Ongoing research

IntroductionAfter you've enriched your soil and readied your pots or your beds for the vegetables you want to grow in the early spring, you'll need to decide whether to begin with seeds planted directly into the soil or to transplant already-started plants (“starts”) you get from a nursery or other source…

IntroductionAfter you've enriched your soil and readied your pots or your beds for the vegetables you want to grow in the early spring, you'll need to decide whether to begin with seeds planted directly into the soil or to transplant already-started plants (“starts”) you get from a nursery or other source…

IntroductionAfter you've enriched your soil and readied your pots or your beds for the vegetables you want to grow in the early spring, you'll need to decide whether to begin with seeds planted directly into the soil or to transplant already-started plants (“starts”) you get from a nursery or other source…

 Not only is Valentine’s day around the corner, but February is American Heart Month. While nutrition related trends come and go, research on heart health has consistently pointed to dietary patterns that prioritize plant-based, minimally processed foods. You may have heard of the Mediterranean diet,…

 Last month, I promised you more info on pruning roses. Some of this will be a repeat and some is new (such as pruning climbers that I said I would go into this month). Pruning is not difficult. Take a deep breath and relax. You can do this!First things first. Gather your rose pruning tools while…

Weather conditions now vary unpredictably with every season. The last three years – 2023, 2024 and 2025 – are in a tie for hottest years ever recorded worldwide . But so far this year California is drought-free for the first time in 25 years, according to new data from the U.S. Drought Monitor (San Francisco…

All plants in a landscape perform a function. Landscape designers think that designing a landscape is like decorating a room. Rooms have ceilings, walls, and floors. Using that analogy for plant materials, the ceilings would be trees or tall shrubs. The walls would be shrubs and vines, and the floors would…

UC ANR Native American Advisory Council meets in Davis The UC ANR Native American Advisory Council met in person for the first time Jan. 27-28 at the ANR building in Davis. The council held its first virtual meetings last year. Council members include A-dae Briones, Shasta Gaughen, Holly Hensher,…

By Cindy Watter, UC Master Gardener of Napa County.   One of the advantages of living in Napa Valley is that we can garden year-round, not counting floods and fires.  That is also a disadvantage for the indolent gardener, who, unlike his or her East Coast counterpart, does not have down time…