Master Gardeners at the Home & Garden Show

UCCE Master Gardeners of Tuolumne County will host a booth with the theme “Grow Your Own Food” at the 29th Annual Home and Garden Show at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds. Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your gardening questions Saturday, March 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., rain or shine. Informational hand-outs, specifically about growing food, will be available. Be sure to pick up a Vegetable Planting schedule for Tuolumne County and Cornell University information about companion planting and attracting “good bugs.”

In keeping with the theme of growing food, packets of lettuce seeds and companion marigold seeds will be available to everyone while supplies last. There will also be a drawing for a garden gift basket.

In addition, we’ll have lots of information about pests in the garden and what to do about them. The University of California Integrated Pest Management program (http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu) offers suggestions to reduce pesticide use and help protect our water sources from chemical contamination. Pick up a “quick tip” easy-to-use pest card or a longer, more in-depth “pest note” to help discourage your least-favorite bug or critter.

Each day there will be gardening demonstrations presented by Master Gardener volunteers. Demonstrations include composting and vermicomposting, the practice of creating a rich garden amendment by feeding “red wigglers” all your kitchen scraps. We’ll demonstrate planting seeds using recycled materials, planting herbs in a bowl or strawberry pot, and defeating gophers by constructing a protective gopher basket.

Master Gardeners look forward to meeting you!