Food Gardens

It is time to start thinking about thinning the fruit on peach, nectarine, plum, pluot, apricot, apple, and pear trees. To produce fruit that is large and healthy, fruit trees need plenty of leaves to feed the developing fruit.  Since trees often set far more fruit than their leaves can adequately support,…

Below is a crop-by-crop summary of the best time to plant vegetables here in the Lake Tahoe Basin.  Keep in mind these are estimates of ideal planting windows, each season can bring very different conditions so also take into account potential freezes in the weather forecast and your individual planting…

Happy March! It’s time for This Month In The Garden, our monthly tips and tricks show we play on the first Thursday of every month here on In The Garden with UC Master Gardeners of Orange County California.The key emphasis at this time of year are three words: Plant, Feed, and Control. But don’t jump the gun…

Heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated varieties which were either introduced commercially before 1940, or grown from seeds that have been passed down at least 50 years through several generations of a family, religious, ethnic, or tribal group, without the plants crossing with another variety of the same…

By Laurie Meyerpeter, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyQ:  What are seed potatoes? Can I grow potatoes from the sprouting potatoes in my cupboard drawers? How do I grow potatoes?A: Potatoes are typically not grown from seed but from sections of the potato. The potato sections are referred to as …

By Laurie Meyerpeter, UC Master Gardener of Placer County Q: I want to grow cabbages in my fall garden. Any suggestions?A:  Cabbages are a lot like tomatoes because there is really no comparison between the sweet crispy buttery flavored heads grown in a home garden, and the strong tasting cabbages…

By Jacqueline Champa, UC Master Gardeners of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Summer 2008Have you thought of having a winter vegetable garden?We are fortunate to live in Northern California where we are able to grow a number of great vegetables during the shortened, wet, cold days of winter. A good…