- Author: Pamela M. Geisel
By Jill Fugaro
Marin Master Gardeners designed and built three temporary demonstration gardens at the Marin County Fair July 1-5 and hosted over 1500 diverse visitors and 450 attendees at 15 workshops over the five days. Visitors met and talked with the Marin Master Gardener teams of two docents who guided them through the exciting admiring space that was built into straw bales, straw wattles and compost made from last year’s fair food waste. The compost was cured into “black gold” in the bio cell at Marin Sanitary Services and then provided the nutrient rich soil in which our plants were installed. We utilized what we called “The Good Bug Bad Bug“ IPM Kiosk, on loan from UC Davis, to help visitors...
- Author: Pamela M. Geisel
Planting drought resistant plants; increasing the efficiency of irrigation systems; irrigating based on plant water needs; reusing greenwaste; and, adopting integrated pest management practices are key elements of sustainable landscaping. Adopting these sustainable landscaping principles improves plant health and reduces water waste, organic matter otherwise destined for landfills, and the use of pesticides.
In May 2009, the University of California Cooperative Extension’s (UCCE) Master Gardener Program in San Bernardino County organized and conducted two Harmony in the Garden Workshops to demonstrate these sustainable landscape principles to the gardening public. The two workshops provided similar information...
- Author: Pamela M. Geisel
Last April, the Master Gardener Program Coordinator in San Joaquin County, Marcy Hachman, was contacted by a few third grade teachers at Shasta Elementary school in Manteca. The teachers were interested in starting worm composting at their school but had little expertise. Then the Master Gardeners stepped in and taught a series of classes to both the teachers and the children. Two third grade classes started composting their lunch scraps after the MGs talked to the classes about worm composting do's and don'ts and all the benefits associated with it. The San Joaquin County Master Gardener program donated several pounds of worms to the school to get this project...
- Author: Donna C. Seaver
Over a six-month period, six Sonoma County Master Gardener volunteers assisted the program coordinator by securing a grant from the Sonoma County Water Agency and coordinating the design and installation of a large demonstration garden. The garden themes focused on water conservation, pesticide use reduction, and appropriate plant materials for the climate. At the entrance to the facility, the inmates installed a lovely garden that demonstrates the proper use of drought-tolerant plants that need no pest control, that require little maintenance, and that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and numerous beneficial insects. With direct inmate interaction and by providing UC handout materials, the Master Gardeners have significantly improved...
- Author: Donna C. Seaver
The Sonoma County Master Gardener volunteers sought to offer hands-on, practical information to county gardeners by demonstrating specific practices, such as proper plant selection, alternative pest control, home composting and water conservation. Multiple problems in managing previous public demonstration gardens, along with Sonoma County’s size and population distribution, led to the idea of showing home gardeners how science-based concepts were being effectively implemented within Master Gardener’s own gardens. Thus began a series of "Bloomin' Backyard Garden Tours."
