Napa Master Gardener Column

Planting Cover Crops Enriches the Soil. By T. Eric Nightingale UC Master Gardeners of Napa County The long summer of vegetable gardening can leave your soil in need of some rejuvenation, a perfect job for cover crops.

By Penny Pawl, U.C. Master Gardener of Napa County Some time ago I wrote a column about African keyhole gardens. These innovative gardens are circular and have a place in the middle for worm composting bin. The design has performed so well that you can now buy a wooden kit for such a garden.

By Cindy Watter, U.C. Master Gardener of Napa County The first brugmansia I ever saw was growing in an enormous pot someone had placed against the wall of an otherwise insalubrious alley in Eureka, California.

By Denise Seghesio Levine, U.C. Master Gardener of Napa County A seed packet of Rainbow Floral Strain Mix of coleus is on my table and that is pretty exciting. Better than a box of mixed chocolates, this non-caloric envelope of a potential rainbow of eye candy is waiting to be sown and nurtured.

By T. Eric Nightingale, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Fall is a wonderful time to be in the garden. The cooler air is reinvigorating after the long hot days of summer. Fall is also a perfect time to plant many California natives.