UC Master Gardeners of Sutter Yuba Counties

08/17/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Learning Garden workshop on flower harvesting and arranging! 🌺🌾

We had a fantastic time exploring propagation, harvesting techniques, and floral arrangement design together. It was wonderful seeing our community come out and learn new skills!

Thank you for growing with us! Be sure to follow our page so you don't miss our next workshop or garden event. 🌿🌷

Image 1: A UC Master Gardener wearing sunglasses, a grey hat, and a black vest stands in a sunlit garden while arranging a freshly harvested bundle of flowers and foliage. 📸 Sarah Rios

Image 2: An outdoor wooden table covered with freshly cut floral stems, eucalyptus leaves, and purple blooms arranged for a garden workshop. 📸 Sarah Rios

​

08/14/2026

Reminder! Join the UC Master Gardeners of Sutter-Yuba for our next Learning Garden Workshop and learn the art of Cut Flower Arranging & Posy Posing!

📅 Saturday, August 15

⏰ 9:00–10:00 a.m.

📍 Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds Learning Garden (Gate 7)

💲 FREE & Open to the Public

Discover how to select, harvest, and arrange fresh flowers from your garden into beautiful bouquets and charming posies. Whether you're growing flowers for your home, gifts, or simply for fun, you'll leave with practical tips and plenty of inspiration!

We hope to see you there!

08/12/2026

Another productive Work Day at the Learning Garden! Our UC Master Gardener Volunteers pruned fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, and flowers, repaired plant supports, and fine tuned the irrigation system. These gardens don't take care of themselves, it's volunteer hours like this that keep them thriving. Thank you to everyone who showed up! 🌱🌿

Photo credit and written by: Master Gardener Laura Ward

08/05/2026

Join us at the Sutter County Library this Saturday!

🌿 Bring your houseplants, and your plant knowledge, to the next level!

Join the UC Master Gardeners at the Sutter County Library for a free Adults Only House Plants Workshop on Saturday, August 8, from 11:00 AM–12:00 PM.

Learn how to properly transplant, fertilize, and care for your favorite houseplants, and leave with practical tips to help them thrive.

📅 Saturday, August 8
🕚 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
🌿 All supplies provided
✅ No registration required

Whether you’re a seasoned plant parent or just getting started, this hands-on workshop is a great opportunity to grow your confidence, and your collection! We hope to see you there. 🌱

08/04/2026

🔥Tomato Tasting & Peppers: The Hot Topic🔥

Saturday, July 18th, the Learning Garden smelled like sun-warmed tomato leaves. It was July’s Master Gardener public workshop "Tomato Tasting & Peppers: The Hot Topic". Master Gardener Heidi Hudgins kicked things off with a tour of the tomato and pepper raised beds.

Then came the part everyone was really there for: the tasting table.
Plates of sliced tomatoes and peppers, grown right there in the garden and brought in by other Master Gardeners, covered the table, and everyone got to sample lots of varieties. It didn't take long for a theme to emerge: purple was having a moment.

The Purple Bumble Bee tomato was a big talking point with those in attendance with its meaty, dense texture, skin sturdy enough to resist splitting, and that deep, sweet, old-fashioned tomato flavor. The Chef's Choice Orange, a firm, sweet-tangy beefsteak, gave it real competition. The Black Cherry tomato was super sweet with a complex slightly savory finish and the lovely dark purple/red thin skin covering a juicy snacking tomato.

On the pepper side, the Violet Sparkle turned heads with its beautiful violet hues and ripening green striations still peering through, and its sweet, crisp, faintly fruity bite. The Purple UFO drew a crowd for its flying saucer shape. This is a milder heat while still purple, but has a shifting flavor profile once it's fully ripe and becomes sweeter and tangier, and landing somewhere between serrano and cayenne on the heat scale. Add in the Purple Cayenne peppers making the rounds, and half the table's best conversations circled back to one color.

Beyond the purple lineup, tasters worked through Yellow Pear, Barry's Crazy Cherry, Marmalade, Rugby, Mimosa, 4th of July, and Early Girl tomatoes, plus Pasilla, Serrano, Mulata, Bird's Eye, Pimiento, Gypsy, Early Jalapeno, and Escamillo peppers, with favorites splitting fast depending on heat tolerance.

Thanks to the Master Gardeners that made this workshop successful!

Photo Credit & Written by Master Gardener Laura Ward

07/28/2026

Congratulations Whitney!

UC Cooperative Extension Sutter-Yuba is proud to congratulate Whitney Brim-DeForest, Rice and Wild Rice Advisor serving Sutter, Yuba, Placer, and Sacramento counties, on receiving the 2026 UC ANR Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding New Academic.

This prestigious honor recognizes her outstanding leadership, innovative research, and dedication to California's rice industry. Through her work on sustainable rice production, invasive species management, and grower education, Whitney has made a lasting impact on agriculture across the state.

Please join us in congratulating Whitney on this well-deserved recognition and thanking her for her commitment to serving our farming communities.

Read the full UC ANR announcement here: https://ucanr.edu/blog/anr-employee-news/article/dsa-awards

07/18/2026

Swing by the booth if you're out and about at the Yuba City Certified Farmers Market

07/17/2026

Attention garden lovers! 🍅🌶️

Please note that this Saturday is our featured Learning Garden Workshop, where we will be tasting and testing all kinds of delicious varieties of tomatoes and peppers!

Do you have a star producer or a personal favorite growing in your own backyard right now? We'd love for you to bring a few along so everyone can sample and enjoy them, too!

📅 When: Saturday, July 18th from 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

📍 Where: UC Master Gardener Learning Garden (Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds, 442 Franklin Ave, Gate 7)

Come hungry for knowledge (and local flavors)—we can't wait to see you there!

📸 Promotional flyer for the "2026 Series Learning Garden Workshops" hosted by UC Master Gardeners of Sutter Yuba Counties