Gardening

By Lynn Lorenson, UC Master Gardener of Nevada County From 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 County From 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 County From 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 County From 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 County From The Curious Gardener, Spring 2023                                                           …

By Bonnie Bradt, UC Master Gardener of Nevada County From 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…

How about bringing a new plant home to cheer up these dark winter days?  For the avid gardener, houseplants can be an excellent source of greenery and even flowers when the outside garden has gone gray and dormant in the doldrums of mid-winter.  The Moth Orchid, ZZ Plant, Christmas Cactus, Snake Plant,…

Watering During Winter DroughtBy Trish Grenfell, UC Master Gardener of Placer County MasterQ: I never water my lawn and plants in the winter but am wondering what happens when we experience an unusual long dry spell like this December? A: Thank you for asking this question. For those of us who…

By Johanne Ryker, UC Master Gardener of Placer County Q: How much and how often should I be watering my vegetable garden?A:  Gardens in our area normally require some irrigation, especially in summer. Irrigation that is inadequate will cause a significant reduction in productivity. However, water…