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UC Marin Master Gardener Articles in the Marin Independent Journal

UC Marin Master Gardeners have contributed to the Marin Independent Journal's "Ask a Master Gardener" column every Saturday since 1999. We have a team of dedicated writers who have covered nearly every aspect of gardening for Marin County over the years. Search our archives below by category of interest, or use the search box to locate stories by year, month or specific subject.

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Argentine ant
Article

Ant invasion

March 17, 2025
 They can’t help it, that trail of ants crawling up a kitchen cabinet. The determined critters head inside to escape cold, wet winter days or hot, dry summer conditions. But our sympathies don’t extend to safe harboring ant armies. Nor are we happy to see them in the garden keeping aphids alive.There…
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planting a seedling
Article

Common soil problems in Marin

March 14, 2025
 Good garden soil contains 30-50% sand, 30-50% silt, 20-30% clay, and 5-10% organic water. The bacteria, fungi, and worms in the soil produce substances that act like glue, binding all these different parts together to form groupings. These groupings determine the size of the soil pore space. In…
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swiss chard
Article

Ready, set, go

March 14, 2025
 As I write this, it is mid-January, and I just finished weeding in my garden. The sun is so pleasantly warm, and I am picking peas, chard, kale, and lettuce from my winter garden. The days are getting a bit longer, bulbs are showing their faces, and my mind is moving towards my spring garden…
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hummingbird at flower
Article

The beauty and singular importance of the pollinator garden

March 14, 2025
 Gardening is a uniquely healthy, relaxing, and inspirational activity. Planting that seed or seedling is perhaps the ultimate expression of optimism. The beautiful blooms and bountiful harvests we labor to cultivate can provide matchless feelings of accomplishment and pride. But we don’t do it alone…
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coffee grounds
Article

The biggest gardening myth of all

March 14, 2025
 Gardening myths are common and hard to shake. Most of the time these old wives’ tales are harmless, but sometimes they offer false hope to the gardener. Take the misconception about adding coffee grounds to soil to increase acidity for growing camellia, hydrangea, and azalea. Turns out fresh…
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