Food Gardens

By Laurie Meyerpeter, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyQ: What vegetables can I plant in the fall?A: Many vegetables are best planted in either late summer or early fall for a fall or winter crop. Or the same vegetables can be planted in early spring for a crop that matures before the heat of the…

Trish Alderson, UC Master Gardeners of Placer County From The Curious Gardener, Summer 2011Chips and Salsa, anyone?? How about salsa on salad or adding salsa to a favorite dish?These are just a few examples of how we might use salsa to enhance what we eat.Salsa is a wonderful accompaniment to many…

Elaine Kelly Applebaum, UC Master Gardener of Placer County From The Curious Gardener, Spring 2021 Audrey Hepburn once said, “to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” So perhaps it was to be expected that people around the world would take the opportunity posed by stay-at-home orders last…

Dorothy Volker, UC Master Gardeners of Nevada County From The Curious Gardener, Spring 2010You already know what vegetables your family likes to eat and you like knowing where and how your food is grown. You know that growing your own vegetables reduces your family’s carbon footprint and you really know…

Lettuce is generally considered to be a cool-season annual, but with a little advanced planning and some judicious plant selection, Marin gardeners can enjoy home-grown lettuce throughout the year. Our temperate climate makes it possible to modify the growing conditions for lettuce and enable the plants to…

Fall is the best time to plant garlic for a summer harvest.  Both the softneck and hardneck types of garlic can be planted now.  The softneck varieties are found in most grocery stores.  They have a mild flavor and store very well.  Two recommended softneck varieties for our climate are “California Early”…

It will soon be time to start planting many cool season crops.  There are several reasons to plant a winter garden. Many crops actually taste better and grow best in cooler weather. Also, a winter garden is less work: the weather is more comfortable and there is less weeding and watering to do.  Finally,…

The abundance from summer vegetable gardens is extended through the winter and beyond by methods of canning, freezing and drying. But you can also give your summer vegetables a longer life span by saving their seeds. It's important to know that the seed from a hybrid plant will not produce a plant exactly…

Understanding the when, why, and how of pruning tomatoes for the best yield To prune or not to prune tomatoes, that is a question that backyard tomato growers need to answer for themselves. Growing strong, healthy tomato plants increases the chance of getting a large crop of delicious tomatoes. The…

Five Steps to Avoid Becoming THE Problem in YOUR Vegetable Garden. I have been growing my own vegetables for the last thirty years. I have grown vegetables in the ground, raised beds, and containers. During those years I have enjoyed good and bad harvests. Sometimes the problems which resulted in a poor…