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Master Gardener
The Master Gardener column appears every Saturday. Napa County Master Gardeners answer gardening questions Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, at the UC Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Ave., Suite 4, Napa, 253-4221, or toll-free at 877-279-3065. Find them online at cenapa.ucdavis.edu.
November 21st, 2009
Rooted in troubleWhen I seek ideas for my writing, I often look to my garden. There are usually a few ongoing problems that help inspire me.
November 14th, 2009
Growing onionsNow is a good time to plant onions in Napa Valley. Walla Walla, Red Torpedo and Red Burger are just some of the seedling varieties I have seen in local nurseries, and a variety of seeds and “sets” (small bulbs) for onion relatives—such as chives, pickling onions and scallions — is available, too.
November 7th, 2009
Fungus among usThis time of year, as the weather starts to cool and we get a little more moisture in the air, we start to see some fungi in the garden. These might be mushrooms growing in the lawn or at the base of a tree, or conks growing out from the trunk. Other smaller fungi can produce white, black or orange spots, fuzzy material or residue on leaves. Still others make strange forms we might not recognize as fungi, such as puff balls, earth stars, galls or masses on branches or soil.
October 24th, 2009
SquirrelyDo you have cute little animals in your backyard that you enjoy watching as they chase each other around the tree branches and hop along the fence, occasionally sitting up to look around at their beautiful environment? You might even get the urge to cuddle them since they appear so lovable.
October 17th, 2009
Swales: a simple, inexpensive way to save rainwaterSwales are ditches or trenches that catch rainwater to conserve it in the soil. And if you top the swale with compost, you will gradually improve the water-holding capacity of the soil underneath.
October 10th, 2009
The good and the bad about antsAt this time of year, I start to notice the ants in my garden, and sometimes in my house. In the garden I see them mostly when I water in an area that has been dry for awhile. They come boiling out from various places, frantically carrying their eggs and young out of the ground to keep them from drowning.
October 3rd, 2009
Revelations from the world under your feetYou may not realize it, but when you walk on soil you are walking on billions of creatures. I found this information on a Purdue University Web site: “Soil is alive! In fact, a single shovel full of rich garden soil contains more species of organisms than can be found above ground in the entire Amazon rain forest.”
September 19th, 2009
Home gardens faced abnormal summer weatherThe growing season in the Napa Valley has been anything but normal this year. Our typical warm summer days were replaced by prolonged periods of below-normal temperatures, followed by brief above-normal heat spikes.
September 12th, 2009
Creating a pest-free gardenAn important goal for many gardeners is to maintain a pest- and disease-free landscape. Although it is impossible to eliminate all nuisances, reducing the number of pests is certainly achievable.
September 5th, 2009
Daylilies in your gardenNow that I have a daylily bed in my garden, I see that daylilies are one tough plant. They adapt to almost any location, from full sun to part shade, and to any type of soil.
August 29th, 2009
Garden 'junk'Garage sales and collecting junk took on a whole new meaning for me recently. I had never been a garage-sale junkie, nor had I ever had the patience to go rummaging through other people’s stuff. I had plenty of my own.
August 22nd, 2009
Creating wildlife sanctuariesWhen thinking about wildlife habitat, most people envision a vast open space. Yet even a backyard garden can provide habitat for wildlife such as birds, bees, butterflies and the many beneficial insects that populate our county.
August 15th, 2009
So what does sustainable really mean?What does it mean to have a sustainable garden? To sustain means to keep going or to continue, and sustainability is the ability to carry on an activity indefinitely.
August 8th, 2009
Cucumber questionsMy dad called me a few weeks ago with a cucumber question. His vines were growing well, looked healthy and had a lot of flowers, but he could see only one tiny cucumber. He had noticed that he doesn’t have a lot of bees this year and thought perhaps that was the problem.
August 1st, 2009
The uninvited picnic guestsWhether they are competing for your barbecued burger or just buzzing around, making you and your kids nervous, yellowjackets can be a real headache.
July 25th, 2009
Much ado about mulchingI admit to being a fanatic about mulching. I think it might be the single most important thing you can do for the health and appearance of your garden. And mulching is way up there on my list of small things we can do to help improve the environment as well.
July 18th, 2009
Plant now for winterOur Mediterranean climate with its mild, wet winters offers us the opportunity to grow food year-round. Summer gardens right now are bursting with the vegetables that like warm weather, such as tomatoes, beans and squash. When the cooler weather arrives in late September, these plants start to fade, but many other vegetables thrive through the winter and can provide great fresh eating.
July 11th, 2009
Topiary topicsWhen I think of topiary, I think of Disneyland and whimsical cartoon characters reproduced as perfectly clipped plants.
July 4th, 2009
Uninvited dinner guestsPicture this: a balmy evening, the perfect time to dine outside, and company is about to arrive. You’ve just invested in a new high-tech outdoor kitchen. While sipping a cool drink, a familiar whine suddenly changes everything. Diving close to your ears, pausing long enough for a quick bite, one mosquito can wreck all your plans. Dinner is quickly moved into the house, hopefully without letting in the unwanted guest.
June 27th, 2009
A primer on potatoesI grew up in potato country — not Idaho, but south central Colorado, where the farmers grow mainly potatoes and barley. So we ate potatoes at least once a day. But I had never eaten fresh, organic, home-grown potatoes until I started growing them a few years ago. What a treat!
June 20th, 2009
Water-wise choicesFacing a second year of drought, Napa Valley gardeners have to make some tough decisions about what to water. All plants need water, even cactus and succulents. If you have to ration water, give priority to your biggest investments.
June 13th, 2009
A Mediterranean climate right hereA recent trip down memory lane took me to my dream destination: the island of Capri. In my mind, I see roses rambling over ancient stone walls. Fragrant lemon blossoms, olive orchards and vegetable crops mingle with grapevines as they climb up the fertile hills. The light is a photographer’s dream.
June 6th, 2009
Drip, drip, dripThe Napa Valley has a typical Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Last summer was particularly dry, with virtually no rain from March through August.
May 30th, 2009
More for lessI am not a fussy gardener. Like many people, I enjoy gardening but have limited time and energy. I don’t want to spend all my free time tending my garden. I want to be able to enjoy it and relax a little. So plants in my garden have to give me plenty of “bang for the buck.”
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