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McClellan Ranch Project
Vegetable Trials
For twelve years a group of UCCE Master Gardeners volunteers have conducted vegetable trials in a community garden plot donated by the City of Cupertino. These projects inform the public about growing interesting alternatives to the standard vegetable varieties sold in supermarkets. All our vegetables are grown organically.
At harvest time we hold a tasting event for the public and either prepare dishes with our produce or present them al fresco. The events are announced in the San Jose Mercury News Garden section published in Friday's edition, and in other local newspapers. At our tasting events Master Gardeners give tours of our experimental plot, provide information about vegetable cultivation, answer questions about horticulture and offer ideas about cooking the vegetables we grow. Hope to see you at the next event.
Learn more about the 2003 summer squash project or view the results of previous projects by clicking on these links:
asian vegetables | beans | carrots | cucumbers | melons | nematodes | peppers | potatoes | tomatoes | winter squash
For questions about the McClellan Ranch Project email the Master Gardeners at webmaster@mastergardeners.org
About McClellan Ranch Park
This 23.5 acre park is owned and maintained as a nature preserve by the City of Cupertino. Stevens Creek flows through the park, shaded by western sycamores, black cottonwoods, willows and other riparian trees. Steelhead, roach, stickleback and crayfish are at home in these waters, and numerous species of birds can be seen or heard from the nature trail that parallels the creek’s path as it curves around the old pasture.
Many of the original farm building have been restored and are open to the public. In addition, the City of Cupertino has set aside space for an an award-winning 4H program. You can see hogs, goats and lambs in season. The Santa Clara Audubon Society offices are housed in the original farmhouse and Cupertino Community gardens occupy two acres of the park.
This fertile land was supporting a thriving population Native Americans when Juan Bautista De Anza camped nearby in 1776. His expedition named the creek here Arroyo San Joseph Cupertino. Today it is known as Stevens Creek, after Captain Elisha Stephens who settled here is 1859. By 1964 this area had become “too durn civilized” for the Stephens family and they sold the land to W. T. McClellan and George McCauley who raised dairy cattle here. It was operating as a horse ranch at the time the City of Cupertino purchased it. It was designated a Nature and Rural Preserve in 1975. Each year thousands of children and adults participate in naturalist-led activities in McClellan Ranch Park.
For more information about McClellan Ranch Park, please call Cupertino Parks and Recreation (www.cupertino.org/update/rec/facility.htm) at (408) 777-3120. The park is located at 22221 McClellan Road, Cupertino, California.
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