For more than 40 years, the University of California Master Gardener Program has been administered locally by participating UC Cooperative Extension county offices and provided public services to California residents as part of the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources division. The University of California Master Gardener Program of Alameda County started in 1982 as one of the first Master Gardener programs in the state, according to Dawn Kooyumjian, Program Coordinator. "The mission is to extend research based information on home horticulture, integrated pest management, and sustainable landscape practices to the residents of California."

Proud History

Master Gardener programs have a proud history, with roots that stretch across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their origins trace back to the Morrill Act of 1862, which "created land-grant institutions so that working class citizens could have equal access to higher education with a focus on farming and mechanical skills," according to officials at the US Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). "Subsequently the Morrill Act of 1890 established the 1890 and 1994 land-grant institutions to address educational inequality among African Americans and Native Americans. NIFA's roots go back to 1888, a year after the Hatch Act authorized strengthening the capacity of land-grant universities to research agricultural problems faced by rural citizens. The Act funded land-grant colleges in order to create a series of agricultural experiment stations, laying a foundation for the cooperative extension services created by the 1914 Smith Lever Act Extension Act."

In 1973 the modern Master Gardener Program was developed by the Washington State University Extension Program by WSU Extension agents, according to WSU officials. In the US, an estimated 85,000 Master Gardeners, who are volunteers contributing to their communities, have been certified to date. The Master Gardener connection to Extension services can be seen in the many resources each regional program provides to residents in its region.

"By customizing local gardening outreach to account for unique local landscapes and the diversity of California's residents, we strive to meet the needs of all the communities we serve," say officials with the UC Master Gardener Program, which "teaches people how to grow food and garden sustainably to protect California's natural resources." The UC Master Gardener Program of Alameda County, for example, offers recorded garden talks as video guides on food gardening; coping with soil, pests, and weeds; tree care; and more. Alameda home gardeners will also appreciate the program's list of outstanding plants for the county, a month-by-month guide to garden care in our region, and an email Help Desk to help answer thorny gardening questions. Master Gardeners often donate many hours of their time over many years to serve the public in other ways as well.

Pleasanton Educational Garden

Helping create, establish, and maintain demonstration gardens is perhaps the most beautiful and visible way that Master Gardeners contribute to the Tri-Valley and East Bay. Local Master Gardeners maintain demonstration gardens in Albany, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, and Oakland. The focus of these gardens vary. Some feature drought-tolerant landscaping, others model vegetable gardening methods and techniques. Generally, they also serve as a place for interested residents to attend workshops and other events to learn more about regional gardening from the dedicated volunteers who made these gardens possible.

After many years of planning and labor, a new demonstration garden is in the works. The planned Pleasanton Educational Garden is part of the Bernal Property, which is owned by the City of Pleasanton. It is located on Laguna Creek Lane near the intersection of Valley Avenue. This multi-phase project is in a very early stage of its development. Even so, many UC Master Gardeners have worked to find a way to create this new garden. Critically, the City of Pleasanton has been working with the Master Gardeners on this project for years. Officials and staff members "have been incredibly supportive," according to Kooyumjian, who says the 1.3 acre Pleasanton Educational Garden will be the largest Tri-Valley demonstration garden after it is completed.

"The purpose of a demonstration garden that's run by the Master Gardener Program is to demonstrate literally the best practices for home horticulture, whether that is learning about the things that will grow best in your area, about irrigation, pest management, soil care, or the environment." she says. "What I think is really wonderful about the Pleasanton garden is that it is what I would call a comprehensive garden." By that, Kooyumjian means the garden will not have a single focus but include a broad range of plantings such as edibles, landscape plants, and native plants. It will allow Master Gardeners to teach the public how to garden from scratch, how to deal with low-water conditions, what it means to be respectful of sensitive areas, such as the nearby creek, and how to become a successful gardener even if you start out as a novice. Part of creating this new garden "is educating the community, and the other part is supporting the community," notes Kooyumjian, who says any food harvested from the garden will be donated back to the community.

Patti Joki has been working since 2015 with other Master Gardeners to bring this garden to the Tri-Valley. "We are super eager, we have a really good volunteer force here, and we can do the work," says the Pleasanton resident. Once completed, the garden will be a home base for several Master Gardeners to educate the public. "People throughout the Tri-Valley and Alameda County will be able to come here for workshops, hands on demonstrations, classes, and talks with a Master Gardener." Joki says the group envisions having a plant doctor booth every Saturday staffed by a gardening expert who can offer advice.

The new garden will also offer a home for the annual plant sale fundraiser staged by the UC Master Gardener Program of Alameda County. The Incredible Edible Plant Sale 2023 was primarily held online this year. Any plants unsold online will be available for purchase on April 1 and April 2 at the Pleasanton Senior Center on Sunol Boulevard. Proceeds from the plant sale and from donations, which are welcome year-around, "support public outreach and community education efforts like talks and demonstrations, plant clinics, and our help desk," according to officials, who say funding also goes "toward training at community gardens, support for school garden programs, and information tables at farmers markets and nurseries."

The Pleasanton Educational Garden does not yet have community garden plots, a building for events, parking, or landscaping. For the first time, it does have a cover crop, however, to improve the soil for future plantings. That was possible because the City of Pleasanton did a variety of improvements to the property. The cover crop was sown by last year with seeds donated by the Seeds for Bees program of nonprofit Project Apis m. The Master Gardeners, in turn, donated their unused seeds to local libraries to share with the public.

Becoming a Master Gardener is one way to grow a sense of community. "There's so much confusion and chaos happening in the world, but somehow a garden can be a source of peace and can bring people together," says Terry Chang, a Pleasanton resident who lives near the garden property. "My mother passed away in 2017. She instilled in me the joy of gardening, and being part of the Master Gardener Program is a natural ripple effect of her green thumb."

The Master Gardeners program makes it easy to become a gardener; experience is helpful but not required and enthusiasm is welcome. The UC Master Gardener Program of Alameda County offers a Volunteer Training Program taught by university advisers, local horticultural educators, and certified Master Gardeners. Like Joki, Chang took the training, became a Master Gardener volunteer, and has been working hard to bring the Pleasanton Educational Garden to life. The project will not be completed for several years, but the work to bring its lessons to the community has long been underway.

"It's a beautiful open space," Chang says. "We want the garden to be integrated into its natural environment and help people reconnect to nature and to give back to the land."

For more information about the UC Master Gardener Program of Alameda County, please visit www.acmg.ucanr.edu.

For more information about the Incredible Edible Plant Sale, please visit www.incredibleedibleplantsale.com.