Events
09 / 25
Start: 10:00 am
End: 12:00 pm
In September, representatives from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Kurt Elvert and Kevin Galvin, will join us for the first hour, 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. to talk about the current state problem in water shortages. They will also discuss the landscape and irrigation system rebate programs for homes and businesses along with other useful water-wise information. From 11 a.m. - noon, we are inviting people to talk about water-saving ideas. Master Composter Lee Phillips will join us to talk about how he has saved money from the Santa Clara Valley Water District's water rebate program. He will lead off the show with a water-related song he composed! For more infomation on the rebate program, see valleywater.org. Time permitting, we will also discuss a movie which has recently opened in selected California cities called "Flow: For Love of Water" and the soundtrack of the movie trailer will be played. Master Gardener Sharon McCray will also be on hand with Dr. Craig Kolodge, Master Gardeners Bader Kudsi and Jim Maley to discuss water-wise gardening. In the final half hour, Sharon will discuss the Prusch Farm Park Harvest Festival that is taking place on October 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | ||
09 / 26
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09 / 27
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09 / 28
Start: 1:00 pm
End: 5:00 pm
Overfelt Gardens in a garden sanctuary for plant, wildlife and quiet
The Chinese Moon Festival is celebrated by billions of people around The Master Gardeners are hosting a booth with gardening-related activities for adults and for children. Free admission and parking. This is a tobacco-and alcohol-free event. | ||
09 / 29
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09 / 30
Start: 7:30 pm
End: 8:30 pm
Now is a great time to start winter greens. Master Gardener Karen Schaffer will introduce you to many new and unusual varieties of vegetables. Come learn how to grow vegetables for fall and winter harvest. We will discuss how to seed directly into soil between July and September; how to seed into pots for transplanting later; how to buy good transplants from nurseries for planting in September and later. You will enjoy great vegetables from October through March! | ||
10 / 1
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10 / 2
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10 / 3
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10 / 4
Start: 10:00 am
End: 11:00 am
Sat, Oct 4 Walk and talk with Master Gardeners as they cut back, clean up and divide ornamental plants for the winter. Followed by Open Garden until 1 p.m. 10 / 4
Start: 10:00 am
End: 4:00 pm
Sat, Oct 4 The goal of the Harvest Fair & Exposition is to embrace the spirit of the county fair and provide a place for families to celebrate a "county fair" in San Jose. Entertainment - unusual food - pony rides - plant sale - cooking classes - pumpkin patch - hay wagon ride - apple juice tasting - kids programs - games and fun things to do! Listen to the Mariachi San Jose Youth Band! Visit the Rare Fruit Orchard - the Heritage and High-Density Fruit Orchards - Emma's German Garden - Friendship Forest - Petting Zoo - and be part of 4H Mega Field Day! The Master Gardeners will host a booth and will be holding a fall plant sale with fall/winter vegetable seedlings and other plants. For more information, visit http://pruschfarmpark.org or call 408-926-5555. 10 / 4
Start: 10:30 am
End: 12:30 pm
Sat, Oct 4 Tired of watering, mowing and weeding your lawn but don't know what to put in instead? Replacing your lawn appropriately reduces your water bill and your maintenance costs, encourages habitat for birds and butterflies and does not contribute to global warming. You'll come away from this inspiring talk with dozens of ideas, illustrated by pictures worth more than a thousand words. Deva Luna combines her passion for plants with a desire to enhance the environment. She is a lifetime Master Gardener, Gardening Instructor, Coordinator of Santa Clara Teaching Garden, Landscape Designer and Horticulturalist for EarthCare Landscaping. She has a degree in "Plants and Art" from UC Davis. To register, call 650-493-6072. | ||
10 / 5
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10 / 6
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10 / 7
Start: 7:00 pm
End: 9:00 pm
Santa Clara County is one of the best places in the world to create a year-round garden, whether you want to grow vegetables or a beautiful sustainable garden full of trees, shrubs, perennials and flowers. Come learn the basics about our climate and soil and the best practices for creating your ideal garden. If you are a beginning gardener, you will learn how to get started successfully. If you have some experience, you'll learn about sustainable practices and appropriate plants to introduce into your garden. the goal of this class is to enable you to have a successful and sustainable garden in our time and place. There are six classes on six consecutive Tuesday evenings from October 7 through November 11 from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Register at http://www.ci.campbell.ca.us/Recreation/communitycenter | ||
10 / 8
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10 / 9
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10 / 10
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10 / 11
Start: 9:00 am
End: 11:00 am
UCCE Master Gardener Bekah Stratton will provide this complete introduction to growing and using the many varieties of lavenders, including the history and mystique of lavender up to the current day. She will demonstrate the great contrast between lavender grown with preferred, natural methods, and lavender grown with toxic chemical methods. Being a Mediterranean plant, or dry summer plant, lavender only needs water during our rainy season. This makes it ideal for landscaping in drought prone areas like ours. Topics include: genus of Lavenders; types by intended uses; growing habits; planting; methods of propagation; nutrition needs; and soils. Care of the fragrant crop leading to the final day of harvesting the lavender will be covered as well. Practical handouts provided. No Reservations Required. 10 / 11
Start: 10:00 am
End: 12:00 pm
Master Gardener Lee Ann Ray will answer all your questions about pests in your garden - the good guys as well as the bad guys! Join us for a free talk on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for the home gardener. The workshop will cover prevention techniques - the most successful AND environmentally-friendly being to encourage beneficial insects in your garden. Lee Ann will describe how to accomplish this. She will cover prevention techniques, pest and plant symptom identification, action thresholds and sustainable management methods. You will discover and discuss low-impact solutions to common gardening challenges and the maintenance and enrichment of our natural gardening environments. Registration required: Those interested in attending, please send email to ritab@metroed.net or phone 408-723-6450. 10 / 11
Start: 10:00 am
End: 4:00 pm
A great family day! Giant Pumpkin Patch - Scarecrow Row - Apple Tasting - Fresh Apple Cider - Guadalupe River Education - Lots of FreeK Kid's Activities - Children's Concert. The Master Gardeners will host a fun booth with gardening- and harvest-related children's activities. 10 / 11
Start: 1:00 pm
End: 3:00 pm
This fall, plant a crop in your vegetable bed to feed the SOIL instead of you and your family. We'll talk about what a cover crop is, why they are useful and which ones are good to plant here. Followed by Grand Rounds in the Community Garden. | ||
10 / 12
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10 / 13
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10 / 14
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10 / 15
Start: 7:00 pm
End: 8:00 pm
Learn how to have a beautiful garden with less work and less water. Climate-adapted plants make gardening easy in our year-round dry climate. | ||
10 / 16
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10 / 17
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10 / 18
Start: 12:00 pm
End: 4:00 pm
Let's go green! A free community event offering families and children opportunities to diminish their carbon footprint and counter global warming. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters; the Master Gardeners will host a table. | ||
10 / 19
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10 / 20
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10 / 21
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10 / 22
Start: 7:00 pm
End: 8:00 pm
Learn to make your own 'Black Gold' to build soil health and improve the garden. Master Composter Ian Gerbode will explain the many ways yard trimmings, autumn leaves and vegetable waste can be transformed into soil enriching compost. Topics incliude comparing hot and cool composting methods, lasagna sheet composting and successful vermiculture ...aka worm bin management. Garden success begins with good soil. | ||
10 / 23
Start: 10:00 am
End: 12:00 pm
Veggielution is a great college student program of growing vegetables and helping the poor of our community. This program was featured in the San Jose Mercury News not long ago in an article by Holly Hayes. The subject of winter vegetables will also be discussed, so tune us in! Mark Anthony Medeiros, a Board member of Prusch Farm & Garden in San Jose, and his garden partner Amy will join us to discuss Veggielution. | ||
10 / 24
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10 / 25
Start: 10:00 am
End: 2:00 pm
Families are invited to join the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society and over a dozen other environmental organizations to celebrate nature and wildlife. There will be live animals, educational presentations, a poster contest and many hands-on activities including nestbox and a bird feeder building. For "Early Birds," we'll have a guided shoreline walk at the Charleston Slough in Mountain View's Baylands at 8 a.m. Following the walk, participants will caravan to Wildlife Education Day festivities in Cupertino. RSVP is required for the walk only. Please call 408-252-3740 to RSVP or send email to programs@scvas.org. The Master Gardeners will host a booth with fun hands-on gardening-related activities. | ||
10 / 26
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10 / 27
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10 / 28
Start: 7:30 pm
End: 8:30 pm
Join other gardeners in learning how to save seeds from your favorite summer vegetables and flowers! Master Gardener Rosalie Shepherd will describe the principles and show you sure-fire techniques. It's great fun and also satisfying to grow your favorite plants from saved seeds. | ||
10 / 29
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10 / 30
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10 / 31
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11 / 1
Start: 10:00 am
End: 11:00 am
Learn how to make unusual and attractive arrangements using plant materials from the fall garden. Ikebana and other techniques will be demonstrated. Followed by Open Garden until 1 p.m. 11 / 1
Start: 10:30 am
End: 12:30 pm
Learn which varieties of peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, aprictos, apples and pears are the delight of connoisseurs. You will be introduced to the best of the best-tasting deciduous fruits that grow in this area and learn where to find sources for your own plants. Nancy has been conducting and attending fruit tastings for the last 26 years in her diverse home fruit garden and in research facilities around the state. She has collaborated with Andy's Orchard and Dave Wilson Nursery and oversees the rare fruit plantings at Prusch Farm Park in San Jose. | ||
11 / 2
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11 / 3
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11 / 4
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11 / 5
Start: 7:00 pm
End: 8:00 pm
Autumn is the perfect time to start planning a drought tolerant garden that saves water, attracts wildlife and enriches the environment. Learn design basics for a lush and waterwise garden, including plant selection for year-round bloom and eco-friendly planting techniues and ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle landscaping materials from around the home.
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11 / 6
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11 / 7
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11 / 8
Start: 9:00 am
End: 11:00 am
It's that time again! November 8 is this year's last UCCE Master Gardener Plant Clinic workshop at Gamble Garden. Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer home gardening questions. This is the right time of year to plan and prepare for 2009's veggie and ornamental plantings. November is the best time to plant many perennials and shrubs. Get answers to all those troubling questions about pruning roses, fruit trees and shrub, as well as what and how to plant in your garden right now. The clinic is a great place to get information about your most mysterious pests, diseases and totally confounding plant troubles. Bring soil samples and/or photos of pests and plant parts. Finally, get the help you need to set your garden right. Please invite friends and neighbors to this free workshop. No reservations needed. 11 / 8
Start: 9:30 am
End: 11:30 am
Plant descriptions may say "partial sun," "partial shade," or full shade." What do they really mean? Learn how to create a shady area in your garden or use your existing shade for best effect. Master Gardener Niki Muller will discuss design issues in creating a shade garden in your location. Types and patterns of shade and the problems that may arise will be addressed. Plant selection, care and feeding will also be discussed. Come with your questions! Registration is required and class size is limited to 25. Register online or phone Gamble Garden at 650-329-1365 ext. 201, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon. | ||
11 / 9
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11 / 10
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11 / 11
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11 / 12
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11 / 13
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11 / 14
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11 / 15
Start: 10:00 am
End: 12:00 pm
It's time to prepare for our next vegetable growing season. Our gardens have worked hard all year and now we want to show you how to re-energize your soil. Come to an exciting and informative workshop on garden soil and learn about soil composition from Laura Monczynski. Laura specializes in growing organic edibles in her garden and will share tips about organic soil amendments, compost, working with our local clay soils and more. Healthy gardens start with healthy soil. There is no fee to attend this workshop but please pre-register by sending email to RitaB@metroed.net or phoning the Erikson Adult Ed Center office during business hours at 408-723-6450. Registration forms are provided at the door. | ||
11 / 16
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11 / 17
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11 / 18
Start: 7:00 pm
End: 8:00 pm
Master Gardener Philippa Alvis offers timely information for selecting bulbs to grace the garden with color in spring. Now is the time to plant, but where an how? Learn the cultural needs of daffodils, crocus, tulips and everything bulb, including 'winter forcing' techniues for an indoor bouquet in December. Instruction includes bed preparation, fertilizing needs, sun and water requirements and sources where you can purchase your favorite varieties. | ||
11 / 19
Start: 7:00 pm
End: 8:00 pm
Master Gardeners will present fresh ways to look at preserving objects destined for our public landfill. From broken concrete - "urbanite" - that you can use to build raised beds to trellises constructed of previously-used materials -- there are dozens of ways you can both save items from going to the landfill and beautify your garden at the same time. The purpose of the class is to promote recycling while creating a sense of whimsey and beauty in your garden. | ||
11 / 20
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11 / 21
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11 / 22
Start: 10:00 am
End: 12:00 pm
Join Master Gardener Nancy Garrision for her fabulous introduction to the best tasting deciduous fruit trees that grow well in Willow Glen. Nancy has decades of experience growing almost every fruit tree imaginable, from the apples and oranges that come immediately to mind, to exotic subtropicals and also unusual varieties of more common fruit trees that have special properties -- particularly great taste, or long-lasting on the tree or in storage, or other special characteristics. You will be inspired to start or add to your own home orchard! And check out http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu! The Master Gardeners also have these upcoming talks about fruit trees: 1. Getting Started to Plant Bare-Root Fruit Trees in January, Tuesday, November 25 2. Pruning Dormant Ornamental and Fruit Trees, Saturday, December 6, 2008 3. Grafting Fruit Trees, Saturday, December 13, 2008 4. Fruit Tree Pruning, Saturday, January 10, 2009 | ||
11 / 23
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11 / 24
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11 / 25
Start: 7:30 pm
End: 8:30 pm
January is the time to plant fruit trees and other plants such as: berries; rhubarb; shade trees; roses; onions; asparagus and more! These, and many other perennial plants, are sold as bare-root plants. What does that mean? Master Gardener Roberta Barnes will describe the best practives in finding, choosing and planting various bare-root plants. Why plant fruit trees at home? Some reasons are: * The advantage of having tree-ripened fruit in your own yard. (It's not possible to get ripe peaches, for example, in the supermarket.) * The ability to grow the tastiest varieties, many of which are not available in the supermarkets because they are not grown by commercial growers. * The freedom to select varieties that will give fruit many months out of the year. The best way to plant a fruit tree is to plant a bare-root tree in January. Come learn how easy and fun it is! The technique of espaliered fruit trees will also be discussed. And check out http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu! | ||
11 / 26
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11 / 27
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11 / 28
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11 / 29
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11 / 30
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12 / 1
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12 / 2
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12 / 3
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12 / 4
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12 / 5
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12 / 6
Start: 10:00 am
End: 11:00 am
Join experienced Master Gardeners who will show you the best techniques for dormant pruning. 12 / 6
Start: 12:00 pm
End: 6:00 pm
Master Gardeners will present two wreath-making workshops: at 1:00 Craft and science workshops for children; trolley and handcart rides; face-painting; watercolor painting demo; visiting with Santa; and concerts and singalongs with carolers, choirs and even marimba groups are some of what you will enjoy at the Heritage Holiday fair! Shop for unusual and distinctive gifts at the museum gift shop or have your antiques appraised by a local expert. Enjoy the Village Harvest food tasting, honey tasting and artisinal food and drinks. | ||
12 / 7
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12 / 8
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12 / 9
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12 / 10
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12 / 11
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12 / 12
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12 / 13
Start: 1:00 pm
End: 3:00 pm
Master Gardener Bader Kudsi will teach gardeners of all skill levels how to graft different varieties of fruit trees. Grafting involves joining two genetically distinct plants so that they unite to continue growth as a single plant. A short section of a shoot taken from the type of fruit tree that you want to grow is inserted into a limb or trunk of a seedling tree - the rootstock. The rootstocks have desirable characteristics that make them preferable to growing a tree on its own roots. Some species cannot be propagated by techniques known as cutting or layering, but can be propagated by grafting. You can also graft several varieties onto one rootstock, and the resulting tree will bear several varieties of fruit! See also the University of California guide for home orchards at http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu To sign up for the workshop please contact RitaB@metroed.net or call the MetroEd office, Monday through Friday during business hours, at 408-723-6450. | ||
12 / 14
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12 / 15
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12 / 16
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12 / 17
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12 / 18
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12 / 19
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12 / 20
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12 / 21
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12 / 22
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12 / 23
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12 / 24
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