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UC Master Gardeners of Orange County

Catalog of Topics Offered

Speakers Bureau 2025 Catalog of Topics

 

Home Horticulture—Edibles 

  • A Year of Good Food—a month-by-month guide for growing fruits and vegetables
  • Ah! The Beauty of Citrus—citrus varieties, pests, diseases, care and feeding
  • Amazing Avocados—planting, irrigation, care, and pest management of avocados
  • Gardening in Small Spaces—using plants to enhance a balcony, patio, or small yard
  • Grow Food Anywhere—growing edibles in small spaces and containers
  • Grow it Now: Fall Vegetables—vegetables that grow from fall through spring
  • Grow it Now: Spring Vegetables—vegetables that grow from late spring through summer
  • Herbs—grow a variety of herbs in containers or in the ground
  • Plant a Salad Bowl (available in Spanish) —grow salad green from seeds or transplants
  • Plant a Salsa or Bruschetta Garden—variety of tomato, pepper and herbs, seeds vs transplants, harvesting and recipes
  • Seed Starting (available in Spanish) —how to plant, when to plant, and building the best soil
  • Tomatoes A to Z—grow them from seed, from transplants, in the ground, or in containers
  • Your Backyard Orchard—choosing and caring for fruit trees

Home Horticulture—Ornamentals 

  • Bulbs—true bulbs, corms, tuber, and rhizomes that grow in our climate and produce beautiful flowers
  • California Natives—Basic Gardening: choose natives that do well with little water while enhancing your landscape
  • California Gardening—Channel Island Flora—a little history of Santa Catalina and the unique vegetation of the area
  • Epiphytes—bromeliads, tillandsias, epiphyllums, orchids, and other plants that derive moisture from the air
  • Orchard Culture Basics—care of various varieties           
  • Pass Down Plants—Propagation: start new plants from cuttings, division, and seeds
  • Perennials in the Southern California Garden—choosing and maintain long-lived plants
  • Right Plant, Right Place—Successful Garden factors to consider before you visit the nursery
  • Roses 101—basics of selection, planting, fertilizing, pruning, and pest management
  • Roses: Promise Me a Rose Garden—focus on types of shrubs, miniatures, and old garden roses
  • The Busy Gardener Month-to-Month—garden tasks for each month
  • Soil: Tending Your Soil—evaluating your soil and how to improve it
  • Succulents—selection and care

Integrated Best Management

  • Beneficial —insects that provide natural pest control
  • GSI: Garden Scene Investigator—being observant, gathering information to lead to a diagnosis
  • Managing Pests in Your Garden—prevention, avoidance, suppression, and responsible pest control
  • Ten Worst Pests—pests that gardeners asked about last year, advance notice of possible new pests
  • Tomato Pets and Diseases—dealing with pests and diseases that affect tomatoes
  • What’s Bugging Your Plants—pest management practices that are least impactful to the environment

Sustainable Landscape

  • Bees, Butterflies & Other Pollinators—the role of various creatures in pollinating our plants
  • Butterflies in Your Garden—attract our native butterflies with the appropriate plants
  • Composting 101—use your banana peels, coffee grounds, and leaves to create a soil amendment
  • Create a Wildlife Habitat—attract birds, bees, and butterflies to your garden
  • Drought Tolerant Gardening—select and care for plants that look great with minimal water
  • The Thoughtful Gardener—proper planning to avoid problems
  • Vermiculture—choosing and maintaining an irrigation system
  • Water Better, Not Wetter—choosing and maintaining an irrigation system