What causes bitterness in cucumbers? Do cantaloupes cross-pollinate with other vine crops? Why are some squash referred to as "summer" squash, while others are called "winter" squash? Master Gardener Janet Waagen will answer these questions and many more, plus give great tips on planting, care, and when to harvest Cucurbits.

Location: Saratoga Library, 13650 Saratoga Ave., Saratoga Directions to Saratoga Library

Join Master Gardeners to talk about some favorite summer vegetables - tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, squash. We'll leave time at the end so everyone can join in and tell us about their favorite vegetables and varieties and any tidbit of experience they'd like to share!

Location: Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos Directions to Los Altos Library

Replacing traditional grass lawns with low-water ground covers will not only save water and money but will add diversity and interest to your front yard. Join Master Gardeners Marianne Mueller and Vera Kark to learn about easy ways to convert your water-thirsty turf to attractive, low maintenance ground covers -- and new low-mow, low-water turfs -- that are more appropriate for California’s Mediterranean climate.

Location: Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto Directions to the Palo Alto Demonstration Garden

Join Master Gardener Joan Cloutier for a discussion of pests and diseases that affect our gardens in Santa Clara County. You will learn to identify them and use environmentally sound and effective ways from keeping these pests from destroying your garden.

Location: Evergreen Branch Library, 2635 Aborn Rd., San Jose Directions to Evergreen Branch Library

Join Master Gardener Jamie Chen for a talk on fruit tree care. Her talk will include how to purchase a healthy fruit tree, when and where to plant it, proper watering techniques, and general tips on pruning for production and health of your fruit trees.

Location: Berryessa Branch Library, 3355 Nobel Ave., San Jose Directions to Berryessa Branch Library

Gardening in containers lets us garden anywhere--balconies, patios, driveways, and more. With containers, we can bring great tastes, textures, and smells closer to us, and keep gardening manageable by choosing plants and container sizes that meet our needs.

Please join Master Gardener Chris Egan to learn the basics of container gardening. Topics include soil, watering, fertilizer, container materials (clay, plastic, etc.), and container sizes.

Location: Mountain View Library, 585 Franklin Street, Mountain View Directions to Mountain View Library

Local food starts with local seed--grow your own! Learn how to start and save your own seeds. Explore what is necessary for a seed to grow into a successful plant and how to save your own locally adapted seeds for coming harvests. Find out th ebenefits of saving seeds, how to ensure your seed will be true to type, the different requirements of different plants, how to harvest and store your seeds for maximum germination, and much more.

The course meets on three Tuesday evenings from 7-9 p.m., June 11, June 18, and June 25. The Activity Number is 3246.301. Register online at Campbell Recreation and Parks, or call 408-866-2105.

Download the flyer and send it to your friends! 

Location: Campbell Community Center, Room Q-84, 1 W. Campbell Ave., Campbell Directions to Campbell Community Center

Citrus is easy to grow and offers ornamental qualities to a landscape. Join Master Gardener Joan Cloutier to learn about citrus varieties for our climate, planting tips, soil preparation, nutrient requirements, watering, pruning, harvesting, and controlling pests.

Location: Gilroy Public Library, 350 W. Sixth Street, Gilroy Directions to Gilroy Public Library

Summer is when we water our gardens the most. Come learn how you can increase the efficiency of your irrigation system. Most of the tips will be simple adjustments that most homeowners can do thenselves. Join Master Gardener Roberta Barnes for some hands-on learning.

Location: Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto Directions to Avenidas

Why not grow your own culinary herbs? This talk is designed to acquaint the home gardener with a basic understanding of growing various herbs. Master Gardener Janet Waagen will explain when to harvest, and how to preserve many common herbs.

Location: Santa Teresa Library, 290 International Circle, San Jose Directions to Santa Teresa Library

Learn how to make small spaces more productive and make it easier to pick produce. Structures of all shapes and sizes are an important element in any garden. They don't have to be huge or fancy to be effective. Great! Once we can grow more in small spaces, how do we protect our new-found bounty? Structures come to the rescue with some help from shade cloth and hardware cloth. Join Master Gardeners to learn all the details and see lots of examples in our demonstration garden.

Location: Sunnyvale Teaching and Demonstration Garden, 433 Charles St., Sunnyvale Directions to Sunnyvale Teaching and Demonstration Garden

Tired of watering, mowing and weeding your lawn but don't know what to put in instead? Replacing your lawn appropriately reduces your water bill and your maintenance costs, encourages habitat for birds and butterflies and does not contribute to global warming. You'll come away from this inspiring talk given by Master Gardener Deva Luna with dozens of ideas, illustrated by pictures which say more than a thousand words.

Location: Vineland Branch Library, Community Room, 1450 Blossom Hill Rd., San Jose Directions to Vineland Branch Library

Join UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Rebecca Schoenenberger to learn how to control pests and diseases in the garden in an environmentally sensitive way. We'll discuss cultural practices that discourage pests, how to deal with pest population explosions, how to encourage beneficial insects, and appropriate control measures that will have little or no affect on the environment.

Location: West Valley Branch Library, 1243 San Tomas Aquino Rd., San Jose Directions to West Valley Branch Library

Hellyer County Park will be transformed again for one day only into a health, safety and recreation fair. Adults and children alike will enjoy a fun-filled day. Health information, recreation opportunities, entertainment and FUN! This year's annual and very popular event will focus on Heart Health, with free CPR classes with giveaways all afternoon (limited supplies). Food available for purchase.

Drop by the Master Gardener booth and say hi--bring your gardening questions.

Hellyer County Park is a 354-acre urban park located in the heart of Santa Clara County's regional park system. The Coyote Creek, which meanders through it, is the focus of the park's natural environment. A thick undergrowth and tall trees characterize the well-defined creek channel, which is home to many different species of wildlife. Visitors to Hellyer County Park can escape the nearby bustle of city life and enjoy the quiet solitude.

Location: Hellyer County Park, 985 Hellyer Avenue, San Jose Directions to Hellyer County Park

Gardening in containers lets us garden anywhere - balconies, patios, driveways and more. With containers we can bring great tastes, textures and smells closer to us, and keep gardening manageable by choosing plants and container sizes that meet our needs.

Please join Master Gardener Laura Monczynski to learn the basics of container gardening: soil, water, fertilizer, container materials (clay, plastic, etc.), container sizes, and common pests. Then you'll learn about a wide variety of plants that do particularly well in containers, with special emphasis on fragrant plants, plants that are fun to touch, and edible plants--herbs, fruits and vegetables, including ones that you can plant right now in June.

Location: Santa Clara Central Park Library, 2635 Homestead Road, Santa Clara Directions to Santa Clara Central Park Library

Our gardens are home to a host of insects that prey upon or parasitize the insects that attack our plants. Join Master Gardener Candace Simpson to learn to recognize these beneficials and/or the signs of their presence, and hear about gardening practices that encourage them to make your garden their home.

Location: Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos Directions to Los Altos Library

Let a team of Master Gardeners help you figure out what is affecting your plants, and suggest environmentally sound methods for managing diseases and pests. Participants should bring samples of insects or plant problems for diagnosis. Plant samples should be fresh and as large as possible (a small branch, rather than a leaf, for example). Photos of the affected plant/tree in the garden setting are also helpful.

Location: Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto Directions to the Palo Alto Demonstration Garden

What's under the surface in my garden? Join Master Gardener Marianne Mueller to be introduced to the teeming "cities" of soil microorganisms that help your plants grow and thrive. "Will trade nutrients for food," sums up the interactions between microorganisms and plants. Soil bacteria and fungi trade nitrogen and other nutrients for sugars (carbohydrates) that plants create by photosynthesis.

For this bustling underground "city" to thrive, it needs healthy soil--learn how to build healthy soil, and what we mean by healthy soil. We'll discuss the basic components of soil, the characteristics of our clay soil, and how to create the best soil for your gardens. Techniques include composting, vermiculture, mulching, and judicious use of fertilizers. We'll look at the reasons why these practices nurture the soil food web, and how the microorganisms in the soil interact with your plants to give them the nutrition they need to grow.

In a very real sense: we wouldn't get nutrients from the vegetables we grow and eat without the soil microorganisms providing them to the plants.

Location: Cupertino Community Hall, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino Directions to Cupertino Community Hall

Our gardens have worked hard all year and now we want to show you how to re-energize your soil. Come to an exciting and informative workshop on garden soil and learn about soil composition from Laura Monczynski. Laura specializes in growing organic edibles in her garden and will share tips about organic soil amendments, compost, working with our local clay soils and more. Healthy gardens start with healthy soil.

Location: Berryessa Branch Library, 3355 Noble Ave, San Jose Directions to Berryessa Branch Library

Instead of responding to bugs with a shriek, learn how to invite them into your garden--the more the better! But what if you're not sure if an insect is doing damage? We'll talk about how to figure out what it is, and what, if anything, you need to do about it. Let's put an end to entomophobia!

Location: Sunnyvale Teaching and Demonstration Garden, 433 Charles St., Sunnyvale Directions to Sunnyvale Teaching and Demonstration Garden

Do you want to enjoy leafy greens and other garden vegetables this winter? Late summer is the perfect time to plant your cool season vegetable garden. Add color and texture to your garden and dinner plate with leafy plants like red lettuce, spinach, chard and kale. Bok choy, broccoli and cabbage are perfect additions to winter soups. Join Master Gardener Leigh Zerboni to learn all about growing leafy greens and cool season vegetables from site selection and soil preparation to harvesting your bounty.

Location: Saratoga Library, 13650 Saratoga Ave., Saratoga Directions to Saratoga Library

Join certified beekeeper Alan Henninger, from the Santa Clara BeeKeepers Guild, and Master Gardener Nella Henninger for a talk on honey bees. Learn about honey bees and bee keeping, the benefits of attracting bees to your garden, the types of trees and plants that attract bees, and how to protect this precious resource.

Location: Santa Clara Central Park Library, 2635 Homestead Road, Santa Clara Directions to Santa Clara Central Park Library

Invite wildlife into your garden by creating habitats for beneficial insects, butterflies, birds and other animals. Learn how to provide food, shelter and water for a nature friendly environment. Master Gardener Roberta Barnes will discuss the wide variety of beautiful pollen and nectar plants that will support a healthy insect population.

Location: Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos Directions to Los Altos Library

It is easy to maintain a productive vegetable garden through the mild California fall and winter. Learn how and when to raise your own cool season seedlings so you will have plants ready to go at the ideal planting time. Join Master Gardeners Rosalie Shepherd and Bob Weissman for demonstration and hands-on training in seeding, potting up, and planting techniques.

Location: Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto Directions to the Palo Alto Demonstration Garden