Santa Clara

This is a summary of what we learned from our 2001 tomato project in regards to tomato staking methods. We grew just over a hundred varieties of mostly heirloom tomatoes at the now closed University of California Bay Area Research and Extension Center facility in the City of Santa Clara.

Napa cabbage is a large oblong cabbage with delicate, crinkled, pale green to white leaves and crisp, wide white ribs. Its flavor is mild and sweet. It is also known as Peking Cabbage and celery cabbage.

Direct seed: March–April and August–September; possibly February, May, and October Transplant: February–May and September–October; possibly June Begin harvesting when the roots are at least 1 inch wide, harvesting alternate plants to allow remaining plants to grow up to 3 inches wide.

Of the over 600 varieties of mints, the two most popular are peppermint (Mentha piperita) and spearmint (M. spicata). Peppermint, which is a hybrid of watermint and spearmint, has a higher concentration of menthol than does spearmint. Accordingly, peppermint is more often used in candies, chocolates,…

Demonstration Gardens > PADG New or replacement plantings for conventional high water-using sod lawns are demonstrated in the Lawn Alternatives section of the Palo Alto Demo Garden.

Garden Help Succulents are plants with thick, fleshy stems and leaves that collect and store water efficiently. While many succulents thrive in full sun with little water, others may need occasional water or part/full shade. Some are hardy to sub-zero temperatures while others are frost tender.

Guadalupe Demonstration Garden This garden is a demonstration of how productive a typical 20-by-20-foot plot in a community garden can be.Address: Guadalupe Community Gardens, at the intersection of Asbury Street and Walnut Street, San Jose, CA 95110 (View map)Directions: Our plot is towards the center,…

Garden HelpLandscape assistanceThe Green Gardener program trains landscape professionals to use sustainable maintenance practices. They provide a list of Santa Clara Valley Green Gardeners who provide professional landscape design, construction, and/or maintenance services.Guidelines on how to hire a…

Garden Help > Monthly Tips Monthly tips are categorized by To-Dos, What to Plant, or Pests and Diseases. Scroll through the list to see items in each category. Also, refer to our list of tips useful for any month.

While first and last frost dates are important for gardeners to be aware of, it's also good to know what you can do to prepare for frost and the deal with frost damage after it happens.