Gardening

UC Master Gardeners of Orange County: Page

California Native Plants - Orange County

What is a Native Plant? Native or indigenous plants are species that have evolved naturally in a specific region, forming essential relationships with local wildlife and ecosystems. In California, native plants existed before European settlers introduced foreign species. These natives are well adapted…
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Irrigator watering greenhouse plants
SoCal Urban Food Production Blog: Article

Share Your Insights, Receive a Free Water & Nutrient Efficiency Checkup!

August 8, 2025
By Amrita Mukherjee, Grant E Johnson, Esther N Lofton
UC Davis and UCANR, with support from the CDFA’s Water-Energy Technology Assistance (WETA) program, are inviting California protected agriculture growers—whether hydroponic, using drip irrigation, liquid feed fertilizers, or recycling water—to take a short survey on water and nutrient management. The 15–20…
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[PODCAST] This Month In The Garden – August

August 6, 2025
By Loren Nelson
Time for This Month In The Garden for the month of August! Tips, to-dos, and more on today’s show called In The Garden with UCCE Master Gardeners (of Orange County of course)! All of the following tips here are from the August Garden Guide found in the UC Master Gardeners of Orange County website under…
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Fava Beans are a useful cover crop, and their leaves can be sauteed like any other edible green. J. Alosi
The Real Dirt: Article

Meeting Nature Halfway: Sustainable Gardening

August 5, 2025
Imagine a healthy garden that grows, blooms, and produces food for you, your family and your neighbors, a garden that costs you very little money because everything it needs is already provided. Welcome to the sustainable garden! The Cambridge Dictionary defines sustainable as “causing little or no damage to…
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[PODCAST] Specialty Vegetable Gardens

July 31, 2025
By Loren Nelson
This week on In the Garden with UCCE Master Gardeners, we bring you a gem of a show! Our beloved Master Gardener and original radio DJ Mark Fierle produced a show called “Specialty Vegetable Gardening” some time back. He talked to fellow MG Greg Stevenson about Greg’s passion for home gardening using…
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Tomatoes Being Attacked - Orange County

July 30, 2025
By Loren Nelson
Question: I have some tomatoes that haven't ripened yet and have these brown scars on the bottom and this one also had some large bites out of the other side. I've been spraying the tomatoes with a bit of cedar oil diluted with water in the mornings but no other things.Do you know what might be causing…
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UC Master Gardeners of Orange County: Page

Vermicomposting & Vermiculture - Orange County

About two-thirds of the waste stream is made up of organic materials, including paper and food waste. While paper can often be recycled, food waste has fewer useful disposal options besides composting. One effective method is vermicomposting, which uses worms to recycle kitchen scraps.  This method…
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A grey mouse under brown leaves in a sideways plant pot.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Mouse in Your House?

July 30, 2025
By Belinda Messenger-Sikes
While they may look cute, no one really wants a mouse around the house. House mice eat up to 20% of their body weight daily, eating whatever food is available. They can contaminate our food and their gnawing can damage buildings, wiring, insulation, food packages, and more. Many fires of unknown origin are…
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Drip lines and mulch conserve water in the ornamental garden. Laura Lukes
The Real Dirt: Article

Keeping Plants Alive When Water is Scarce

July 29, 2025
It hasn’t been a terrible summer, yet it’s been some time since we have seen rain in our area, and some of your plants may be suffering. While you might not be able to save them all, you can take precautions in your garden that will save the plants it makes sense to save, define your gardening priorities,…
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