Napa Master Gardener Column

By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County It's almost the end of March, and we're getting close to the planting season for summer vegetables. At the same time, we're supposed to avoid any non-essential contact with other people.

By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Happy Spring! Spring officially arrived on Thursday, March 19, at 8:49 p.m. If you're feeling like most people right now, though, it feels less like a happy spring than a really uncertain time.

By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Growing some of your own vegetables is one way to contribute to a more sustainable world. Locally grown food, if grown correctly, has a much smaller environmental footprint than food imported from elsewhere.

By Penny Pawl, U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County One of spring's miracles is about to occur. The California Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies will start emerging from their pupas and gather around California pipevine plants to create a new generation sometime in March.

By Donna Woodward, U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County Twice a year, Napa County Master Gardeners conduct vegetable field trials. Members of the field-trial committee plant three different varieties of the same vegetable and monitor the results so we can share what we have learned with the public.