Editor’s Note: 

The devastating fires in Southern California have affected many of our neighbors down south. So many of us have family and friends touched by this tragedy. Missy Gable, Director of the UC Master Gardener Program, recently sent out an email with the link to ANR Disaster/Emergency resources, including planning for emergencies (https://safety.ucanr.edu/Programs/emergency/EmrgResources/). Now is a good time to review your safety plans. We share Missy’s message, “Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues dealing with the overwhelming loss of homes and property damage.”

Marilyn Saarni, Co-Lead of the Firewise Gardening Project and Rescape-certified in Sustainable Firescaping, writes a must-read article on evacuation preparation. “I want to push people to think ‘Save Lives’ first and then evacuation—evacuation—evacuation.” She also offers the first steps to building a firewise garden, provides resources on home hardening, and shares a CalFire site where you can get a customized wildfire preparedness checklist. If you only read one article in this newsletter, let it be this one.

David George interviews May Coleman, who is not only a very accomplished UC Master Gardener (over 1500 hours in 2024) but also someone who has a fascinating life, including graduating from the San Francisco Cordon Bleu, where she learned her mad cake-making skills. She also has her Master’s in Clinical Psychology. She is also deeply passionate about volunteering with underserved communities.

Liz Rottger writes a poignant and sometimes funny essay reflecting on the 2024 CoCoMG holiday party. For example, do any of us recognize UC Master Gardeners if they’re not in their garden clothes? She describes the camaraderie and the sumptuous feast on “medieval-style long tables laden with a banquet of delicious dishes and desserts...” Susan Domanico and Cynthia Casey, Hospitality Co-Leads, managed over 30 volunteers that evening. Susan writes, “We had one of the largest turnouts in years, 174 attendees." She shared her thanks to all those who volunteered their time for a memorable event.”

Susan Domanico and Pam Austin recently visited two school gardens in West County—Fairmont Elementary and Mira Vista Elementary—to deliver cool-season vegetable starts. She describes how the gardens at both schools are hubs of activities for the students during recess and lunch.

We’ve also included an article on the new leadership structure for the Webinar Team within the Speakers Bureau. And the Help Desk has submitted a client question about a mystery pest invasion. Find out how they solved the problem. Finally, Mary Jo Corby has announced the dates for the Great Tomato Plant Sale for all three parts of the county, and they could use some help sale day.

But first, we start with Laura Brainin-Rodriguez’s highlights from the UC Master Gardener Volunteer Recognition Potluck held on December 9, 2024.

Simone Adair, Editor