The Latest Dirt - July 2022
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Celebrate endings—for they precede new beginnings – Jonathan Lockwood Huie
During our June business meeting, followed by a fantastic social gathering at Our Garden, we celebrated the end of a stellar year with remarkable achievements by so many of our hard-working UC Master Gardener volunteers of Contra Costa County.
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School Garden Readiness for the New School Year
While some schools have well-established systems in place to manage their gardens during school breaks, others struggle to keep their plants alive and weeds at bay. The children, teachers and parents who take on the responsibility of supporting school gardens during summer learn valuable lessons on gardening, especially on watering and pest deterrence.
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Membership Project is Renamed Volunteer Support
We're changing the name of the Membership project to Volunteer Support. This recognizes the many functions of this CoCoMG project. Volunteer Support directly affects every CoCoMG.
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An Infestation of Cockroaches in the Garden
Client’s question: We have an infestation of cockroaches in our garden. It started 3 or 4 years ago. We would see them on our neighbor’s sidewalk. Starting this year, they are making our garden their home. This is the worst we have seen in our garden. They hide between the crevices of the retaining wall blocks of the veggie garden.
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Understanding Community
The Contra Costa Community Garden team serves 14 very different community gardens and urban farms throughout the county. On any given day, UC Master Gardener volunteers are found in small private residential or treatment program gardens, larger public facing community gardens, or out in east county urban farms.
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Sunflowers for Mom
My mom says: "Optimism is hard work." In April I planted little plants that I thought would do well in her scorched-earth Inland Empire summer garden bed, which is only about 25 square feet. I'm happy to say that I've provided her with an ongoing source of interest and even joy.
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Speakers Bureau's New Co-Lead Jumps Right In
I have so much to learn and contribute. Benjamin Franklin said: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” I decided to follow this sage advice and jump right in.
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Ask A Master Gardener Summer News
What Are People Asking Us? Apparently, this is the year of the earwig! We are inundated with inquiries about what to do about this rather daunting looking creature. Then, of course, there are numerous questions about rats, gophers, moles, mice and men.
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Living in Wildfire Country: Summertime Fireworks
At this time of the year, those of us living in Wildfire Country wake up at night and listen to booming fireworks and mentally check our evacuation preparations (“Go-bag ready? Should I update our property inventory with new video? All cats and dogs are inside and their crates and food by the door—check. Car tank full–check.”)
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Interview with Mr. Gopher Bob Archer
Even though Bob is relatively new to the program, he is an experienced gardener and successful gopher trapper. He worked with UCCE scientists to approve a new and effective device to remove destructive gophers from gardens. He shared with me both his background and trapping techniques for gophers and other rodents, and even demonstrated the new device and technique in a video.
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Continuing Education: Science-based, UC-focused, Master Gardener-relevant
The CE team provides learning opportunities for best practice of horticulturescience to help you carry out our mission. Our emphasis is on science-based education, preferably from UC or other cooperative extension sources, with relevance to UC Master Gardener volunteer roles.
