Food Growing And Gardening

Chard is a favorite leafy green for many Sonoma County gardeners for its adaptability to both cool and warm weather, making it an easy year-round crop. Care is the same as for beets, a close relative with a different root structure. Summer heat and winter frosts are easily tolerated.

Few areas of the garden benefit from detailed preparation like the edible garden. The two most important components are putting the infrastructure in place (beds and irrigation) and using healthy soil.

Top tips for a successful vegetable garden: Choose a flat, sunny location with well-drained soil. Vegetables need a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of sun. Full sun is best. Prepare your soil well before you plant. Thoroughly remove all weeds, dig to loosen the soil, and amend with compost and fertilizer as needed…

Despite its name, winter squash is grown in the summer. The name comes from the fact that the mature fruits can be stored for winter eating. Pumpkins are a type of winter squash.

When/how to plant: Late fall through winter, using 2 to 3 year old plants. Blueberries require acidic soil; a soil test will help determine how much to acidify your soil. Be sure the soil has a pH between 4.5 and 6.5. If it’s a clay soil, use organic matter to amend the soil, preferably peat moss. Oregon…

To check on classes in your Master Gardener Community click on your county.

Learn how to grow healthy tomatoes in your Sonoma County home garden; select, grow and manage pests and diseases with expert advice.

Edible gardens are a world unto themselves in the landscape. There are many strategies unique to vegetable gardens that extend growing times, keep the garden healthy, and maximize crop yields. Here's a cheat sheet of common edible garden lingo and strategies.

Fall Garden Fair vegetable descriptions. In Santa Clara County, we can grow delicious vegetables year round. Our cool season lets us grow vegetables that are typically grown as early spring vegetables elsewhere in the U.S.

We compared thirteen varieties of red looseleaf lettuce to determine the best production and taste. All of the varieties were very healthy and pretty to look at. Flame and Cardinale were judged the best at the tasting, Sunset and Bronze Arrow were tied for second and Susan’s Red Bibb was third. The very…