Ongoing research

By Terri Takusagawa: ELT Member at Large and Continuing Education Project Lead Photo by Greg Doyle On behalf of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), we offer a warm welcome to the latest crop of trainees – the Class of 2026!I was privileged to meet them at the first lab session of the training course, a…

Photo by Fletcher Oakes The First Annual Open House at the Water Conservation Garden in El Cerrito, held on June 14, was a big success. Certainly worthy of a repeat next year!We had over 30 guests visit the garden, which included a small child and a little dog. We had 16 email sign-ups. For many of…

Photos provided by Titania BuchholdtMy fellow Class of 2020 graduate, Titania Buchholdt, has had to overcome some significant challenges in her life. From being badly injured when hit by an impaired truck driver when she was a youngster to surviving the COVID–19 pandemic shutdown as a freshly minted UC…

 A Client recently wrote to the Help Desk seeking feedback on the lichen growing on their Japanese maple tree.“Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk regarding your Japanese Maple. Thank you also for the great pictures, as they are always helpful in understanding a situation,”…

Many environmentally minded gardeners are looking for simpler pest-control solutions. These gardeners are turning to soaps and detergents for insect and disease control; it’s cheap, it’s handy, and it seems to do the job. Gardeners have been adding a few drops of “soap” to liquid pest spray for years; this…

The UC Master Gardener Program is thrilled to honor four UC Master Gardener volunteers as “Gardeners with Heart.” They join others across the state who are celebrated this year for their extraordinary dedication. In 2025, the Contra Costa County UC Master Gardener program selected representatives in two…

Photos by Dan Chavez I am Lisa Phillips, a Year 1 UC Master Gardener, Class of 2025.  The best advice at graduation was to sample everything and then decide where you fit. Here's what I did!Our Garden - My time at OG gave me a whole arc of hands-on experience. In the spring, I staked new tomato…

 We are Mike and Karen Lance, and this is about our experiences as First Year UC Master Gardeners, Class of 2025. We went through the training together and were impressed with the depth and breadth of the materials and the great instructional staff. Among many other things, we learned that we’ve been…

 I continue to be astounded by what I don’t know and am grateful to be an old dog able to learn a few new tricks, oh, I mean gardening gems.The UC Master Gardener training was like having the entire Bancroft Library thrown at me and was a bit overwhelming. I didn’t really get to savor the personalities…

 Today, on Veterans' Day, let's salute our kin who served in the military. I pay tribute to the family members who fought in all of our nation's wars since the American Revolution.I particularly pay tribute to my maternal great-grandfather, Samuel Davidson Laughlin,  (1843-1910), a Civil War…