Gardening

By Elaine Applebaum, UC Master Gardeners of Placer County Q: Catalogs and some nurseries list “zones” in their description of plants. What are they talking about?A:  Athletes strive to be “in the zone” and Caltrans asks us to “Slow for the Cone Zone,” but gardeners need to know their USDA or…

By Annette Wyrick, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Summer 2021               During the past year, we have been at home more and this has given us an opportunity to look at and use our gardens throughout the seasons. While the garden has…

Article and photos by Annette Wyrick, UC Master Gardeners of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Winter 2020Most gardeners have one trouble spot in the garden, and it is almost always in the shade. You may have tried planting different plants, but they just do not thrive. Let’s tackle these tricky garden…

By Lynn Lorenson, UC Master Gardener of Nevada CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Spring 2012Forget those blankets, plastic sheets, and pine-bough teepees. Learn to love where you live. Choose plants to fit the climate. You will be rewarded with a healthy, beautiful landscape. References are found in…

Laurie Meyerpeter, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Winter 2012Mistletoe. It’s weird, it’s poisonous, it’s a parasite, and yet we love mistletoe so much we manufacture plastic likenesses of the plant to hang it in our homes every winter! Is that weird or…

by Ann Wright, UC Master Gardener of Nevada CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Spring 2022 Weeds—these harbingers of spring can be tough garden pests, challenging even the most seasoned gardeners. There are many ways to manage these unwelcome plants that crowd our new seedlings, sometimes harboring…

By David Warman, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Winter 2021            Every gardener and homeowner is concerned for the safety of themselves and their family, particularly their children and pets. Using pesticides responsibly will help…

by Elaine Kelly Applebaum, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Spring 2023                                                           …

By Bonnie Bradt, UC Master Gardener of Nevada CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Fall 2021Many of us “Foothill Dwellers” love it here, for the enjoyment of the natural world surrounding us. Sometimes however, that natural world comes in the form of critters, large and small, that love the same veggies,…

Lettuce is generally considered to be a cool-season annual, but with a little advanced planning and some judicious plant selection, Marin gardeners can enjoy home-grown lettuce throughout the year. Our temperate climate makes it possible to modify the growing conditions for lettuce and enable the plants to…