Don't miss out on your chance to apply to become a Master Gardener!  Applications are due 9/25.

If you love to garden, want to learn about horticulture and to share your information with others, the Sonoma County Master Gardeners (SCMG) offer you the opportunity to learn and to use your knowledge of gardening to serve the community. 

The Sonoma County Master Gardener program is a volunteer organization that extends the research and education of the University of California to Sonoma County home gardeners. Each trainee must have a commitment to community service in Sonoma County and be willing to volunteer as an agent of the University of California Cooperative Extension.  Master Gardeners are people of all ages and from all walks of life. They include businessmen and women, professionals, educators, retirees, homemakers, and students — all with some knowledge of plants and gardening. Master Gardeners must be enthusiastic, willing to learn and help others, and must be able to communicate with diverse groups of people.

Master Gardener trainees attend a training program comprising approximately one hundred fifteen hours of instruction in plant science and horticulture covering such topics as soils, fertilizers, irrigation, weeds, diseases, insects and other pests, fruit and landscape trees, vegetables, xeriscaping, and more. Each trainee receives The California Master Gardener Handbook as well as other UCCE publications.  Classes are taught by experts in their fields. They include Cooperative Extension Advisors and specialists from the University of California at Berkeley and Davis, local community college faculty, and other knowledgeable resource people.

Training classes will be held on Thursdays, usually from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (some starting at 9:00 a.m.) from January through the middle of May. There will be a few classes held on Saturday

mornings.  As a first-year Master Gardener, after completing the training class, trainees volunteer at least 50 hours on approved Master Gardener activities. First-year Master Gardeners are given some choice on the activities they volunteer for, but a certain number of hours on the Information Desk and selected other projects are required. For more information and to apply visit 2016 Master Gardener Information & Application.

Applications must be received by 5pm, September 25.

The UC Cooperative Extension Sonoma County Master Gardeners have just finished the 17^th installation of their 2015 Sonoma County Fair demonstration garden.  This year's demo garden features sustainable landscape principles including lawn alternative plant materials, permeable hardscape, low water use plants, composting, sheet mulching, food gardening in small spaces, beneficial insects and MORE!  Come by our booth just outside the Hall of Flowers to see how beautiful a sustainable garden can be!

The garden is located in the outdoor patio at Hall of Flowers. Master Gardener docents will be available on-site from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Sonoma County Fair runs July 24 through August 9, closed Mondays.

Here are pictures of this year's demo garden.

The annual Sonoma County Fair is upon us and the Sonoma County Master Gardeners are participating with their Demonstration Garden.  This will be the 16th year that SCMG has participated in the county fair.  Their booth will be once again located on the outdoor patio south of the famous Hall of Flowers. 

The primary focus is on water wise gardening, including drought tolerant plants, drought tolerant raised bed vegetable and herb gardening, permeable hardscape, and blending in the fairs 60's theme.  We will be incorporating a vermiculture and compost bin as well as a rain catchment system. The Sonoma County Master Gardeners Food Gardening Specialists will also be on hand to disseminate information. 

Master Gardener docents will be available on-site from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Sonoma County Fair, July 24 - August 10, closed Mondays

The UCCE Sonoma Master Gardeners launched a partnership with the Sonoma County Water Agency in November 2013 called “”. Under the Garden Sense program, a team of two Master Gardeners with specialized training in water efficiency schedule visits with interested Sonoma County homeowners to advise on how to transform their landscape from one that gulps water to one that sips.

Garden Sense consultants have been trained in lawn conversion, water management, irrigation systems, low-water-use plants and sustainable gardening practices.

As a result of the drought emergency, there has been a huge response to the program. Garden Sense teams visited 161 clients in 2014 with a total of 182 total clients visited since the program inception in November 2013. There is a backlog of 90 more clients waiting for appointments, and we are training a new group of Garden Sense consultants to help meet the demand generated by the program.

There are a wide range of planned activities by the clients with whom we have consulted ranging from a complete re-landscape of yards with new irrigation, water-wise plants and mulching to simple irrigation improvements.

Every small step helps!

There has been a very positive response to the program, and homeowners seem genuinely grateful for assistance with recommendations in their specific home landscape. The UCCE Sonoma Master Gardeners will be conducting a survey later this year to assess actual impact of changes homeowners have made in landscape water use practices as a results of the Garden Sense program. Contact the Master Gardeners at 707-565-2608 or visit Garden Sense