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HOrT COCO: UC Master Gardener Program-Contra Costa-Blog

  • tomato seedling 450
    Seven Tips for Success When Planting Your Vegetable Seedlings Into the Garden

    We often get questions at the help desk from local gardeners who have lost many or sometimes even all their newly planted vegetable seedlings to one malady or another. Whether you have grown them...

  • tomato sale pic450
    It's Time to Plan Your Summer Tomato Crop

    It is not unusual to find tomato seedlings for sale in local nurseries and big box stores as early as February or March. Don't make the mistake of rushing to plant them in your garden. In our...

  • First to appear are cotyledon leaves, then the first true leaves
    Indoor Seed Starting

    A great way to get a head start on your spring and summer vegetable garden! The seeds of many vegetable plants can be planted indoors several weeks before the usual outdoor planting date. In addition...

  • Tips for growing onion bulbs
    February is a Good Time to Plant Onions

      If you've been frustrated when growing onions because the plants produce flower stalks instead of bulbs, it is time to try again. In our Contra Costa County climate, when onions are...

  • Winter yellowing on lemon leaves. Photo by Susan Heckly
    Fertilizing Citrus

    Are you noticing that the leaves on your citrus trees are looking yellow, and wondering if now is the time to fertilize? We have some answers for you. Should You Fertilize Now? First of all,...

  • Looking for Expert Garden Help?

    Master Gardeners have many clients whose gardens need work beyond the standard mowing, leaf blowing and hedge trimming, such as a new design, nursing an older garden back to health, improving...

  • Courtesy of UCANR blogs
    Selecting and Planting Bare Root Fruit Trees

    Winter is an ideal time to plant a fruit tree. Although it requires some patience, success is best using bare root trees. There are many advantages: the trees are lighter and easier to handle; you...

  • Courtesy of Trisha Smith, Flickr
    Garden Tool Care

    Evenings are growing dark and maybe it's too cold and wet to work in the garden. What better time for tool care? It's also a great time of year to drop some hints to friends and family for those...

  • Peach leaf curl symptoms
    Is it Time to Use Dormant Sprays on Your Backyard Fruit Trees?

    Now that the leaves have fallen, or mostly fallen, from your backyard fruit trees, are you wondering whether you should apply dormant sprays? “Dormant sprays” or “delayed dormant...

  • Schlumbergera species courtesy of Pixabay.com
    Holiday Cacti - Bloom Time is Near

    Christmas cactus will be in bloom soon, available at your local nursery and home and garden store, in many stunning colors to brighten our shorter days. Their bloom time can range from November to...