Gardening

Belgian endive can be successfully grown in Santa Clara County as a cool weather green. The plants need to be started in the summer. In late fall, they are harvested, trimmed, and transplanted into damp sand where they are kept cool and dark. Six plants will yield weekly salad greens from December through…

Interested in training to become a Master Gardener in Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado or Tuolumne County? UC Master Gardeners extend research-based knowledge and information on home horticulture, pest management, and sustainable landscape practices to the residents of California. Add your name to the interest…

Much planning goes into espalier. Pixabay Creating an espalier is an especially fun and rewarding method of growing flowering and fruiting plants in a garden. The process has existed for many hundreds of years and, although challenging for complex forms, is achievable by even novice gardeners.

Corrine Kutx, Unsplash Succulents are among the easiest plants to propagate. Snap off baby succulents (pups) growing right off the parent plant or make a cutting of a stem. You can take succulent cuttings in the fall, spring, or summer. Pruning/cutting tools.

Create new planting areas by sheet mulching over weed patches or unwanted lawn. Photo: Courtesy UC Regents Maintenance and prevention Mulch bare soil to hold in moisture, keep out weeds, and prevent compaction by hard rains. Clean up the garden before the rains begin.

As temperatures cool and daylight hours decline, plant growth tends to slow. In addition to being an excellent planting season in our Mediterranean climate, fall is also a good time to clean up our gardens so that theyre healthy and fire-smart.

Direct seed or transplant seedlings in February to May or September to October. Outer leaves can be harvested continuously as soon as the plant is well established. Harvest by cutting or breaking away a few of the outer fully expanded leaves. New leaves develop in the center of the plants.

One master gardener shares their practical methods for protecting seedlings from being eaten by backyard wildlife.

Unsure what's fact and what's fiction when it comes to gardening? Gardening myths are as common as blackbirds in a sunflower field. Some have just become bad habits; others have been passed down for generations.

Garden tasks by month and season. Vegetable planting guides for the valley and the foothills. Get answers to your timely questions. Explore our monthly editor's pick for outstanding plants, interesting insects, a fun places to visit, new techniques, and helpful tools.