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Welcome to the Trials Garden!
Have you ever wished you could plant 8 different tomato varieties to find out which grew best in your yard? Or wanted to plant a perennial that you could feel confident would grow well in your garden? As Master Gardeners, we too want to plant the best vegetables and ornamentals for our climate and maybe also discover fruits/vegetables that will do double duty as ornamentals (blueberries and Oriental spinach work well). From this desire to learn more grew our Trials Garden.
Planted, weeded and well loved since 2007, the Trials Garden at the Gardens at Lake Merritt provides the Master Gardeners with a unique space to try different varieties of the same plant to determine which one does best in our Mediterranean fog influenced climate. We have conducted trials of spinach, tomatoes, peppers and more. And we may evaluate the timing of planting. Do tomatoes do well when planted in March? Is April better? What happens if they are in the ground mid-May? We do our best to answer questions that will help make all of us better, more productive gardeners.
Come for a visit!
Come see our trials in action. Master Gardeners staff the Trials Garden every Wednesday, year round, from 11am to 1pm. From March through October, Master Gardeners are on hand the second and fourth Saturday of the month, weather permitting, from 11am to 1pm. (MAPQUEST Directions)
Come for a talk!
We hold hour long workshops on a variety of topics from March through November (weather permitting). Our 2012 schedule includes talks covering container gardening, dealing with pests and how to bring butterflies and bees to your yard. Talks are always free and begin at noon on the last Saturday of the month.
2012 Lake Merritt Trials Garden MG Workshop Series
What’s in the ground now?
March thru May is a time when the garden is transitioning from our winter vegetables into our summer crop of squash, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. We are transplanting vegetable starts for some and starting from seed for others. Small “summer” crops are just getting started while the winter kale and lettuces are large and bountiful.
Trials Results
Trials Garden Recommended Veggies for 2012
Tomato trials expanded results, 2010
Purposes of the Trials Garden:
- To test varieties of vegetables to see which do best in our marine-influenced local climate.
- To test and demonstrate various types of irrigation, mulching, plant support, planting containers and other techniques that might enhance growing success.
- To test and demonstrate the use of summer-dry ornamental plants to beautify the garden and save water, with a focus on the plants in our brochure Outstanding Plants for Alameda County.
- To demonstrate inviting butterflies, bees, and birds into your garden.
- To provide a venue for garden workshops, classes and demonstrations for Master Gardeners and the general public.
- To provide a venue for ongoing public outreach for answering gardening questions.
Philosophy of the Trials Garden:
- Because we are in a public garden that does not allow chemicals for fertilizing or pest control, we only will practice and demonstrate organic, sustainable methods in the Trials Garden.
- We are an educational garden always open to the public during Garden Center hours even when Master Gardeners are not present.
Master Gardeners are at the Lake Merritt Trial Gardens to answer your gardening questions every Wednesday year round, and every 2nd and 4th Saturday from March to October, weather permitting, 11 AM - 1 PM.
DIRECTIONS
Bellevue Ave is one-way off of Grand Ave on the north side of Lake Merritt. After passing Children’s Fairyland on the right and the lawn bowling club on the left, you come to the Garden Center building on your left. The entrance to the garden area is just past the building, and the Trials Garden is in the center of the overall garden area. (MAPQUEST Directions)
