Fall and Winter in Sonoma County

UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County awarded ‘unprecedented’ grant from Sonoma County Ag + Open Space!

Just in time for the holidays, the UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County received a $1.046 million Sonoma County Ag + Open Space grant to support our work at the Los Guilicos Demonstration and Teaching Garden. This grant is ‘unprecedented’ in the entire history of the Master Gardener Program according to Missy Gable, the Statewide Director of the UC Master Gardener Program.

The Los Guilicos Demonstration and Teaching Garden is a 4.5-acre parcel of land in east Santa Rosa near the Valley of the Moon Children’s Center that was damaged during the 2020 Glass Fire. Since the spring of 2023, UC Master Gardener volunteers have transformed the property into a native, waterwise, fire wise, and wildlife-friendly garden and learning space for adults and children.

Thank you to our volunteers who collaborated on the grant application and to First District Supervisor Susan Gorin, a longtime supporter of the UC Master Gardener Program and the Los Guilicos Demonstration Garden. We are also indebted to all the UC Master Gardener Volunteers who have worked to transform the Los Guilicos land into a botanical paradise ideal for learning, healing, and growing a sustainable future for Sonoma County.

Learn more about the Sonoma County Ag + Open Space Grant to the UC Master Gardener Los Guilicos Demonstration Garden here.

Food Gardening Year-Round

See our Monthly Tips for food gardening tasks you can do each month to make your garden, healthy, beautiful and productive.

Grow food sustainably in your garden year-round while building the health of your garden environment using sustainable gardening principles. We emphasize using practices that will not compromise future conditions of the environment and we break down the practical implementation of sustainability in our food gardens into categories using these basic principles.

• A food garden begins with good soil
• The right plants for your food garden are those vegetable and fruit crops that you want to eat and that can grow successfully in your microclimate
• Include herbs and flowers as companion plants to encourage beneficial insects
• Sustainable pest management approaches are those that are the least toxic
• Water conservation

School Field Trip Waitlist Available

Teachers and school administrators: Our fall 2024 and spring 2025 school field trips are booked but you can sign up for our waitlist. If you’d like to place your class (1st, 2nd 4th and 5th grades) on a waitlist for fall 2025 / spring 2026 or be notified if there’s a cancellation, please complete and submit this form. Field trips and bus transportation are free. For information about our field trip program, click here.