Napa Master Gardener Column

What makes a berry a berry? Recently, the host of a new cooking show asked if a cranberry (the key ingredient in a cooking challenge) was really a berry. Her question piqued my curiosity. Although I like berries, my attention to them is usually limited to their use as a yogurt topping or dessert.

Hi, my name is Wanda/Willie Red Wiggler Worm (Eisenia fetida), and I live in a worm bin. The bin is cared for by a local garden lover who uses the end product to fertilize her plants.

I went to the Santa Cruz farmers market last week and meandered over to a plant stand. Someone was selling lemon balm in a pot for four dollars. Why would anyone pay for one of those? I mused out loud. I have hundreds I would gladly give away.

Fascination with gardens can be traced to the earliest stirrings of civilization.

For many years I've heard about carpenter bees, but this year my relationship with these amazing bees became close and personal. On one side of our 100-year-old house is a peach tree that stands about seven feet tall in summer. The trunk curls around in a pleasing shape.