What to Expect!
Casa Del Prado Balboa Park Photo Credit: Balboa Park
Learn all about seed starting, vegetable gardening, native plants, garden art, food preservation, irrigation, and more.
- Shop from thousands of affordably priced plants: Spring garden vegetables, drought tolerant plants, natives, milkweeds, unique ornamentals, and houseplants.
- Shop Garden-related Retail:Unique Birdhouses, Garden Art and Green Elephant - repurposed garden tools, etc.
- Shop for locally grown produce at our Farmer's Market.
- Attend Free, Engaging Lightning Talks and Demonstrations.
- Visit Informational Booths and Exhibits.
- Free Tool Sharpening
- Ask a Master Gardener
Balboa Park: Map Directions Parking
Free Tool Care Cleaning at Our Event!
Keeping your garden tools clean, sharp and in good condition is key to efficient gardening. Bring a tool and we'll show you what tool care looks like!
Our Tool Care Team from the UC Master Gardeners of San Diego County will be at our event to clean and sharpen one pair of pruners or loppers per person. Pruners or loppers must be in reasonable working condition (limited rust, operational, no divots or bent blades). Because of time constraints we will sharpen only 2-inch blades or smaller - no hedge shears or serrated edges.
Thank You to the Nurseries and Garden Centers that donated plants for our plant sale!
Free Garden Talks
10:00 - 10:45 
Designing Gardens That Are Accessible to All Ages and Abilities
Presented by UC Master Gardener Stephen Cantu
Gardening is good for everybody, and especially for those who may be physically limited in what they can do in the garden. Stephen will speak about special tools and practices that can help make gardening possible for all ages and abilities.
Stephen is a wheelchair athlete, a two-time Paralympian and a journeyman carpenter. Although in a wheelchair, UC Master Gardener Stephen Cantu maintains more than 35 fruit trees interspersed with vegetables, raised beds, and an extensive cactus garden at his home in Bonita. He Chairs FIG: Friendly Inclusive Gardening for the UC Master Gardener Program of San Diego County
11:00 - 11:45 AM
Hoe, Hoe, Hoes and More: Garden Tools as Holiday Gifts
Presented by UC Master Gardener Delayne Harmon
12:00 - 12:45
PM Growing Winter Vegetables
Presented by UC Master Gardener David Boucher
UC Master Gardener David Boucher will help you learn how to have a successful and satisfying vegetable gardening experience. David covers the basics. Topics like: which vegetables can be grown in San Diego’s cooler months, what, where, when and how to plant vegetables, proper watering, fertilizing, and pest control.
David has been growing his own organic vegetables for more than 40 years and his Ocean Beach home garden has been featured on the San Diego Floral Association Garden Tour. As a UC Master Gardener he regularly gives talks to the public on vegetable gardening and on growing tomatoes.
1:00 - 1:45 PM
A Conversation with a Rare Fruit Grower
Presented by UC Master Gardener Richard Reid
When thinking about tropical and subtropical fruits, most people stop after bananas, mangos and kiwi. However, there is an entire world of rare and delicious subtropical fruits just waiting to be explored. In this presentation, Richard will guide you through what subtropical fruits are, and how to grow and
care for them. We will talk about many of the unusual and beautiful plants that can enhance both your landscape and your fruit basket.
Richard's earliest memories involve tending a strawberry patch with his mother. His interest always revolved around edibles, starting with vegetable gardening and standard fruit trees until a chance encounter with a forlorn and ragged jaboticaba plant at the old Simpsons Nursery sent him down the rabbit hole of subtropical fruits. Currently, he grows over one hundred different species of tropical and subtropical fruits, with a focus on dragon fruit, Plinia (jaboticaba) species and Eugenia on his small suburban lot in Carmel Valley. He has been a member of the California Rare Fruit Growers since the mid-nineties and a member of both the San Diego and the North San Diego County chapters.
2:30 - 3:00 PM
Seed Saving Basics
Presented by UC Master Gardener Jodi Bay
It is the end of summer when warm season vegetables are at their end and cool season vegetables are getting their start. Ask yourself before you remove summer season vegetables plants, 'Did I like that fruit or vegetable?' 'Do I want to grow it again?'. If the answer is 'Yes', consider saving the seeds. Learn the techniques for basic seed saving in this talk given by UC Master Gardener Jodi Bay. She will share what to consider in saving seeds and simple steps to help in your success. A demonstration of saving tomato seeds will be given.
