Contra Costa

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family bed 450
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Creating a Family Garden Bed

February 26, 2024
By Help Desk Team
Most of us in urban and suburban areas don't have enough room for a large edible garden. Our space is limited for growing vegetables, so we need to try different techniques to maximize our yields.
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Photo of Oxalis in a garden
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Bermuda Buttercup

February 12, 2024
By Help Desk Team
Bermuda buttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae) has become a tenacious and frustrating weed throughout California. From November through April, bright yellow flowers on leafless stalks and green shamrock-like leaves pop up in many of our landscapes.
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Drawing of a cotyledon
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Indoor Seed Starting

January 30, 2024
By Help Desk Team
Many of us have seed catalogs arriving in the mail this month, so now is the time to start thinking about your summer garden. We are publishing this article again because starting plants from seed is a great way to lower costs and increase the variety in your vegetable garden.
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Diagram of before and after rose pruning
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Do I Really Need to Prune My Roses?

January 15, 2024
By Help Desk Team
The answer is YES! And it is easy! If you prune, your rose flower bushes will Be larger Have more flowers Will be more balanced and fuller And the health of your plant improved! Most roses need to be pruned only once a year.
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Photo of plant cut off 3 inches above the ground level.
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Leave Those Roots!

December 18, 2023
By Help Desk Team
At the end of the gardening season, there is an instinct to uproot spent plants and clear the soil for a fresh start, whether it be for a cover crop, a winter vegetable crop, or next year's summer crops.
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Photo of Butterhead 'Salanova' lettuce
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Growing Lettuce

December 4, 2023
By Help Desk Team
Lettuce may not be a garden crop that causes you to perk up and say, Tell me more. You may be thinking, Boring, I'll pass. Or you may be the gardener who says, I never could get that crop to grow. Whatever your current thinking about lettuce, I hope to get you excited about this humble crop.
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Photo of peach leaf curl on peach leaf
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Is it Time to Use Dormant Sprays on Your Backyard Fruit Trees?

November 20, 2023
By Help Desk Team
This year was particularly bad for peach leaf curl and other fungal infections in fruit trees because of the wonderful rain we had last winter and spring. It looks like we might have another wet winter, so we are rerunning this post to remind you to think about a spray program for your trees.
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Photo of covered tomato plant
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Bundle Up! Winter's Coming! - Preparing for Frosty Temperatures

November 6, 2023
By Help Desk Team
Note: We are running this previously published article because it's important to be ready to protect sensitive plants. Don't get taken by surprise! It's time to get ready for cold winter temperatures and to start preparing protection for citrus trees and other frost-sensitive plants.
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Photo of Epilobium
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Fall is Planting Time

October 9, 2023
By Help Desk Team
The Mediterranean climate of Contra Costa County has us spoiled for choices in growing handsome perennials and shrubs, including many native plants that attract local beneficial insects and nourish our ecosystems.
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