UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County

NEWS

Upcoming Webinars:

Registration for webinars opens approximately 1-2 weeks prior to the event. Registration links will be posted here and on our Facebook page. Webinar recordings are posted on our YouTube channel within the month following the event date.

Monday, October 19, 6:30pm - How to Grow a Successful Winter Garden, speaker Terry Lippert

Registration is full. If you registered (also for many who signed up for the waiting list), you will receive a confirmation email that tells you how to join the meeting.

BUT! Contra Costa County Library has arranged for Zoom on Facebook Live! No viewer limits! Go to CCCLib's Facebook page Monday, October 19, 6:30-7:45pm, to watch the event live.

Join Master Gardener Terry Lippert to learn how to successfully grow winter vegetable crops in Contra Costa County. Discover which vegetable crops grow well in our winter months, when to plant them, and how to solve their common pest problems. Find out why it’s important to fill your vegetable beds over the winter months, and how winter-time cover crops improve soil health and fertility—so you’ll have even greater success for your next summer's vegetable garden.

Speaker Bio

Terry Lippert became a UC Master Gardener in 2010 after retiring from her career as a corporate attorney. Since becoming a Master Gardener, Terry has been an active member earning her Platinum badge for 2500 volunteer hours plus an additional 700 volunteers hours. Terry has grown vegetables and fruit year-round in the Bay Area for over twenty-five years, and regularly creates and presents programs on growing edibles for the Master Gardeners Speakers Bureau and Growing Gardeners Program. Terry previously served as Coordinator for Contra Costa County’s Master Gardener Help Desk, and continues to spend at least one day each week answering Help Desk questions.

Monday, November 16, 6:30pm - Firewise Landscaping: Strategies to Protect your Home and Property, speakers Hedwig Van Den Broeck and Steve Danzinger

Note: No December program due to the holidays

Watch past webinars on YouTube—@CoCoMGUC.

Registration is FULL! For our Growing Gardeners "Vegetable Gardening" course

Wow. The course filled up in 10 minutes (!!) after signup started. For those who didn't get in, this course is typically offered every other month. You can also view and download our Growing Gardeners Vegetable Gardening: Handbook for Beginners. And sign up for our newsletter/announcements email list to get first notice.

The Growing Gardeners Program provides garden education on topics of interest to gardeners in Contra Costa County. The Program offers in-depth learning opportunities without the extended hours required to earn UC Master Gardener Certification and without the volunteer requirement.

For more information on this course, read our Growing Gardeners webpage.

Image shows grapes on left, the #BigDigDay icon in center, and heirloom tomatoes on left.

June 5, 2020, was our first #BigDigDay campaign! We set ourselves a goal of $5,000—and you, our wonderful supporters, helped us to top it off! Thank you so much. With the cancellation of our biggest fundraiser, the Great Tomato Plant sales, we are deeply appreciative of your gifts. We will continue to offer our science-based information to guide you in your gardening adventures. Stay tuned!

(If you missed the campaign, but still want to donate, here's our Donations page.)

Due to the current COVID-19 shelter-in-place, our plant sales, talks, and Ask-a-Master Gardener tables at Farmers Markets are all canceled through October 30, 2020. As our plans evolve, we will post updates here and on our calendar.

It's official...with a tip of the hat to Antioch's historic Rivertown District, our East County demonstration garden, formerly named Mangini Garden, is now called Rivertown Demonstration Garden.

Advice to Grow By...Ask Us!
UC Master Gardener advice and problem diagnosis services are available year-round! For problem diagnosis and answers to your gardening questions, contact our Help Desk. The Help Desk is open 50 weeks of the year, Monday through Thursday, from 9:00 am to Noon (closed winter holidays). 3/17/20: Due to the current COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place, our Master Gardeners are working remotely—

Email us at ccmg@ucanr.edu.

In your request—

Include your name, phone number and city (plant advice depends on local conditions!).
Describe the problem in detail. Include the name of the plant if known, when the problem began, and cultivation history such as watering, fertilizing, pruning, pesticides, etc.
Send photographs, if applicable. Photographs help!

Our gardening blog, HOrT COCO, talks about seasonal hot topics, frequently-asked questions, and truly unique or peculiar requests for help. Subscribe here.

Keep conserving water, no matter what.
Remember that water conservation continues to be vital to California's long-term health and resilience. Learn about water resources in California. Also check our Drought Tips, as well as read our HOrT COCO blog on Smart Controllers. Want a quick and easy fix? Many of us have areas of lawn that serve no particular purpose. Sheet mulch your lawn to save water, and improve your soil at the same time.

Speaking of soil...visit the United Nations' FAO Soil Portal for in-depth scientific soil research and international policy to enhance soil health. Most Contra Costa soils contain plenty of the nutrients plants need. Keep your soil healthy to cut back drastically on landscape fertilizing. Less fertilizing means less watering (and more money in your pocket)!

Contact
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
2380 Bisso Lane, Suite B, Concord, CA 94520
(925) 608-6683 (email only during Shelter-in-Place), ccmg@ucanr.edu
http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/

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From Frank McPherson, Bay Area County UCCE Director

UC Master Gardeners are University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) trained volunteers. They are residents of our community that give back all year to provide UCCE researched-based horticultural information to individuals in their communities and throughout the state.

They give talks and demonstrations, conduct plant clinics, staff phone help lines, provide training at community gardens, support school garden programs, staff information tables at Farmers’ Markets, fairs, and nurseries, and much more.

If you would like to support our efforts, donate now. Thank you!

We're the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County!

Got home gardening questions? ASK US!
Want to talk with us? FIND US!
Curious about what we do? Check out About Us.
Looking for Our Garden? Rivertown Demonstration Garden?

Contra Costa Master Gardeners Donate Our Plants to the Community

So many plants from what would have been our Great Tomato Plant Sale found homes throughout the East Bay area. We donated plants to 48 community, church and school gardens in Contra Costa, as well as to Oakland Unified School District.

Where We Are Right Now

Event Name	Date
Rivertown Demo Garden / Pomegranates	11/3/2020
Rivertown Demo Garden / Care of General Use Tools for Your Garden	11/10/2020
Zoom: Firewise Landscaping: Strategies to Protect your Home and Property	11/16/2020