View More Events

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

Sundays with Sue

By SCMG Sue Lovelace
Updated: January 19, 2020

As blizzards hit different parts of the country and snow falls heavily in our own Sierra Nevada mountains, we have been fortunate here in Northern California to have moderate and consistent rains. If you have a winter garden, you must be happy with all this moisture. Even though temps dip to freezing, the moisture is protective and productive. A Brazilian broccoli I have in a pot, across the yard from the plants full of florets that were pilfered by rodents, is full of ready-to-pick florets. Looks like a stir fry is in order for dinner tonight!

With all the focus on plant based diets, it’s so confirming to see broccoli, kale, chard, and cabbage as leaders in dense nutrients and antioxidants. I enjoy reading about the “Blue Zones” around the world where health and longevity have shown that plant based diets, including greens, berries, beans and nuts, and small amounts of proteins like fish and chicken are apparently contributors to good health. Also targeted as proponents of health are social activity and growing your own food or buying local, organic, sustainably produced food.

Speaking of growing your own food and buying locally, Jim Embry, a proponent and ambassador to the “Slow Food” movement has written a tribute to George Washington Carver, who in the early 1900s educated people in the south about regenerative farming which included soil health, crop rotation, cover crops, and planting crops like sweet potatoes and peanuts. These crops not only fed the soil but fed people as well, and were good alternative crops to cotton. For years, the cotton crop was depleting the soil and in its weakened state, pests like the bull weevil were attacking and destroying it.

At this time, George also advocated educating children in schools about nutrition and agriculture. His writings and teachings set a new standard in this country for feeding people and the stewardship of the land. As we all know, agriculture moved away from these important cultural standards to mechanized, prolific monocultures which ultimately created acres and acres of soil and wildlife destroying air and water, polluting crops with health-threatening pesticides. Where would we be today if George’s vision and supporting science had been followed? “Slow Food” and other advocates of growing food sustainably and organically by ourselves or by those local to us, are leading a strong path for us and for future generations. Thank you, George Washington Carver for your great work!

Meeting with Master Gardeners at Bayer Farm, the decision to address soil needs with cover crops is a priority and our plantings will feature “Slow Food’s” Ark of Taste (Heritage foods that face distinction). We have a long list of tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, beans, and lettuce seeds to start and plant in the garden; so exciting! Our “Slow Food” liaison, Kathy Matonak, has told us that Kendall Jackson will also feature an Ark to Taste garden. Pretty Cool! Googling this years’ seeds will no doubt produce a list, if others are interested in seeding these heritage plants.

It seems like whenever I get inspired to grow and cook healthy food, I pick up one of my books written by Alice Waters (“Chez Panise” restaurant owner, pioneer of Farm to Table) who writes about the simplicity, freshness and nutritionally delicious aspects of local food and the cultural surrounding it. Her books contain recipes and lots of other information. No other words need to be said than what’s on the back of her book, The Art of Simple Food:

“Eat local and sustainably; Eat seasonally; Shop at Farmers markets; Plant a garden; Conserve, compost and recycle; Cook simply; Cook together; Eat together; Remember, food is precious.” Alice Waters

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