Master Gardeners see successful harvest, years worth of fruitful collaborations

Shamaya Sutton, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·4 min read

Nov. 20—With over a 1,000 hours of volunteer service, Mark Davenport now sports a golden badge of honor from the Sutter-Yuba UCCE Master Gardener Program.

As a Master Gardener, Davenport has spent the better part of a year transforming a small gravel lot at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds into a blooming educational community garden.

Continued support and donations from various organizations, businesses, and volunteers, has enabled Davenport and his teammates to grow around 500 pounds of produce harvested between August and mid-November.

This bounty was divided up between Casa de Esperanza, Harmony Village, Twin Rivers Crisis Center, and Better Way Shelter with the goal of supporting quality nutrition to some of the region's most vulnerable populations.

"What our goal is in the coming year is to double or triple that," said Cheryl Hoke, a program coordinator for the Sutter-Yuba Master Gardener Program. "We hadn't really gone that big until Mark became the coordinator over the learning garden. He's done a really incredible job."

In addition to its successful harvest, the Master Gardener program hosted a series of free community workshops and an after-school gardening class. Through grant funding, 20 schools in Sutter County were gifted with supplies to start their own gardens including garden beds, shovels, rakes, hand tools, dirt, seed, seedlings, and training.

"We are also doing a three-part workshop series with Sutter County employees in the Be Well initiative. That series is from December 2023 through March 2024," added Hoke.

Harmony Village, a supportive housing program for low-income or precariously housed individuals in Yuba City, has been one of this year's largest benefactors. A grant from the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program enabled local Master Gardeners to assist Harmony Village in obtaining garden supplies and setting up 10 raised garden beds in addition to an irrigation system, plants, and a shed.

For Casa de Esperanza, a Yuba City nonprofit serving victims of domestic violence, Master Gardeners funded and directed the construction of six garden beds, irrigation, and plants.

"We cater each garden to the needs of the organization," said Davenport. "Some have kitchens to process the food otters have to be more selective and only grow things that can grow straight to the plate."

A dual program, known as Master Food Preservers, added complementary courses in food preservation to help ensure each crop was used to its fullest extent throughout the year.

"It's not only about learning what to grow, but what to do with the excess as well," added Hoke.

Davenport believes the secret to the Learning Garden's success at the fairgrounds is the ability to grow upwards. By installing a series of trellises and arches, the group has been able to capitalize on their vertical space. The other secret is crop rotation and having plenty of fresh worm casting and quality dirt made from their resident "composting coffin."

"Because of where we live, we can grow things year round," said Davenport. "Fall crops include all the greens: broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, kale, things like that. To keep these different places supplied with vegetables, we need a constant supply, so I tend to stagger things."

The key to the program's future expansion lies in the construction of a greenhouse. A greenhouse will enable volunteers to keep their seedlings healthy over the winter leading to increased planting and harvesting options.

"Ultimately, my goal as a program coordinator is to help anybody in this county that wants a garden to support a vulnerable population," said Hoke. "We're going to make sure we give them the knowledge in order to succeed."

Organizers will be looking to raise funds for this greenhouse project next year during the Master Gardener annual plant sale. In the meantime, interested community members can take advantage of the program's free workshops and get personalized advice by calling 530-822-7515, or visiting the Master Gardener office on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon or Thursdays between 1-4 p.m. The Master Gardener office is located at 142A Garden Hwy. in Yuba City. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/yevpz5wu, or email sutteryuba@ucanr.edu.