Welcome to UC Master Gardeners of Nevada County

Free Online Gardening Classes

Coming to a Virtual Space Near You:

Live! August 15th at 9:00 am

Flowers 101- From Seed to Vase

This is a NEW virtual flower workshop! Join us to learn the basics of growing fabulous flowers for bouquets and lovely flower arrangements.

The workshop will cover the important steps to grow your own cutting flowers - beginning with a demonstration of seed planting. Learn techniques to achieve longer stems and stronger plants using proper pinching techniques. We will discuss harvesting flowers at the proper time and care of your flowers once cut for the longest vase life. We will also demonstrate a simple flower arrangement you can make with common plant material in your yard in combination with your newly grown flowers. Don't miss this fun and informative workshop that will bring beauty to your garden and home!

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Check out previously recorded workshops:

August 1, 2020 Seed Saving Basics

June 27, 2020 Weeds: The Good-The Bad-The Ugly

June 13, 2020 Garden Makeover: From Lawn to Landscape

To access recordings, click "Online Workshops and Videos" link from the menu at the left.

Important Information!

From UC Agriculture and Natural Resources: July 29, 2020

Re: Unsolicited seed packets reported across the United States

Author: Whitney Brim-DeForest Posted by: Gale Perez

In the past few weeks, there has been a rash of reports from citizens in several states (at least 27) regarding packages of seed apparently sent from China, and in some cases, Uzbekistan (1). The packages have arrived without proper documentation and labeling and appear unsolicited (no orders for the seeds were placed).

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is currently investigating, along with State departments of agriculture and the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection, as well as associated federal departments.

What to do if you receive these seeds?

The USDA is asking people to not plant the seeds. Keep them in a sealed plastic bag, and if you opened the original package, reseal them into a new plastic bag, and wash your hands if you touched the seeds. Some pathogens can be transferred to other plants via human hands, in particular Tomato Mosaic Virus (ToMV) and Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV), which are both highly important agricultural pests (3). Keep the original packaging and contact your state's plant health director (4) or state's APHIS director (5) for directions. Do not dispose of the seeds, as by placing them in the garbage, they will end up in the landfill, with the same potential for spread of the plants or pathogens as described earlier.

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New information (7/30/2020): California Agricultural Commissioner's offices are collecting seeds locally. Please contact your county office (https://cacasa.org/county/).
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Learn more here

Garden Questions and Answers

Q. I have lovely squash plants but the fruit fails to fully develop.
A. Curcurbits (squash, melons and cucumbers) have a unique flowering habit. They produce both male and female flowers and the pollen must be carried, usually by bees, from the male flower to the female flower. Where this doesn’t happen, it may result in incomplete pollination and the end of the developing fruit will shrivel. A dedicated gardener can help the process along with a small paintbrush. They can dip the paintbrush in the male flower and collect some pollen and move it to the female flower. You can recognize the female flower because it has a small developing miniature fruit at the base of the flower.

Q. What is this creature destroying my tomato plants?
A. This is a tomato hornworm (Manduca spp.) Hornworms of all sizes have a distinctive horn at the rear end. Mature caterpillars are very large -- up to 4 inches long.

Find out more about these pests here!