Gardening tips from our Master Gardener
May Garden Tip:
Now is the time to check all the irrigation lines and timers. If you use drip lines, flush the lines out by opening the ends and letting the water run for a short time. Close the ends of the lines and make sure to have the slits face upward so they don’t get clogged by sediments in the water. It is also time to make sure you have a lot of flowers in the garden to attract beneficial insects. Dill and fennel, flowering thyme and radishes are great plants for the beneficial insects.
Happy Gardening
Diane Dovholuk
Master Gardener
The Garden at Wente Vineyards
April Garden Tip:
We are preparing the beds for planting now. We have weeded, fertilized and added biodynamic compost to the beds. We will let the beds rest while the plants are being placed outside for short periods of time to get used to the weather. We look forward to seeing everyone at our Earth Day event on April 21 where there will be plants for sale by the Livermore High School students!
Diane Dovholuk
Master Gardener
The Garden at Wente Vineyards
March Garden Tip:
March Garden Update: With spring right around the corner we are harvesting winter crops and weeding diligently. Getting weeds before they go to seed is important. Our cover crops are growing fast with the warm weather so we will be cutting them down and letting them lay on the soil until planting time. Fava beans will be a delicious addition to the menu soon too! Happy Gardening!
Diane Dovholuk
Master Gardener
The Garden at Wente Vineyards
February Garden Tip:
It’s planting time at The Garden at Wente Vineyards! We have just started the process of germination for our great selection of peppers for summer planting. We are excited to try a few new varieties such as Purple Cayenne and Giant Acancagua (it tastes like apples!?!). We also just seeded an extravaganza of heirloom tomato seeds with Livermore High School students (they worked diligently to get just two seeds per cell!). We look forward to seeing everyone on our Chef’s Garden Tour & Tasting this year! Dates will be announced soon so stay tuned for details. We have great new ideas “just for the fun of it”! Happy gardening!
Diane Dovholuk
Master Gardener
The Garden at Wente Vineyards
January Garden Tip:
Happy New Year! We are planning on the best gardening year ever! Last year was a great gardening success. It is time to order seeds if you haven’t already. We are just starting peas and greens in the hoop house and are looking forward to starting tomatoes, eggplant and peppers in the next few weeks. Happy gardening!
Diane Dovholuk
Master Gardener
The Garden at Wente Vineyards
December Garden Tip:
All those leaves in your yard are garden gold. If you haven’t already started your compost piles, now is the time to do it. We mix biodynamic formulas and add it to a small amount of the compost before adding the mixture to the pile. This helps to quickly decompose raw organic matter and wastes by breaking them down into simpler compounds.
Winter is a great time to take care of your garden tools. We sand and linseed oil the tools to preserve and prepare them for the upcoming season. This is also a wonderful time to meditate on the previous growing season and plan for the plethora of vegetables that you want to grow next year.
May your holidays be filled with joy!
Diane Dovholuk
Master Gardener
The Garden at Wente Vineyards