The biggest garden events of the year are just around the corner
Although it’s not quite time to plant yet, it is definitely time to get your garden plan together. Luckily, your local Master Gardeners have several upcoming events where you can not only learn all about gardening, but can buy all your seedlings as well.
Here are some not to be missed:
The Going Native Garden Tour, now in its 16th year, features more than 100 gardens from Morgan Hill to San Mateo. These gardens will delight and inspire you to replace that thirsty lawn with gorgeous, low-water, low-maintenance native and Mediterranean options. Not only are they beautiful, they support our local birds, bees, bugs and wildlife.The North Bay tour is on April 7 and the South Bay tour is on April 8. Both run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
BRINGING BACK THE NATIVES GARDEN TOUR >> To view gardens throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties, don’t miss the 14th annual Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour on May 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Various gardens will feature live music, artwork and native plants for sale and plenty of activities for the kids.
SPRING GARDEN MARKET >> The oldest and largest edible gardening event of the year, you won’t want to miss the 24th annual Spring Garden Market, brought to you by the Santa Clara Master Gardeners. Over the last several months they have seeded, up-potted, watered, trailed and tested nearly 20,000 plants just for you.
With more than 70 varieties of tomatoes, it is almost impossible to pick just a few. There will be all sizes, colors and taste selections to choose from. If standard red is your tomato-du-jour, there will be dozens of options ranging from beefsteak to cherry. If you make your own sauce, don’t miss out on the paste tomatoes that range in size from 1-5 inches long. But, if you are like me, you like to color outside the lines. Try growing a few black, green, orange, yellow or even bicolored varieties. Some tomatoes are extremely sweet, some have very low acid and some have very few seeds. Just ask one of the experts that will be on hand to help you find what exactly what you are looking for.
With tomatoes, size really does matter. If you are gardening in containers or a small space, opt for determinate varieties that only grow 2 to 4 feet high. Indeterminates usually grow from about 5 to 8 feet tall, and semi-indeterminates fall somewhere in between. Some fruit in as little as 50 days and others will take well more than 100, so you can definitely extend your harvest by choosing wisely.
Like tomatoes, peppers come in all colors, sizes and tastes and there will be plenty to chose from. Some are so sweet you can eat them right off the vine, others will make you feel like a fire-breathing dragon! There are lots of reds, but try a few orange, yellow, green, purple and blacks as well. Most peppers will do fine in a pot, and some are very ornamental, so would be a great addition to your sunny deck or patio. Others can get several feet tall and need staking or a trellis for support.
For all of you chefs out there, don’t miss the fabulous herbs that will be offered. There will be many varieties of basil, chives, dill, fennel, lemongrass, oregano, parley, tarragon and thyme
Here are more fantastic master gardener events happening soon throughout the Bay Area:
SOUTH BAY
• Martial Cottle Park, April 14, 9 a.m.-2 p.m, , 5283 Snell Ave., San Jose
• Guglielmo Winery, April 21, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 1480 East Main Ave., Morgan Hill
PENINSULA
• San Mateo Event Center, April 21, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 1346 Saratoga Dr., San Mateo
EAST BAY
• Our Garden, April 7, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 2405 Shadelands Dr., Walnut Creek
• Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, April 14, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 1201 W. 10th St., Antioch
• Richmond Public Library, April 28, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond
Happy gardening and see you at the market.