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UC Marin Master Gardener Articles in the Marin Independent Journal

UC Marin Master Gardeners have contributed to the Marin Independent Journal's "Ask a Master Gardener" column every Saturday since 1999. We have a team of dedicated writers who have covered nearly every aspect of gardening for Marin County over the years. View articles from recent years below.

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living windbreak

UC Marin Master Gardeners: Article

Plant a living windbreak to protect from strong winds

April 14, 2025

If strong winds are damaging your garden - breaking branches, pulling moisture from foliage, and drying out soil - why not consider planting a living windbreak? A living windbreak is a group of plants positioned to filter the wind. The group can be as small as a few shrubs or as large as a group…

tomatoes on a plate

UC Marin Master Gardeners: Article

Homegrown tomatoes

April 7, 2025

Songwriter Guy Clark tells us there is nothing better than “Homegrown Tomatoes.” Many of us believe this to be true, making tomatoes the most commonly planted garden crop in the United States. UC Marin Master Gardeners will hold their annual tomato plant sale on April 12, 9:00 a.m., at Bon Air…

Fruit infested with codling moth

UC Marin Master Gardeners: Article

Codling moths: protect your fruit tree from them now!

March 31, 2025

If you have fruit trees, especially apples, pears, or walnuts, now is the time to be on the lookout for the codling moth. This is the time of year (mid-March to early April) when the adult codling moth, a little grayish-brown lepidopteran, emerges from its cocoon.It has spent the winter pupating,…

Pride of Madeira plant

UC Marin Master Gardeners: Article

Right place, wrong plant

March 24, 2025

What’s worse than a weed? The answer is an invasive plant. While weeds are plants that grow where they are not wanted, invasives are always non-native plants introduced (intentionally or accidentally) that spread rapidly and cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health. Invasive plants are…

Argentine ant

UC Marin Master Gardeners: Article

Ant invasion

March 17, 2025

They can’t help it, that trail of ants crawling up a kitchen cabinet. The determined critters head inside to escape cold, wet winter days or hot, dry summer conditions. But our sympathies don’t extend to safe harboring ant armies. Nor are we happy to see them in the garden keeping aphids alive.There…

hummingbird at flower

UC Marin Master Gardeners: Article

The beauty and singular importance of the pollinator garden

March 14, 2025

Gardening is a uniquely healthy, relaxing, and inspirational activity. Planting that seed or seedling is perhaps the ultimate expression of optimism. The beautiful blooms and bountiful harvests we labor to cultivate can provide matchless feelings of accomplishment and pride. But we don’t do it alone…

planting a seedling

UC Marin Master Gardeners: Article

Common soil problems in Marin

March 8, 2025

Good garden soil contains 30-50% sand, 30-50% silt, 20-30% clay, and 5-10% organic water. The bacteria, fungi, and worms in the soil produce substances that act like glue, binding all these different parts together to form groupings. These groupings determine the size of the soil pore space. In…

swiss chard

UC Marin Master Gardeners: Article

Ready, set, go

March 1, 2025

As I write this, it is mid-January, and I just finished weeding in my garden. The sun is so pleasantly warm, and I am picking peas, chard, kale, and lettuce from my winter garden. The days are getting a bit longer, bulbs are showing their faces, and my mind is moving towards my spring garden…

coffee grounds

UC Marin Master Gardeners: Article

The biggest gardening myth of all

February 1, 2025

Gardening myths are common and hard to shake. Most of the time these old wives’ tales are harmless, but sometimes they offer false hope to the gardener. Take the misconception about adding coffee grounds to soil to increase acidity for growing camellia, hydrangea, and azalea. Turns out fresh…

Gopher looking out from its burrow

UC Marin Master Gardeners: Article

The sometimes hidden virtues of our animal neighbors

January 25, 2025

The raccoons in my garden are relentlessly curious about everything that goes on here. Open the green can and see what looks good in there… yum, some wasted food will be good tonight! Clamber over the fence, knocking some of the watering cans off onto the workbench below, breaking a cherished pot or…