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UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County

The Latest Dirt - March 2024

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UC Master Gardeners prepare hoop houses for the GTPS seedlings. Photo by Fred Teensma.
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2024 Great Tomato Plant Sale Needs You

March 18th, 2024
By Robin Moore If you havent heard, the Great Tomato Plant Sale will have sales in all three county areas for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown! East County is ready to rock and roll in 2024 after a total garden redo! What does this mean to you?
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Clients of the first West County GTPS, held in 2014 at the former Adams Middle School site in Richmond, CA, choose plants. Photo by Liz Rottger.
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The Tomato Sale That Grew

March 18th, 2024
By Liz Rottger When did UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa hold its first tomato sale? That depends on how you define first. In 2010, CoCoMGs took over a small, neglected vegetable garden next to the Contra Costa Times building on Shadelands in Walnut Creek.
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Photo by UC Master Gardener. CoCoMGs John Fike and Bill Miller volunteer at a local Farmers market.
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The Return of AAMG!

March 18th, 2024
By Laura Brainin-Rodriguez We have an exciting Ask a Master Gardener season coming up! AAMG is unique in that we reach Contra Costa County residents as they go about their lives at Farmers Markets, Our Garden, and single-day events throughout the county. Our usual season runs from April to October.
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CoCoMGs Betty Yee and Suzanne Miller work in the Family Garden Bed at Our Garden. Photo by Jan Manns.
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Family Garden Bed…The Story

March 18th, 2024
By Jan Manns The Family Garden Bed at Our Garden Walnut Creek was initiated six years ago when UC Master Gardeners Monika Witte and Janet Miller proposed dedicating one of the 30 garden plots as a tangible example of what a family can accomplish in their own backyard. The idea mushroomed.
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Help Desk Solves Fungi Mystery

March 18th, 2024
By Sara Hoyer The Help Desk recently received the following questions from a local gardener about mystery mushrooms in their gardens.
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The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
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Seed Viability for Seed Savers

March 18th, 2024
By Simone Adair The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway is the backup insurance policy for all the seed banks worldwide, said its founder, Cary Fowler. The Vault, which stores 500 million seeds, is naturally three to four degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
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The Triumph of Seeds: A Book Review

March 18th, 2024
By Liz Rottger Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into a giant oak! Bury a sheep, and nothing happens but decay.
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2024 UC Master Gardener Conference Great Success

March 18th, 2024
By Dawn Kooyumjian and David George UC Master Gardeners from around the state converged on the Lake Tahoe region last October for the triennial 2023 UC Master Gardener Program conference. The conference occurred Oct. 2 6 at the Granlibakken Tahoe resort in sparkling Tahoe City, California.
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Invasive Fly Quarantine In Our Area

March 18th, 2024
By Paige Shewmaker On behalf of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, I am providing you with some informational resources for residents regarding an invasive fruit fly quarantine in your area.
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