126: Missy Gable on Understanding Climate Zones
Making sense of the different zone maps and your own microclimates.
Missy serves as director for the UC Master Gardener Program and co-director for the UC Master Food Preserver program, both statewide programs under University of California’s division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). Missy earned a B.S. Biological Sciences and M.S. in Horticulture and Agronomy from UC Davis. She enjoys sharing her passion for home horticulture, sustainable landscaping and home food preservation with the 6,500+ UC Master Gardener and Food Preserver volunteers and program staff across California. She loves the direct impacts both programs make in local communities, from teaching communities about growing and preserving their own food, reducing food and water waste, improving pollinator habitats, beautifying landscapes, and so much more.
In this Podcast: Missy introduces us to the Master Gardener Program and what the role and purpose of this program, as well as a new Master Food Preserver Program. Then she educates Greg about two distinct climates zones maps and even teaches him a few things he did not know. We learn about weather, climate, microclimates, biomes, zone denial.
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Listen in and Learn about:
- Being alumni of UC Davis and why she changed degrees to horticulture
- What the Master Gardener Program is and how the training works for those who start
- How even someone without any experience can earn the Master Gardener title
- How the Master Gardener Program gives back to the community
- The UC Master Food Preserver Program which started in the early 1980’s and is starting to expand
- How other states are starting the Food Preserver Program as well
- More about USDA Climate zones – 11 in the US
- How they are designated from average temperatures
- USDA or Sunset Zone Maps and how to use this information when making plant decisions
- How the Sunset Zone Map also includes rainfall patterns, length of growing season and humidity considerations
- More about Sunset Zones – 24 zones
- The difference between weather and climate
- What a biome is and what is included within
- What a microclimate is and how it can develop differently from areas right near it
- What zone denial is and how that affects our work involved to help plant survival
- How zone denial can work a little easier with growing food
- Her newest love – Australian finger limes
As well as:
- How she considers her first purchase from a seed catalog was both a success and a failure and what she learned from planting eight varieties of zucchini
- How the enthusiasm of her 3 year old daughter for the garden is what she considers her biggest personal success
- Why she thinks the community of the Master Gardening Program is so talented and how the increased awareness and recognition of the program in the state is her biggest Program success
- How she has adjusted to the drought in California, and how her pre-planning has made the most impact in her garden
- How the Program has made adjustments due to drought conditions and what she wants people to consider as they make cutbacks in their water usage
- How she feels so fortunate with the difference the Program is making in the State of California and how she is driven to help the volunteers connect with more people
- Her advice to listeners is to share your gardening passion, and help our youth connect to this world
Book that Missy Recommends:
Now, Discover Your Strengths
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How to Reach the California Master Gardner Program:
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