Garden Help

We offer videos of short tips and full-length talks on a variety of garden topics. Visit our YouTube channel or use the handy guide below.

In addition, the University of California Television archive contains videos on several popular home gardening topics.

Sections

• Waterwise Gardening
• Gardening Courses
• Vegetable Tips | Talks
• Fruit Tips | Talks
• Herb Tips | Talks
• Landscaping Talks
• Ornamentals Tips | Talks
• Pest and Disease Tips | Talks
• Gardening for Kids
• General Gardening Tips | Talks

Waterwise Gardening

• Installing Drip Irrigation [8:13]
• Make Every Drop Count: Home Gardening and Landscaping in a Drought Year [1 hr 31 min]
• Modern Drip Irrigation [1 hr 24 min]
• Replacing Your Lawn [1 hr 19 min]
• Save Money with Waterwise Gardening Techniques [1 hr 8 min]
• Selecting & Planting California Natives [55 min]
• Sustainable Gardening with Urbanite (recycled concrete chunks) [1 hr 4 min]
• Sustainable Landscaping Fundamentals [58 min]
• Success with Succulents [1 hr 28 min]

Gardening Courses

Gardening for Beginners (2022)

This four-part course for beginning gardeners covers everything a beginning gardener needs to know to start gardening successfully. Topics covered include basic plant needs, site selection, plant selection, planting and watering techniques, and suggested gardening tools. Weed and pest management are also discussed. View the full playlist on YouTube here. 

Successful Vegetable Gardening (2021)

This eight-part vegetable gardening course covers everything from garden planning, soil management, watering, and pest management. Guidance is provided for both cool and warm season vegetables. Several content experts from the Santa Clara County Master Gardener volunteer community present the material. View the full playlist on YouTube here. 

School Garden Training (2025)

The Santa Clara County Master Gardeners hosted an eight-hour School Garden Training Workshop on February 22, 2025, offering practical tools and inspiration for people interested in building and sustaining school gardens. Recorded in a series of 13 videos, this workshop covers everything from planning and goal setting to plant selection, soil health, teaching strategies, and community engagement. View the full playlist on YouTube here.

Less Work, More Food: Making a Productive Cool Season Vegetable Garden (2020)

Santa Clara County's climate allows for year-round vegetable gardening. Cool season gardening offers some advantages when compared to warm season gardening. For example, rain and lower temperatures reduce watering requirements. There are fewer pests and diseases in cool weather. Many leafy green vegetables that will bolt in the summer can be grown successfully in the cool season. 

This three-part course covers site and plant selection, soil preparation, planting techniques, and pest management. View the full playlist on YouTube here. 

Vegetable Tips

• Artichokes: Grow and Harvest Artichokes [4:10]
• Chayote: How to Grow Chayote [3:24]
• Chiles: 17 Chile Varieties You Can Grow [7:20]
• Chiles: How to Stake Chile Pepper Plants [1:59]
• Chiles: You Can Grow Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Chiles [5:09]
• Cool season: Cool Season Vegetable Raised Bed Garden [1:57]
• Corn, beans, squash: 3 Sisters Garden [4:00]
• Corn: Increase Your Sweet Corn Yield [4:33]
• Corn: Protecting Sweet Corn Ears [4:41]
• Elephant garlic: How to Grow and Harvest Elephant Garlic [5:12]
• Loofa: How to Grow and Use [1:53]
• Okra: Varieties of Okra You Can Grow [6:47]
• Onions: How to Grow and Harvest Bulb Onions [4:23]
• Seeds: How to Start Seeds [5:59]
• Summer Squash: Zucchini to Harvest in Vertical Cage [1:15]
• Sweet Potatoes: Grow Your Own Sweet Potatoes [2:36]
• Tomatoes: Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes [1:28]
• Tomatoes: Planting Tall Tomato Seedlings [5:26]
• Warm season: Warm Season Vegetable Garden Assessment in November [4:53]

Vegetable Talks

Cool season

• Cool Season Vegetable Gardening [1 hr 29 min]
• Growing From Seed: A Summer Start for Your Winter Garden [1 hr 28 min]
• Growing Great Bok Choy [1 hr 1 min]
• Spice It Up: Growing Garlic, Ginger, Chives, & Turmeric [1 hr 20 min]

Warm season

• Growing Tomatoes Successfully [1 hr 16 min]
• Growing Tomatoes and Peppers Successfully [1 hr 29 min]
• Growing Your Own Sweet Potatoes [1 hr 9 min]
• Summer Vegetable Gardening [1 hr 28 min]
• Summer Vegetable Troubleshooting [1 hr 22 min]
• Terrific Tomatoes and Peppers From Your Garden [1 hr 28 min]
• Tomato Troubles! Common Tomato Problems in the Home Garden [55 min]
• Growing Vegetables in Containers [1 hr 25 min]

Fruit Tips

• Figs: Figs – How to Harvest [1:19]
• Pruning: Winter Pruning [7:49]
• Strawberry propagation: Strawberry Runners [1:32]

Fruit Talks

• Blueberries in Abundance [1 hr 26 min]
• Fruit Tree Pruning [1 hr 28 min]
• Getting Fruit Trees Off to a Good Start [1 hr 28 min]
• Growing Fabulous Citrus [1 hr 34 min]
• Growing Table & Wine Grapes in Santa Clara County [1 hr 24 min]
• Summer Fruit Tree Pruning [1 hr 31 min]
• Winter Fruit Tree Care [1 hr 25 min]

Herb Tips

• Drink What You Grow! - Licorice Mint: Intro [3:20], Transplanting [5:52], Licorice Mint Drink [5:07]
• Preserving: Drying Herbs Like Tarragon [1:32]

Herb Talks

• Growing Great Basil [1 hr]
• Growing Herbs for Beauty and Flavor [1 hr 12 min]
• Growing Lavender in your Garden [57 min]
• Spice It Up: Growing Garlic, Ginger, Chives, & Turmeric [1 hr 20 min]

Landscaping Talks

• Replacing Your Lawn [1 hr 19 min]
• Sustainable Gardening with Urbanite (recycled concrete chunks) [1 hr 4 min]
• Sustainable Landscaping Fundamentals [58 min]

Ornamentals Tips

• Clarkia [0:45]

Ornamentals Talks

• Planning, Planting and Maintaining a Cut Flower Garden [1 hr 2 min]
• Success with Succulents [1 hr 28 min]
• Selecting & Planting California Natives [55 min]
• Winter Rose Care and Pruning [1 hr 43 min]

Pest and Disease Tips

• Beneficial insects: Green Lacewing [0:31]
• Fungi: Mushroom in Lawn [0:34]
• Pesticides: How to Understand Pesticide Labels [3:44]
• Root Rot: Revealing Root Rot [5:48]
• Slugs and Snails: Copper Strip Mollusk Test [3:09]
• Slugs and Snails: Install a Copper Strip [1:27]
• Tomatoes: Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes [1:28]
• Weeds: Bindweed Removal [1:58]

In addition, the University of California Integrated Pest Management (IPM) video library contains videos on many popular pest and disease topics.

Pest and Disease Talks

• Become a Weed Warrior with the Master Gardeners [1 hr 24 min]
• Tomato Troubles! Common Tomato Problems in the Home Garden [55 min]
• Vertebrate Pest Management for Your Garden (Mandarin) [1 hr 22 min]

In addition, the University of California Integrated Pest Management (IPM) webinar library contains comprehensive webinars on many popular pest and disease topics.

Gardening for Kids

General content for kids

• Beneficials and Pests [16:12]
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM) [8:13]

Composting for Kids

• Introduction to Backyard Composting [7:35]
• Introduction to Vermicomposting [7:09]
• Vermicomposting and Backyard Composting Ingredients [11:48]
• Building a Vermicompost Mini Bin [7:15]
• Building a Backyard Compost Mini Bin [8:16]

General Gardening Tips

• Composting: In-Ground Worm Composting [7:18]
• Containers: Watering Hydrophobic Soil [2:42]
• Cover crop: Using a Cover Crop [2:56]
• Houseplants: Re-vitalize Your Houseplants [6:57]
• Irrigation: Installing Drip Irrigation [8:13]
• Irrigation: Irrigation Controls Installation [8:34]
• Plant sale: Have a Plant Sale Fundraiser [6:00]
• Raised beds: How to Build a Raised Bed [2:13]
• Sanitation: Using Bleach Solution [3:37]
• Sanitation: Wash Produce After Picking Especially After Wildfire and Smoke [0:30]
• Seeds: How to Start Seeds [5:59]
• Tool care: How to Clean and Sharpen Pruning Tools [6:12]

General Gardening Talks

• A Habitat Friendly Bountiful Garden [49 min]
• Garden Myths: How to Know What Really Works [1 hr 23 min]
• Plant Right: Invasive Plants in California [51 min]
• Pollinators: 3 Principles for Bee Gardening [35 min]
• Soil: Healthy Soils Week: Tips to Keep Your Garden Soil Healthy [59 min]
• Soil: Improving Garden Soil Fertility in Fall and Winter [1 hr 9 min]
• Soil: Love Your Santa Clara County Clay [1 hr 39 min]
• Watering: Save Money with Waterwise Gardening Techniques [1 hr 8 min]
• Watering: Modern Drip Irrigation [1 hr 24 min]
• Watering: Make Every Drop Count: Home Gardening and Landscaping in a Drought Year [1 hr 31 min]