UC ANR is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive web experience for all users. If you encounter an accessibility barrier or need content in an alternative or remediated accessible format, please contact anraccessibility@ucanr.edu.
Petaluma Bounty Farm Unity Garden. Photo by Rene HayesThe Petaluma Bounty Farm Unity Garden is now under the stewardship of our Sonoma County Master Gardeners.
Chefs consistently maintain and sharpen their knives to work more quickly, cut more cleanly, prevent injury to hands and fingers and to last longer. The same is true for garden tools. Sharp garden tools make better cuts on foliage which allows the plant tissue to heal properly.
Anza Borrego Desert State Park landscape spring-blooming California wildflowers blanketing their native habitats create one of the most spectacular magenta floral scenes. In gardens, splashes of dynamic colors mimic their eye-catching native splendor if only for a few weeks each year.
More and more Sonoma County gardeners are seeking plants safe from frequent or occasional visits from deer. Although few plant species are one hundred percent deer proof, gardeners can rely on a large number of easy-care, attractive, drought-tolerant plants that deer may taste but not destroy.
Soil health and fertility underlie success in our food and ornamental gardens, but not all soils are ideal for productivity. In many locations of Sonoma County, heavy clay predominates while loose sandy soil is found in coastal areas as well as in isolated pockets inland. Some home gardeners find that…
Decomposition occurs naturally over time, affecting all organic matter. Managing the process for soil improvement in a compost pile provides rich organic material for the garden.
Soil science now advises gardeners to refrain from disturbing the soil in order to preserve the vast web of life beneath the surface including beneficial bacteria, fungi, algae, and other microbes that enrich soil.
In Sonoma Countys mild Mediterranean climate, many gardeners opt to spend every month in the gardengrowing food crops, maintaining ornamentals, or tending fruit trees.
Positioned along 60 miles of Northern Californias Pacific Coast, Sonoma County enjoys a two-season, Mediterranean climate marked by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, typical of four other west-coast regions around the world.
