- Author: Gayle Nelson
Article by Iris Craig, UC Master Gardener of Napa County, Class of 2016.
Napa has a well-kept secret: the demonstration garden at Connolly Ranch maintained by the U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County. Master Gardener volunteers are there almost every Thursday morning pulling weeds, trimming plants and caring for the succulent and container gardens. The camaraderie among the volunteer gardeners and Connolly Ranch staff is delightful and keeps us coming back.
This is a teaching garden, designed to showcase research-based gardening practices and provide a place for the public to learn. The Napa County Master Gardeners inspired by similar gardens in Fresno County and Santa Clara County, began looking for a suitable site in 2000. It needed to be of adequate size with water, parking and accessibility, and of course it had to be affordable.
At the time, Connolly Ranch was being managed by the Land Trust of Napa County. Connolly Ranch and Master Gardeners have a similar mission, focused on education and connecting local people to the environment. Master Gardeners focus on adult gardeners' education, while Connolly Ranch aims to connect kids and their families to nature. We were offered a sloping site in the Ranch adjacent to the garden area.
In the summer of 2002, we began preparing the site for the future demonstration garden. Cleanup was the first task: hand-pulling weeds and hauling away years of accumulated debris. A tractor leveled the site and then created terraces. Master Gardener volunteers built a retaining wall and raised beds. We later added a shaded teaching and meeting location and a kiosk for posting information about the garden and upcoming events.
Master Gardeners and local businesses, including Van Winden's Garden Center in Napa and Mid City Nursery in American Canyon, donated plants and trees. A non-working fountain was repurposed as a succulent garden, and old tires were made into planters.
With enthusiasm, creativity and hard work, Master Gardeners made the many improvements that you see today. We constructed two storage sheds and a covered patio with benches and tables as well as a bulletin board built with the help of some Eagle Scouts.
We have designed and planted a bird, bee and hummingbird garden; a fire-wise garden; a succulent garden; a butterfly garden; an herb garden; a Mediterranean garden; and seasonal and container vegetable gardens. There are espaliered fruit trees and a rose garden. The roses are trained high to foil deer.
Each season, volunteers conduct field tests of vegetables and flowers to determine which varieties grow best in Napa County. Their progress is documented and made available through the Master Gardeners of Napa County website and publications. Last year, we planted corn, squash and beans by the Iroquois method. The Iroquois determined that this trio, which they called “the three sisters,” helped each other thrive. The beans feed the soil and climb up the corn stalks, while the large squash leaves shade the ground and keep weeds under control. Produce from the garden is donated to the Napa Food Bank.
The demonstration garden provides training for Master Gardeners on topics such as how to build and maintain a composting worm bin, how to espalier fruit trees and how to identify weeds. The Master Gardeners are often on hand during public events at Connolly Ranch to answer questions about gardening and provide educational garden activities for the whole family.
Master Gardeners volunteer more than 900 hours yearly in their garden to keep the it looking great and to educate the public.
The demonstration garden as part of Connolly Ranch is open to the public on the first Wednesday of every month and for special Connolly Ranch events throughout the year. See the Connolly Ranch website for details on days and times at http://connollyranch.org Connolly Ranch is located at 3141 Browns Valley Road in Napa. The parking access is off Thompson Ave. To get the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden inside the Ranch, from the parking lot walk past the greenhouse, the Beckstoffer chicken house and the big barn all on your left. Then enter the garden gate to the children's garden area and veer to the left down the path. You will see the entrance to the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden area.
Right before you enter, look to the right to see a California native plant garden dedicated to one of our members, and the hillside of white Matilija poppies, take a deep breath and enjoy the scents, then walk through the gate to our little Eden.
Workshop: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Rose Pruning” on Saturday, January 7, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, at University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Certified Rosarian Lynne Andresen and other Master Gardener rose enthusiasts will demonstrate and explain proper pruning techniques and review rose types, common rose disorders and routine maintenance. Online registration (credit card only); Mail-in registration (check only or drop off cash payment).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
What is the difference between cacti and succulents? All cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti. Named for the Latin succulentus, meaning juice or sap, succulents are defined by their liquid storage ability and belong to many different botanical families.
The cactus plant is defined by small, spherical, pillow-like structures called areoles from which spines, branches, leaves, hairs and even flowers emerge. Many succulents look similar to cactus, but if they do not have these cushiony areoles, then they are not in the cactus family (Cactaceae).
Succulents are native to most parts of the world whereas cacti occur naturally only from Alaska to Chile. In Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, a native cactus has never been found. Surprisingly, Canada boasts several native cacti that have evolved to survive the harsh winters.
In Napa Valley's Mediterranean climate, succulents are a good choice for an easily maintained, slower-paced garden. Most require little water. However, low care does not mean no care.
Check your succulents regularly to catch and treat stressed plants quickly. An actively growing succulent may need water anywhere from once a week to once a month depending on the type and size of the plant, its location, the container and the weather.
The larger the plant and the plumper and fatter the leaves, the less water the plant needs. Keep the soil as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Use a drip system or water by hand, but moisten the soil and not the plant. Water can cause “sunburn” spots on the leaves.
If you forget to water, succulents usually adjust; if you over water, no worries. Unless waterlogged, they do fine. When in doubt, don't water.
Although they do not do well in full shade, succulents need only three to four hours of sunlight daily. Protect them from the onslaught of the midday sun. Early-morning and late-afternoon sun is best, with filtered exposure at noon. The plants need much less sun in winter, but be sure to protect them from frost. The succulent's plump leaves freeze easily.
With their shallow root systems, succulents do well in pots or in the ground. Nurseries sell container mixes for cactus, but you can make your own with two parts potting soil to one part perlite and one part coarse sand. Remove the plant from its nursery pot and spread the roots out on top of a small mound of soil. Add more soil but keep the roots shallow; press down softly to anchor the plant.
At the time of planting, add one teaspoon of slow-release fertilizer per gallon of soil. In spring, feed plants with a low-nitrogen liquid fertilizer diluted to half strength; be sure to moisten the soil first. Do not over-fertilize or the plant may develop softened foliage that is susceptible to rot.
Like all plants, succulents need occasional dividing, deadheading and pruning. They experience a growth spurt when moved to a larger pot. Some succulents are winter growers and look unwell in summer. Resist the impulse to overwater them during this period.
For most succulents, early summer is a good time to propagate. Allow new cuttings to dry or “callus” before planting them. Putting them in soil immediately encourages the cuttings to draw too much moisture and possibly rot.
Succulents are not plagued by many pests. Aphids, spider mites and mealy bugs are the most common. A judicious squirt of water from a spray bottle or hose removes these invaders easily. A cotton swab soaked in isopropyl alcohol and dabbed directly on the pest will also work. Avoid getting alcohol on the plant as it might damage the leaves. For more information on dealing with the pests that plague succulents, visitwww.ipm.ucdavis.edu.
Recently I attended a local flower show, and all the amazing ideas for using succulents really got my creative juices flowing. One display was of miniature fairy gardens complete with rock paths and little houses. My mind immediately started creating a tiny landscape of chubby, scalloped, speckled, spikey, fleshy, prickled succulents. The possibilities are endless and only limited by my imagination.
Workshops: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will conduct a workshop on “Succulent Gifts” on Sunday, November 8, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. Bring your own love of succulents to this workshop dedicated to making gifts for the holidays or for yourself. Master Gardeners will concentrate on the right kind of soil and care for succulents, discuss the myriad succulent types, and help you make a succulent garden or two to give as gifts. Please bring succulent cuttings if you would like to share. Call 707-944-8712 to register or visit the Parks and Recreation web site.
“Succulent Gifts” workshop will be repeated on Saturday, November 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the University of California Cooperative Extension Office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa.
Online registration (credit card only)Mail-in registration (cash or check only)
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Also called lily of the Nile, agapanthus is not a lily at all. Nor is it from the Nile. It is actually from the southern part of Africa, not the northeastern part where the Nile River flows.
Still, agapanthus does have some qualities in common with lilies. If you have clumps of either agapanthus or daylilies that are getting too crowded for their space, it is time to divide them.
Were your agapanthus blooms as robust and plentiful this year as in years past? If blossoms have dwindled to just a few flowers, do a little detective work. Both agapanthus and daylilies can become root-bound, even planted in the ground.
Take a close look at the roots at soil level. If the crown of the plant is beginning to show above the soil or roots are apparent above ground, it is probably time to split the clump. Thick roots can begin to intertwine and choke themselves if you don't intervene. Typically, agapanthus and daylily clumps need to be divided every four to six years.
It is hard work to dig up a well-established clump of tuberous roots, but it gives you the opportunity to spread more flowers around your garden. Alternatively, you can give starts of blue or white agapanthus to gardeners lacking these upright, stately plants.
If the root clumps are really big or overgrown, enlist help. Some gardeners prefer to use garden forks to separate the tangled roots into three or four sections. Other gardeners cut straight through roots with a sharp, straight shovel, like slicing a pie into quarters.
Agapanthus roots are tough. Brush or rinse off the dirt and remove any dead, soft or weak-looking roots. Make sure each division has at least one or two growing points. Weed and prepare their new or revived bed and replant.
Agapanthus likes good drainage, but it does not need a super-cushy bed. Too much nitrogen can produce tender foliage that is more easily damaged by frost. Space new plants 12 to 18 inches apart.That's enough room to grow, yet close enough to help each other stay upright. Tall varieties that can reach 4 to 5 feet in height need more space than short varieties like ‘Peter Pan,' the agapanthus that “never grows up.” These dwarf varieties top out at about 18 inches and are useful in the front of mixed beds or along borders.
Agapanthus is a star in garden beds, attracting honey bees, ground bees and a variety of other pollinators. Agapanthus does well in large containers, too, so pots on the deck or patio can be a good solution if you have garden areas that are too waterlogged in winter to host them. Most agapanthus come in hues of blue and blueish-purple, but white agapanthus are common, and pink blossoms are available, albeit more rare.
In my experience, agapanthus is very forgiving. An agapanthus in a five-gallon pot sat on my deck for four years, finally getting so obviously crowded that I had to free it. That one pot provided a 15-foot-long border of liberated agapanthus. All were blooming within a few months, rewarding my deferred maintenance.
Whether in roadside plantings or in cottage gardens, agapanthus is an easy-care favorite. Preferring sunny, well-drained soil with south- or west-facing exposure, the plants flower from midsummer to early autumn.
After flowering, cut the stalks but leave the strappy foliage to collect energy from the sun and prepare for next year's bloom. If uncut, the flowers will develop blackish-brown seeds that open and drop on the ground.
You can grow agapanthus from seed, but you have to be patient. It may take two or three years before blossoms appear. Still, agapanthus seeds germinate reliably, so if you enjoy growing plants from seed and have room in your garden for baby agapanthus, starting from seed is an economical way to grow them. Instructions for collecting and propagating seeds can be found on The Royal Horticultural Society's website, along with information on different cultivars to consider for your garden.
Workshop: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will conduct a workshop on “Succulent Gifts” on Sunday, November 8, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. Bring your own love of succulents to this workshop dedicated to making gifts for the holidays or for yourself. Master Gardeners will concentrate on the right kind of soil and care for succulents, discuss the myriad succulent types, and help you make a succulent garden or two to give as gifts. Please bring succulent cuttings if you would like to share. Call 707-944-8712 to register or visit the Parks and Recreationweb site.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
The University of California is a land-grant university. The first campus, in Berkeley, had a strong agricultural focus. In 1907, the university established a research farm that became the U. C. Davis campus, and the Citrus Experiment Station in Riverside, the foundation for the U.C. campus there.
Counties wanting to participate in C. E. had to allocate funding for it. They also had to organize farmers into Farm Bureaus .Each community would get a farm advisor to work with the Farm Bureau. In 1913, its farm advisor in place, Humboldt County became the first county to join Cooperative Extension. Seven more counties, including Napa, joined the partnership in 1914.
U.C. Cooperative Extension is part of the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. It encompasses 200 C.E. advisors, 130 specialists, 57 county offices and nine research and extension centers. The Master Gardener program, including the active Napa Valley branch, operates under the purview of U.C. Cooperative Extension.
Farm advisor Dean Donaldson organized the U.C.C.E. Master Gardeners of Napa County in 1995. The group will celebrate its 20thanniversary next year. It continues to expand outreach to home gardeners in Napa County.
Napa County has been agriculturally important since before it became a county in 1850. Grain was the main crop while California was still part of Mexico, with wheat grown along the Napa River. By 1880, Napa County produced wheat, barley, wool, wine and fruit and shipped these crops across the country. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were an estimated 500,000 fruit and nut trees in the valley, including apples, cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, plums, olives, almonds and walnuts. At the time, prunes and grapes were the largest crops.
The ‘Hartley' walnut and ‘Boysenberry', both developed in Napa Valley, are stars of our county's agricultural history. John Hartley emigrated from England to California in 1884, moving to Napa in 1904. He purchased land with Persian walnuts, known for producing large crops of heart-shaped walnuts with mild flavor. At the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, judges awarded the walnut a medal for exceptional quality and named it the ‘Hartley' walnut.
In the 1920s, Rudolf Boysen experimented with crossing various berries. In 1923 he crossed a blackberry with a loganberry and a raspberry to create the Boysenberry. In the 1930s, Boysen sold the rights to his fruit to Walter Knott in Southern California, who later would found Knott's Berry Farm. The fruit was first sold commercially in 1935.
To celebrate the centennial, you are invited to participate in a science project. On May 8, the 100th anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act, Cooperative Extension invites all Californians to become citizen scientists for a day and help collect scientific data.
To participate, simply look around your home or workplace and record your observations on any or all of these three questions: How many pollinators do you see? How do you conserve water? Where is food grown in your community? To record your observations, visit http://beascientist.ucanr.edu.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will lead a workshop on “Container Gardening and Succulents” on Saturday, May 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the Senior Multi-Use Center, 2185 Elliott Drive, American Canyon. Grow gardens that are mobile. Discover the best containers, soil and locations for your plants to prosper. Gain confidence to work with unfamiliar types of plants. Online registration (credit card only); Mail in registration (cash or check only).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Napa County Master Gardeners welcome the public to visit their demonstration garden at Connolly Ranch on Thursdays, from 10:00 a.m. until noon, except the last Thursday of the month. Connolly Ranch is at 3141 Browns Valley Road at Thompson Avenue in Napa. Enter on Thompson Avenue.
It has been three years since I first saw grafted tomatoes in a seed catalog. I ordered four. I wanted to grow them and compare them to other tomatoes in my summer garden.
Last year I ordered grafted eggplant and bell pepper seedlings. I also bought the same non-grafted varieties locally and grew them all right next to each other.
This experience gave me some results that, while not scientific, I could measure.
The first year, I grew my four grafted tomatoes in a separate bed from the others. One fared poorly but the other three were tasty enough to merit saving seed.
For a number of years, I have been saving seed from the tomatoes that I like best. The tomatoes I grew from the seed that I saved from the grafted varieties did well last summer—as well as the grafted tomatoes had the year before. Since tomatoes are self-pollinating, their seeds come true—the offspring resemble the parent plant—unless the seeds come from hybrid tomatoes. In that case, the next generation may look more like an earlier ancestor than like the hybrid.
I was amazed by the rapid growth of the grafted ‘Rosa Blanca' eggplant. It had fruit prior to the non-grafted ‘Rosa Blanca'. However, after the initial rush, it sat there while the non-grafted plant grew taller and produced fruit. I had the same experience with the bell peppers. At the end of the season, the yield was almost the same.
For grafted vegetables, professional grafters choose rootstock that is resistant to virus and other soil-borne diseases. When seedlings are large enough, they are grafted onto the root material. It's a relatively simple procedure, and I was going to do it myself but the root material was only available in quantities of 100 or more. The rootstock seed, available online, is also pricy—about 50 cents per seed.
Vegetable grafting started in Japan in the 1920s, when a square watermelon was grafted onto rootstock for a round watermelon. I don't understand the advantage of a square watermelon except that it doesn't roll around. Korea and Japan have been grafting vegetables for almost a century, and the practice has now moved to Europe and the U.S.
Last summer, Sacramento Master Gardeners did an experiment, planting two 'Pineapple' tomatoes—one grafted, one not. I have grown this variety also. They concluded that the grafted plant had more problems than the one grown on its own roots, and it cost much more. In a recent issue, Organic Gardening magazine explored the benefits of grafted versus non-grafted tomatoes and concluded that grafted tomatoes did not offer any obvious advantages for the home gardener. That is my conclusion as well.
Based on my experience and my reading online, I believe that grafted vegetables are intended more for professional greenhouse growers. In that environment, crops are planted in soil that is reused repeatedly. As a result,viruses and other soil-borne diseases build up in the soil.
The home gardener can take precautions to avoid soil-borne diseases. The first line of defense is to rotate crops. Members of the nightshade family—tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers—should be planted in different areas each year.
Solarizing the soil in summer is another way to combat soil-borne disease. Wait for the summer heat to arrive, then clean up the targeted area, removing all plant material. Water well, thencover the area with clear plastic sheeting. Secure the edges andlet the soil bake. The soil under the plasticshouldreach about 140°F, hot enough to kill many soil-borne diseases. I also found that the heat kills invasive redwood roots.
Leave the plastic in place for about two months. For more information on solarizing, consult University of California sources online, such as: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74145.html
Since this is a drought year, I am planning to solarize several of my garden beds.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will lead a workshop on “Container Gardening and Succulents” on Saturday, May 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the Senior Multi-Use Center, 2185 Elliott Drive, American Canyon. Grow gardens that are mobile. Discover the best containers, soil and locations for your plants to prosper. Gain confidence to work with unfamiliar types of plants.Online registration (credit card only); Mail in registration (cash or check only).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Napa County Master Gardeners welcome the public to visit their demonstration garden at Connolly Ranch on Thursdays, from 10:00 a.m. until noon, except the last Thursday of the month. Connolly Ranch is at 3141 Browns Valley Road at Thompson Avenue in Napa. Enter on Thompson Avenue.