Stanislaus

Being a UC Master Gardener has had a huge impact on my life. I love learning new things, discovering how nature works, teaching others, and giving back. When I retired, I looked for ways to continue to gain new knowledge and contribute to my community.

In 2024 our UC Master Gardener volunteers helped over 100 people answer gardening and pest management questions like these: I moved here from Ohio, and I don't know what to plant.

Many of us enjoy using herbs in our kitchen since they add so much flavor and texture to our food. And it is even more fun when we grow them ourselves and can pick them straight from the garden.

My cold season garden is planted with plenty of broccoli and cauliflower. Last week I noticed holes chewed in the leaves. I looked underneath and sure enough, I have cabbage loopers.

The holidays are nearly here, and we still have space left in our Nature's Wreath Workshop! After the colorful autumn leaves fall, the landscape can seem bare due to plants dying back or going dormant. Despite that, much splendor can still be found in nature this time of year.

Halloween is coming! Front yards are sprouting displays of scary witches, ghosts, bats, headstones, and spiders! Spiders usually prefer to hide, however, we often become aware of their presence due to their webs. Spiders who make webs generally do so to catch prey.

Some of the pleasures of summer and fall include biting into a moist, fresh piece of fruit, or eating a warm, baked pastry filled with juicy fruit. Adding to the enjoyment would be if the fruit came from a tree in your garden.

Fall is here, and it's not too late to get fall bulbs into the ground. In our climate, you'll want to plant bulbs by Nov 30 at the latest. A true bulb is defined as a compact package of fleshy scales with a small basal plate and a shoot that emerges deep within the bulb.

My summer garden is done producing. I've removed all the old plants except for my basil which continues to thrive. I've weeded, turned the soil, and amended my soil with several inches of organic matter, which in my case was raised bed soil and some compost.

Lettuce is a leafy annual green, almost exclusively eaten raw.