McClellan Ranch

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Overview

The McClellan Ranch Community Gardens are bounded by oak woodland and riparian habitat.  Gardeners have challenges to successfully grow crops.  The alluvial soil is extremely fertile.  However, vagaries in the microclimate occur because of its location at the base of a canyon.  Wildlife abound, especially gophers, squirrels, rats, and rabbits.  Deer are often present in the park but the garden perimeter is fenced to keep them out. 

Our garden plot was surrounded by other garden plots before the realignment of the gardens and the 4H facilities to accommodate a new hiking and biking trail.  The surrounding plots insulated ours from major pest damage.  Now the south and west sides of our plot are bordered by 4H livestock enclosures.  This provides easy access to garden pests which attributed to the 2008 crop failure.

The goal this year was to plant a variety of soy beans (edamame) that local gardeners could grow in their home gardens or in their community garden plots.  We could then have a tasting so the public could determine which varieties suited their specific palate.

McClellan Ranch Home page | Appendix A | Appendix B | Eggplant Photos

Overview

In 2004, members of the University of California Master Gardener McClellan Ranch project team completed a very successful summer vegetable trial in Cupertino that focused on eggplants. Forty different varieties of eggplants from all around the world were grown for the research project. Varieties for the trial were selected to represent the breadth of color, shape, and growth habit available to the home gardener.

Plant characteristics along with pest and disease problems were observed and recorded. In addition, as the eggplants were harvested, elapsed days between seeding and germination and days to maturity of each variety were recorded. The harvest yield in ounces/pounds, number of fruit, and the size of the fruit were also tracked.

A public field day was held in September where people toured the garden and tasted the different varieties of eggplants. The rating sheets from the field day were used to pick the top ten varieties of eggplants based on flavor and texture. When selecting which eggplant varieties to grow, home gardeners can consult these tasting results as well as the plant characteristics and pest and disease information.

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.