HOrT COCO-UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa

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Drawing of a cotyledon
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Indoor Seed Starting

January 30th, 2024
By Help Desk Team
Many of us have seed catalogs arriving in the mail this month, so now is the time to start thinking about your summer garden. We are publishing this article again because starting plants from seed is a great way to lower costs and increase the variety in your vegetable garden.
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Diagram of before and after rose pruning
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Do I Really Need to Prune My Roses?

January 15th, 2024
By Help Desk Team
The answer is YES! And it is easy! If you prune, your rose flower bushes will Be larger Have more flowers Will be more balanced and fuller And the health of your plant improved! Most roses need to be pruned only once a year.
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Photo of plant cut off 3 inches above the ground level.
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Leave Those Roots!

December 18th, 2023
By Help Desk Team
At the end of the gardening season, there is an instinct to uproot spent plants and clear the soil for a fresh start, whether it be for a cover crop, a winter vegetable crop, or next year's summer crops.
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Photo of Butterhead 'Salanova' lettuce
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Growing Lettuce

December 4th, 2023
By Help Desk Team
Lettuce may not be a garden crop that causes you to perk up and say, Tell me more. You may be thinking, Boring, I'll pass. Or you may be the gardener who says, I never could get that crop to grow. Whatever your current thinking about lettuce, I hope to get you excited about this humble crop.
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Photo of peach leaf curl on peach leaf
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Is it Time to Use Dormant Sprays on Your Backyard Fruit Trees?

November 20th, 2023
By Help Desk Team
This year was particularly bad for peach leaf curl and other fungal infections in fruit trees because of the wonderful rain we had last winter and spring. It looks like we might have another wet winter, so we are rerunning this post to remind you to think about a spray program for your trees.
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