Hope to see you at one of these events happening this weekend, Saturday, March 18, 2023. 

Modesto Farmers Market 

Look for our booth at the Modesto Farmers Market, located behind the Modesto Stanislaus County Library branch on 1522 ‘H' Street. Stop by and pick up some free seeds, say "hi" and ask your gardening questions. We have handouts on vegetable gardening, water wise gardening, and lots of tips for what to do about pests. The market starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 1:00 p.m. Make a morning of it, pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables, eat lunch, enjoy the music, and see what else the market has to offer. If you haven't been, you are in for a treat!

Turlock Community Gardens Workshop-Plant Swap-Potluck Palooza 

Turlock Community Gardens invites you to stop in for a visit or for the day, activities for all ages are happening.   

UCCE Master Gardener Composting Basics Workshop  9:00am-10:30am 
Learn about how to compost at home! Reduce your carbon footprint & recycle kitchen/garden scraps. This workshop is a great opportunity to hear from an expert and ask questions, plus one lucky person is going home with their own compost bin!

Turlock Community Gardens Plant Swap
11:00am-11:30am
Let's share cuttings, rooted plants, extra gardening supplies, seeds and any tips and tricks to help out our fellow plant enthusiasts! We will be doing a round robin with wristbands. If you don't have anything to bring, you are still welcome to take items home. There is always more than enough to share, especially extra perlite! 

Rock Painting Station
11:30am
Decorate a rock to take home or gift to the garden. Paint, brushes, and rocks will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own. 

Turlock Community Potluck
12:00pm-2:00pm  
Bring your favorite dish or just bring yourself! Enjoy a slice of pizza while exchanging tips/tricks. It's a great way to meet neighbors, network and have some fun. 

As a reminder, TCG asks children to be always supervised and for everyone to be mindful not to disturb the garden beds. They are lovingly maintained by different families and groups. 

Be sure to check out the Free Garden Items & Seed Exchange Cabinet and Free Little Library. (Take what you need, give what you can.)

Turlock Community Gardens and parking are located behind the Cornerstone Covenant Church (4501 Crowell Road) and the nonprofit, Jessica's House.  If you have any questions about the Turlock Community Gardens event, email info@turlockcommunitygardens.org

 

Greetings newsletter subscribers! Giving Tuesday is next week, Tuesday, November 28, 2022. It's an ideal time of year to support a local organization you care about. If we have answered a question for you, you've learned something new from us by attending a class, or you feel inspired by our work, we hope you'll consider donating to our program.

Currently, we are installing demonstration gardens to be used as outdoor classrooms that the public can visit anytime, and we need your help!

Pollinator Garden 

Our Pollinator Garden is in the installation stage, and we could not be more thrilled. Currently, the irrigation and native plants are going in. Our Master Gardener volunteers were hard at work leveling, raking, and planting just this week.

Thank you Local Donors!

A big “thank you” to the West Resource Conservation District that helped us prepare the garden site, and to our local North San Joaquin Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society https://nsj.cnps.org/ for purchasing and donating the native plants! Many of these species are unusual and not normally found in the landscape. Although newly planted, everyone is welcome to stop by and visit*.

Your Funds Help Make this Garden Happen

Help make this demonstration garden come to life! Funds will be used to purchase additional plants, tools, and educational signage. Our big funding goal is a decomposed granite walkway. This is a pricey item, which can cost several thousand dollars. The benefits are a pathway accessible to everyone that avoids runoff and allows good drainage.

How to Give

Visit this website https://donate.ucanr.edu/ and click on the Master Gardener icon. Then, from the drop down menu labeled “Choose a County,” select “Stanislaus County” to make your desired donation. We are a 501 c3 organization, so your donation is tax deductible. Also, donors will receive a packet of narrowleaf milkweed seeds as a special, “thank you!”

If you prefer to donate by check, please make it out to: UC Regents and send to:
UCC Stanislaus County Master Gardener Program
3800 Cornucopia Way, Ste A
Modesto, CA 95358

Thank you

We look forward to meeting you in the near future in our “outdoor classroom” aka Pollinator Garden for classes on pollinators, California native plants, and how you can support them in your backyard garden, patio, apartment, or classroom.

* Our gardens are located at the Ag Center complex on the corner of Crows Landing and Service Roads in Modesto at 3800 Cornucopia Way, 95358. The Pollinator Garden is on the east side of the Stanislaus building, while the Sensory Garden is on the west side.

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This week, from noon on May 19 to noon on May 20, the UC Master Gardener Program is launching an independent statewide giving day! It's called UC ANR GivingDay—and is a day to ‘dig deep' to support the program you care about.

Locally, our program gives classes at libraries, community gardens, garden clubs, our Harvest Hall facility at the Ag Center, and to senior centers. We also help answer questions in person, online, and by phone. We are currently working on two gardens that will act as outdoor classrooms. You may remember that we raised funds for them last year. Here is an update on their progress.

The Sensory Garden

Our Master Gardener Sensory Garden Committee has been busy researching which plants to use for the garden, and creating a landscape plan that includes water-wise plants. Recently, we used part of the donated funds to remove some of the original plants in need of replacement. Next steps are amending the soil to prepare for the installation of the drip irrigation system. Thanks to Hunter Industries for donating irrigation supplies!

By the end of the summer, the soil will be amended, the drip irrigation installed, and this fall, we will begin planting. Grover Landscape Services Inc. has generously agreed to donate plants for this space. The remaining funds we have will be used for a water feature and a few benches, however it won't cover all of this cost. In addition, so we are looking for funding for hardscapes, mulch, and amendments for this garden. 

The Pollinator Garden

This garden will not only showcase plants for pollinators, it will include a demonstration pollinator hedgerow. These  hedgerows will demonstrate to farmers how they can help provide food for pollinators, while at the same time use hedgerows as visual screens and windbreaks.  

Thanks to a generous donation from the West Stanislaus Resource Conservation District, we will have the funds to remove the turf in the area where we want to plant the garden. One of our Master Gardeners, Rhonda Allen, who created the La Loma Native Garden in Modesto, is creating the plan for this landscape. We plan to remove the turf in late summer, prepare the soil and irrigation, and be ready to plant in fall. Once we reach that step, we will work with Modesto Junior College Nursery to grow plants for this space. We are looking for funding for plants, hardscapes, mulch, and amendments for this garden. 

Our Program

By donating to your local UCCE Master Gardener Program and UC ANR, you help extend the knowledge and resources of the University to your community.

Mark your calendar, spread the word, and stay tuned for more details! Join us at noon and be the first to give—or visit us anytime during the 24 hour giving day. Make your gift then share your support on social media using #Giving Day or call a friend to let them know what's happening. We hope you will join us on May 19-20!

donate.ucanr.edu/givingday