Tag: gardening

Back to the Garden—Seeds for Global Gardens

Sheilah Britton, Pinal County Master Gardener I’ve just purchased $30 worth of seeds to plant in the small bins at SaddleBrooke Ranch’s Community Garden and, as an experiment, I intend to catalogue and keep a daily journal of its progress and success, to be followed up with a report at the end of the summer.…

February Master Gardener

Back to the Garden – Cristate Saguaro, An Eyeful of Magic Sheilah Britton, Pinal County Master Gardener The Sonoran Desert is full of surprises—javelina families sharing a prickly pear cactus, hawks on the arms of saguaros, water rushing through arroyos after a rain, a chorus of coyotes howling at dusk, cactus flowers coloring the desert…

Master Gardeners Present Demonstration Day February 26

Zann Wilson, Pinal County Master Gardener Join your SaddleBrooke/SaddleBrooke Ranch Master Gardeners for Demonstration Day on Saturday, Feb. 26, from 1 to 3 p.m. at SaddleBrooke Ranch. We will show you the best tools, techniques, and products to satisfy a variety of gardening needs. Demonstrations will include best tools, best container management, frost and sun…

Back to the Garden: Be Water Wise

Sheilah Britton, Pinal County Master Gardener Beginning the first day of this year, Jan. 1, 2022, the United States Bureau of Reclamation has announced a Tier 1 shortage to go into effect for the Colorado River basin. It is the first time a water shortage has been declared on the Colorado River, a source of…

Holiday Garden Gifts

Sheilah Britton, Pinal County Master Gardener When I first moved to Arizona in the late 1970s, I shipped fresh citrus to my parents who lived in the mountains of Colorado each December. It was a rare thing for them to have a box of tangelos and lemons in the midst of winter. A short time…

Jim Hoagland to Present “Five Seasons of Bird Observations”

Sheilah Britton, Pinal County Master Gardener SaddleBrooke/SaddleBrooke Ranch Master Gardeners are delighted to host one of our own for our December community education presentation. Birder and photographer Jim Hoagland will present Five Seasons of Bird Observations on Thursday, Dec. 16, at 1 p.m. As a young boy, Jim Hoagland and his family would explore the woods…

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Master Gardener

Back to the Garden—Agave Snout Weevil Sheilah Britton, Pinal County Master Gardener Recent monsoon rains brought much moisture and beauty to our thirsty desert, and with the rain came mosquitos, gnats, and black beetles that carpeted our streets after the storms. Most of these critters are thinning out, although the Agave Snout Weevil (Sycphophorus acupunctatus)…

Our Grateful Desert

Sheilah Britton, Pinal County Master Gardener Just over a year ago, I wrote my first column for SaddleBrooke/SaddleBrooke Ranch Master Gardeners. Titled “Ocotillo: Dead or Alive,” it was inspired by my own ocotillos that had looked dead from the moment they became part of my landscape but, according to my research, might come to life…

Register Now for Online Presentation

Marilyn Kline, Pinal County Master Gardener Your SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch Master Gardeners are pleased to invite you to attend an online program presented by Steve Watts. Steve Watts currently serves on the board of the Tucson Cactus & Succulent Society (TCSS) and is the co-director of the organization’s cactus rescue program. The TCSS Rescue page…