The Stanislaus Sprout

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Dracaena or dragon tree houseplant. (A. Schellman)
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Leach Your Houseplants to Avoid Salt Problems

February 1, 2021
Your outdoor garden plants may not need a lot of attention on these cold winter days, but have you taken a close look at your indoor plants recently? A house plant with brown leaf tips, wilted leaves, lower leaves that are dropping and little or no new growth may be in trouble.
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A Master Gardener adds tree branches into her chipper.
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The Saga of the Yard Waste Collector

January 25, 2021
Have you ever had a hobby that turned into an obsession? One of my hobbies is gardening of course, as a Master Gardener. Not too long ago, I acquired a chipper/shredder. One of my gardener friends had two and sold one of them to me at a fair price.
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Size control in temperate fruit trees. (A) Standard variety with no size control; (B) and (C) standard variety on semidwarfing rootstock or semidwarf variety; (D) standard variety on dwarfing rootstock. (from The CA Master Gardener Handbook)
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Prune Home Fruit Trees To Improve Crop Size And Quality

January 18, 2021
Fruit tree pruning ranks high on most home gardeners' to do list during the winter months. While deciduous fruit trees may be pruned at other times of the year, most gardeners do their annual heavy pruning during the trees' dormant period.
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Raised bed preparation. (T. Pellegrini)
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Planning and Prepping for Your Spring Garden

January 11, 2021
It's a cold winter's day here in the Central Valley. But instead of curling up in a cozy chair with a cup of tea, I'm out in my garden, planning and prepping for my spring planting. For me, this is the fun part, walking the gardens, looking at the raised beds, empty pots, and bare earth.
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