HOrT COCO: UC Master Gardener Program-Contra Costa-Blog
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You Can't Choose a Bad Tomato
The 2024 Great Tomato Plant Sale is just around the corner, from April 13 to April 27, in three locations this year: Walnut Creek, Antioch and Richmond. This year's sale will feature 67 varieties...
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How Many Earthworms are Enough?
Perhaps you've seen them. You're digging into the soil to plant something and as you dig you run across a few earthworms. Most of us have heard from childhood that worms are good for the soil. You...
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Yellowjackets
Were you bothered by yellowjackets last summer? Now is the time to get traps baited and placed outdoors. Overwintering western yellowjacket queens have been dormant all winter and are emerging now...
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Creating a Family Garden Bed
Most of us in urban and suburban areas don't have enough room for a large edible garden. Our space is limited for growing vegetables, so we need to try different techniques to maximize our...
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Bermuda Buttercup
Bermuda buttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae) has become a tenacious and frustrating weed throughout California. From November through April, bright yellow flowers on leafless stalks and green shamrock-like...
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Indoor Seed Starting
Many of us have seed catalogs arriving in the mail this month, so now is the time to start thinking about your summer garden. We are publishing this article again because starting plants from seed is...
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Do I Really Need to Prune My Roses?
The answer is YES! And it is easy! If you prune, your rose flower bushes will• Be larger • Have more flowers• Will be more balanced and fuller • And the health of your plant...
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Leave Those Roots!
At the end of the gardening season, there is an instinct to uproot spent plants and clear the soil for a fresh start, whether it be for a cover crop, a winter vegetable crop, or next year's summer...
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Growing Lettuce
Lettuce may not be a garden crop that causes you to perk up and say, “Tell me more.” You may be thinking, “Boring, I'll pass.” Or you may be the gardener who says, “I...
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Is it Time to Use Dormant Sprays on Your Backyard Fruit Trees?
This year was particularly bad for peach leaf curl and other fungal infections in fruit trees because of the wonderful rain we had last winter and spring. It looks like we might have another wet...