Ongoing research

UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County: Page

Creating a Cut Flower Garden

By Carol Moore, UC Master Gardener Introduction to the Joys of Having a Year Round Cut Flower Garden The upside of a cut flower garden: Flowers bring in the beneficials: pollinators and birds Having year round cut flowers from your own garden They bring beauty to your garden The downside of a cut fl...
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UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County: Page

Graywater Irrigation

By Kim Wilson, UC Master Gardener As Californias water resources decrease due to drought and population growth, homeowners are seeking ways to conserve water. It has been estimated that 30-50% of water used in our homes produces graywater.
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UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County: Page

Lawn Removal Methods

Adapted from UC Master Gardener Program of Sacramento County Lawns are removed for several reasons. Many are choosing to reduce landscape water use and attract wildlife and pollinating insects by using native and other drought tolerant plants.
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UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County: Page

Monarchs and Milkweed

By Peggy Burhenn, UC Master Gardener The beautiful orange western monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) used to be a familiar sight in our gardens with an estimated population of 4.5 million in the 1980s. Since that time, the population has shown a severe decline to less than 30,000 in 2019.
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UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County: Page

Native Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects

By Peggy Burhenn, UC Master Gardener Here are easy to grow California native plants that are known to attract beneficial insects. Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea) Large shrub to 6 feet, bright yellow flowers, full sun, very low water needs, but tolerates summer water.
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UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County: Page

Native Plants: Cultural Care

By Kim Wilson, UC Master Gardener Choosing the right plant: California native plants comprise a spectrum of plant communities: chaparral, coastal, forest, and desert scrub, to name a few. As such, their soil, sun and water requirements can be quite different.
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UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County: Page

No Till Gardining

Adapted from Cheryl Cozad, UC Master Gardener of Butte County Photo Credit: Kevin Marini No Till before planting In the wild areas on our planet, trees, bushes, and grasses grow on ground that has continual additions of new layers of dead and dying plant matter.
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UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County: Page

Sudden Oak Death

By Kim Wilson, UC Master Gardener Sudden Oak Death (SOD) is an exotic disease caused by a fungus-like organism, Phytophthora ramorum. Many Phytophthora species are soil dwelling, root pathogens but the causative agent of SOD is not a root pathogen.
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UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County: Page

California Oakworm

By Bill Tietje, UC Cooperative Extension and Maria Murrietta, Program Coordinator, UC Master Gardeners of SLO County Its getting to be that time of year again! The apparent damage the California oak worm causes our native coast live oak trees and the nuisance it creates can be a huge issue if you ha...
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