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MG Garden Update
Jan. 6th, 2004 05:13 pmToday was my first work day of the new year at the Master Gardener research grounds. Between holidays, family visits, and rain, I hadn't been there in weeks. The excessive rain we've had lately has taken a toll on the lettuce, cauliflower, and some (but not all) of the radicchio. However, the broccoli, cabbages, kohlrabi, and endive are doing fine, just fine. The peas, astonishingly, are looking much better than they had been. I was sure they were dying of root rot in December, which the additional rain would not have helped. Still, they're much smaller than my peas at home.
The Santa Clara Home & Garden show is this weekend, at which the MGs have a booth, so much of the work today was picking specimens for display. I was pleased to be able to contribute some lovely radicchio, frisée, escarole, and even an almost-but-not-quite bolting lettuce from my various project patches.
The Master Gardeners, in case anyone is curious, is a volunteer program co-sponsored by the county (in my case, Santa Clara) and the state land grant university (U.C. Davis for us). Many states and counties have MG programs, though by no means all. I just went through the training last year (classes once a week from January through April) and am having a blast working with these people. I had two research projects last summer, both variety comparison trials: 17 varieties of yellow (wax) beans and 39 varieties of winter squash. Too cool!
Variety trials are a natural niche for me. I never grow just one of anything. I've even grown 3 varieties of cinnamon basil - how obscure can you get?! (Cinnamon basil is a type of basil that has a cinnamon fragrance and taste. And yes, one variety was superior to the others.)
The Santa Clara Home & Garden show is this weekend, at which the MGs have a booth, so much of the work today was picking specimens for display. I was pleased to be able to contribute some lovely radicchio, frisée, escarole, and even an almost-but-not-quite bolting lettuce from my various project patches.
The Master Gardeners, in case anyone is curious, is a volunteer program co-sponsored by the county (in my case, Santa Clara) and the state land grant university (U.C. Davis for us). Many states and counties have MG programs, though by no means all. I just went through the training last year (classes once a week from January through April) and am having a blast working with these people. I had two research projects last summer, both variety comparison trials: 17 varieties of yellow (wax) beans and 39 varieties of winter squash. Too cool!
Variety trials are a natural niche for me. I never grow just one of anything. I've even grown 3 varieties of cinnamon basil - how obscure can you get?! (Cinnamon basil is a type of basil that has a cinnamon fragrance and taste. And yes, one variety was superior to the others.)
