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UC Master Gardener Program of Yolo County

Photo of fully turgid squash leaves the next day at 9am with no additional water from the normal deep soaking.
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July Garden Tips and Vegetable Planting Guide

June 27, 2025
Article by Peg Smith - July is a month to sit back with iced tea or lemonade and enjoy the results of your spring labors. It is also a time to make sure that garden tasks are completed early before the heat of the day. A gardener’s body is their best tool. The sensible approach (I must confess to not…
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Photo of the Woodland Regional Park Preserve wetlands.
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NEW in Yolo County! The Woodland Regional Park Preserve

June 27, 2025
  Article by Lorie Hammond -  Many of us drive between Davis and Woodland for work, pleasure, or to go to Costco! The experience of traversing County Road 102 between these towns is utilitarian at best. For a delightful surprise, take a half-hour deviation and turn east on County Road 25A…
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Photo of eucalypts on the Tasmania coast.
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California Eucalypts: Should We Love Them or Hate them?

June 25, 2025
 Article by Peg Smith - First a quick ramble through California’s history…Why does California history have anything to do with eucalypts? It gives perspective to the increasing human presence in California and an example of the subsequent effects and changes in original flora and fauna of…
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purple plums ready for picking
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Summer in Davis

June 20, 2025
Haiku by Shawna RickardLong day; light beats downWilted sunflowers will riseFound and plucked ripe plums! 
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"After" photo of palms by the pool.
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Landscape Transitions Part 1 - Focal Points

June 12, 2025
Article by Kate Bear -   Nearly three years ago, my husband and I moved to Davis. The house we bought for our retirement life had a yard that included drip irrigation and no lawn, two positive attributes. The landscape was neat and easy to maintain, but didn’t satisfy my desire for variety, color,…
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orange very round marigold flowers
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The Case for Succession - Planting for Fall in June

June 4, 2025
 Article by Lorie Hammond - Did you plant your summer garden in April or May, and think that you are finished? But do you have spaces in your garden where something did not grow, or where an early crop is now finished? You might be happy to know that June is a great time to plant flowers and other…
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June Garden Tips

May 30, 2025
Article by Peg Smith -  When working in the garden, it is wise not to presume that what looks like a collection of garden debris on a branch or limb is of no consequence. It may be of great value to a non-human cohabitant of the garden. Bushtit nests, from a casual look, appear as a collection of…
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Apple Bagging Made Simple

May 30, 2025
  Article by Kathy Hill -  Nearly seven years ago at the beginning of fall, I thought to myself “today is the day.” The apple tree had been lovingly watered, fertilized, pruned, and the fruit had been thinned. It was harvesting time. The excitement was palpable. I had carefully picked…
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Growing Lavender

May 30, 2025
Article by Joy Humphrey -  Before I developed an interest in gardening, I thought there was only one type of lavender—just, you know, lavender—and that it made a really nice scent for hand lotion. After I became a gardener, I discovered there is a whole world of lavender out there in numerous…
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Dirty Stories

May 30, 2025
 Article by Cheri Meyers - As a recent graduate of the UC Master Gardener Program of Yolo County, this is my first attempt to share my gardening experiences in the Yolo Gardener Newsletter and Savvy Sage Blog. I hope you find it worth the read.It’s a lovely but warm spring day here in West…
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A Spring Walk in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden

May 30, 2025
  Article by Lorie Hammond - A friend and I walk the UC Davis Arboretum every week. Each time she comments: “How can it be so different?” And every time, we are amazed. There is never a bad time to see this ever-changing collection of plant communities. Always beautiful. Always different. But…
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The Nature Cure

May 20, 2025
Article and photos (adapted) by Tanya Kucak, UC Master Gardener, Yolo County Spending time in gardens and parks can not only make you healthier and happier, it can also make you more resilient and “a better member of civilization,” Florence Williams said in a keynote talk at the 2023 Wild Wonder…
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May Garden Tips

May 7, 2025
Tips by Peg Smith, UC Master Gardener-Yolo May is the month to get all these wonderful summer vegetables planted: tomatoes, peppers, corn, eggplant, and squash. We are all familiar with ‘summer squash’ such as zucchini, crookneck, and patty pan. But don’t be fooled by the term ‘winter squash’ (butternut…
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An Interview with a Plant Whisperer-UCD's Dr. Richard Karban

April 30, 2025
Article by Mike Kluk, UC Master Gardener, Yolo CountyThe Department of Entomology and Nematology is not the place you would normally expect to find a research scientist who is developing a completely new understanding of how plants relate to their environment. But Dr. Richard Karban, formally trained in…
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Photo of a table filled with bowls of different varieties of tomatoes.
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2025 Tomato Seedling Sale - Fifteen New Varieties!

February 24, 2025
Every spring, Yolo Master Gardeners sell tomato seedlings the first two Saturday mornings in April. This year, the sale features thirty-five varieties, fifteen of which are new to the sale. With rapid climate change, summers are getting hotter and heat waves longer.
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Photo of a parent Washington navel orange tree and historical marker in Riverside, CA
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March Garden Tips and Vegetable Planting Guide

February 24, 2025
As a small child, each year I would find in my Christmas stocking, a fresh orange, which was a special treat to be looked forward to amid the English winter. Now living in California there I still experience that delight in picking fresh navel oranges from a home garden tree to eat or juice.
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Photo of dalhias.
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Growing Dahlias

February 24, 2025
I think of dahlias as plants that can suit any personality. Are you a person who likes to make a splash whenever you walk into a room? You might find that a fire engine red dinner plate dahlia is just the thing for your dramatic garden.
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Welcome

As part of the University of California's Agriculture and Natural Resources division, the UC Master Gardener Program of Yolo County volunteers are here to share research-based knowledge and sustainable gardening practices with our neighbors. Whether you are just starting a garden or are an experienced gardener, want to grow food or cut flowers, have raised beds, potted plants, or a large home garden, we are here to help.  Our mission is to extend research-based knowledge and information on home horticulture, pest management, and sustainable landscape practices to the residents of California. You can find us at Farmer's Market tables in Woodland and Davis, Q&A table at a home improvement store in West Sacramento, and demonstration gardens in Davis, Woodland, Winters, and Clarksburg.  We also provide regular advice via Zoom, including the "Kitchen Chat" and "Gardening for Year-Round Meals". 

Ask a question, attend a public class, or find information through our free publications.

The Yolo Gardener Newsletter

The Yolo Gardener Newsletter is published monthly in email format. Our goal is to provide our subscribers with research-based gardening education, advice and inspiration.  You will find articles written by master gardeners, information on training, events, activities, and ways to interact with the master gardener community. Subscribe Here

Events 

Join us for webinars, workshops, hands-on demonstrations, and classes to learn expert tips that to help your garden thrive.  Upcoming Events

 

grace garden gulf frittallry
Grace Garden Gulf fritillary on Zinnia

Demonstration Garden Locations (under construction)

  
 

Contribute for a Better Future

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Upcoming Events

tree for woody plants class
July 9, 2025

Woody Plant Biology

Marin Master Gardeners invite Solano and Yolo Master Gardeners and members of the public to attend "Woody Plant Biology" which will cover the basic biological funSpeaker: Chris Ingram is a…
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Office Locations

UC Cooperative Extension office-Yolo

2780 E. Gibson Road
Woodland , CA 95695
United States

Phone
(530) 666-8737
you can leave a message and the MGs will get back to you.
Fax Number
(530) 666-8736

Mission Statement

"To extend research-based knowledge and information on home horticulture, pest management, and sustainable landscape practices to the residents of California."