Marin

 Ah, the bounty of spring! All the tender new foliage on trees and shrubs, flowers galore, and prolific growth in the vegetable garden.  We gardeners revel in the abundance the season brings, and just like us, insect pests, both big and small, love it too. Since there are more insects on Earth…

 Marin no longer has a “fire season.” Like many other areas, our fire season is now year-round due to climate change and other factors. Southern California’s recent horrific fires underscore the urgent need to make our gardens ready for wildfire. “Create passive protection by careful garden design,…

 When the winter rains end, it’s time for gardeners to focus on providing spring and summer edibles with the water they need to grow and produce. While hand watering may be the simplest way to adjust watering to the needs of individual plants, it’s not the most efficient means for getting the right…

 There are many books devoted to California natives. Because our state is large and has many different habitats, from the sea to the highest mountains in the Sierras, from the cool northern part of the state to the deserts of Southern California, our plant life reflects this incredible diversity…

 As Eric Carle once wrote, there was a “very hungry caterpillar.” It hatched from an egg and began its search for food. After about two weeks, it became a big, fat caterpillar—two thousand times its original size! Then, it built a small cocoon, stayed inside for another two weeks, and eventually emerged…

 If strong winds are damaging your garden - breaking branches, pulling moisture from foliage, and drying out soil - why not consider planting a living windbreak? A living windbreak is a group of plants positioned to filter the wind. The group can be as small as a few shrubs or as large as a group…

 Songwriter Guy Clark tells us there is nothing better than “Homegrown Tomatoes.” Many of us believe this to be true, making tomatoes the most commonly planted garden crop in the United States. UC Marin Master Gardeners will hold their annual tomato plant sale on April 12, 9:00 a.m., at Bon Air…

 If you have fruit trees, especially apples, pears, or walnuts, now is the time to be on the lookout for the codling moth. This is the time of year (mid-March to early April) when the adult codling moth, a little grayish-brown lepidopteran, emerges from its cocoon.It has spent the winter pupating,…

 It’s hard to find a gardener who doesn’t love checking out new seed varieties and anticipating the abundant and tasty harvest they promise. The photos and descriptions are tantalizing and the names intriguing. Who wouldn’t be curious about a pumpkin variety called ‘Abominable’, a pepper named ‘Frodo’,…

 What’s worse than a weed? The answer is an invasive plant. While weeds are plants that grow where they are not wanted, invasives are always non-native plants introduced (intentionally or accidentally) that spread rapidly and cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health. Invasive plants are…