Master Gardener Association of Cape Cod

03/31/2026

Find Master Gardener members of the Speakers Bureau around the Cape this month for educational garden presentations on a variety of topics.
Please check with the host organization for time, location and full information!

03/29/2026

Did you know the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension runs a Horticulture Clinic that provides unbiased, research-based information for all your horticulture and gardening questions?

Staffed by Master Gardener volunteers, the Clinic offers diagnostic services free of charge, including free soil testing services to determine pH levels. Soil pH affects the ability of plants to take nutrients from the soil, and will even affect whether those Cape Cod hydrangea blooms turn pink or blue!

After measuring your soil's pH, the Clinic may recommend any soil amendments necessary for what you are planning to grow. For complete sampling instructions, visit our website: https://mastergardenerscc.org/resources/soil-testing/

Have a question? Email us at [email protected] or call the Horticulture Clinic at (508) 375-6700 MWF.

03/23/2026

A grateful thanks to the full house of garden and landscape enthusiasts who joined us for Saturday’s Spring Symposium, with landscape designer Larry Weaner, entomologist Blake Dinius, and wildlife ecologist Mark Faherty.

Hands up for all who went home to think about changes they’d like to incorporate in their home garden? 🙌🙌🙌

03/19/2026

MARCH IS A GREAT MONTH TO....
• Edge your lawn and garden beds before grass begins to grow to help prevent grass from invading unwanted areas.
• Care for late winter and early spring plants. Pull winter weeds in bulb beds carefully to avoid disturbing bulbs and roots. Maintain hellebores by cutting back old, tattered foliage to the ground.
• Allow soil to dry from winter’s moisture before working it. Do a simple squeeze test on a handful of soil to check readiness: If soil crumbles apart easily, it’s dry enough to be worked. If it remains clumped together, allow more time to dry out.
• Sow cold hardy vegetables such as radishes, lettuce, onion, carrots, and spinach when soil is dry enough to be worked and bed temperatures are between 45-55 ⁰F.
• Start lettuce, cabbage, celery, eggplant, kale, peppers and tomato seeds indoors. Check seed packets for recommended germination guidelines.
• Check hemlock trees for signs of hemlock woolly adelgid, which appears as small, white, cotton-like clusters at the base of needles. Other signs of infestation include the loss of needles and branch dieback.
References: UMass Hort Notes https://tinyurl.com/5chf53ru
University of Rhode Island planting calendar: https://tinyurl.com/2tc4x597
Barnstable County Farm Weather Station: https://tinyurl.com/3c2y5bbk

03/17/2026

03/15/2026

There's still time to apply for this engaging summer program for budding gardeners!

🌱 Got a kid who loves digging in the dirt?

The Cape Cod Children’s Garden Program in Brewster is now accepting applications for the 2026 season.

Kids ages 8–12 spend the summer learning how gardens grow alongside Master Gardener Association of Cape Cod. They’ll plant seeds, care for plants, and discover how food grows while working together in the garden.

This free kids gardening program on Cape Cod runs weekly from May through August at the Brewster Community Garden.

📍 Brewster Community Garden
🕒 3:30–5:00 pm
📅 Tuesdays or Thursdays

Applications are due March 16 and space is limited.

Learn more and apply: https://www.capecod.gov/childrensgarden

03/12/2026

JOIN US for "Explore the Living Garden" and learn from three gardening experts how our gardens and home landscapes can be a source of environmental change as well as bring beauty and enjoyment to the gardener.

LIMITED SEATING: REGISTRATION CLOSES MONDAY, MARCH 16!

Speakers include Larry Weaner, award winning landscape designer who paints gardens with native plants, Blake Dinius, educator from Plymouth County Extension on how little bees impact the big world and Mark Faherty, science coordinator at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and host of the Weekly Bird Report ON WCAI, on landscaping for birds, bugs and beyond.

Find more information and registration at:

Master Gardener Association of Cape Cod A Resource for Accurate, Research-based Information on Plant & Garden Management The Master Gardener Association of Cape Cod’s mission is helping others learn to grow. The mission focuses on providing the Cape Cod community with research-based horticultural ...

03/08/2026

Now that the snow is melting, we're all getting a better look at the damage to trees and shrubs on our properties after late February's nor'easter. If you plan to do some pruning, here's a few helpful tips from UMass Amherst:
a. Do not leave stubs!

b. Cut cleanly, back to a main supporting stem.

c. Head back to just above a bud; cut on a slight angle.

Use hand shears to cut branches up to 3/4" in diameter, and long-handled shears (loppers) up to 1 1/2". For larger branches, use a pruning saw.

Resources:
General pruning: https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/home-lawn-garden/fact-sheets/pruning-shrubs
Pruning landscape trees: https://extension.psu.edu/pruning-landscape-trees

02/26/2026

Our propagation workshop on vegetable seed starting has been postponed from tonight, February 26, 6-8pm until next Thursday, March 5. Same time—same location! Limited seating is available. Each participant will go home with seeded trays of onions and other cool season vegetables for starting indoors.

For more info & registration, visit our website or link in our bio.

02/22/2026

Thanks to master gardeners Deb Anderson and Lisa Menelly for a wonderfully informative and enjoyable afternoon yesterday , sharing propagation tips for winter seed sowing, plus adding native plants to your garden.

Participants went home with four winter sowing containers with a choice of seeds, plus complete instructions on how to successfully take seeds to transplant stage. As we all know, there’s still plenty of winter left to give these seeds the cold period they need!