MARIPOSA COUNTY — Have you traveled local country roads and seen a rose bush thriving in the middle of a pasture or growing somewhere with little or no care? It could be one of the roses brought here by foothill pioneers. Mariposa County Master Gardeners present a free workshop on these hearty roses on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 10 a.m. ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY — The deadline is fast approaching to apply for the Mariposa Master Gardener training class, which begins in January. Applications must be submitted by Oct. 31. Students will spend 17 weeks learning the ins and outs of home gardening from experts. All the information is based on University of California, peer-reviewed research. The class meets for four hours, ...

Written by Elizabeth Gabriel — MARIPOSA — Permaculture is a good thing. What is it? According to Bill Mollison, an Australian researcher, author, scientist, teacher and biologist who is considered the father of permaculture, it is “the conscious design and maintenance of cultivated ecosystems that have the diversity, stability, and resilience of a natural ecosystem.” In other words, making your ...

Written by Elizabeth Gabriel — MARIPOSA — Mariposa Master Gardeners have been sprouting seeds and transplanting up a storm since February to get ready for the annual plant sale on May 7. Because of our now-it’s-spring, now-it’s-winter-again weather, you may be wary of getting a start on your summer garden. Remember, Mariposa’s historic “last frost date” can come in early ...

Written by Elizabeth Gabriel —  MARIPOSA — There will be much more than hundreds of plants at the annual Mariposa Master Gardener Plant and Garden Art Sale on Saturday, May 7, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Amigo Picnic Area at the Mariposa County fairgrounds. Master Gardener Jay Higbee will teach you how to hone your tool-sharpening skills ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY — If you have questions about your yard, garden or home environment, Master Gardeners are here to help. Mariposa Master Master Gardeners are available to answer all your questions during their spring and summer hours. Have a question about seed starting or weed control? Need to know what to do about ants or why your day lilies are ...

Written by Elizabeth Gabriel – MARIPOSA — If you’ve seen “The Martian” you know the plot of the Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated movie (adapted from Andy Weir’s novel) features an astronaut stranded on Mars. One of the first things he does is figure out how to turn the sterile dirt of the Red Planet into life-giving soil, so he can ...

Written by Elizabeth Gabriel MARIPOSA – According to various reliable websites, Mariposa’s average rainfall over the last 30 years has been 31 to 33 inches, depending on the source. That’s a lot of water you could be capturing (current lingo prefers “harvesting”). Why should you do it? The answer is obvious. We all want save as much water as possible, ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – “Give an oak a chance,” said Mariposa County Master Gardener Coordinator Kris Randal, for whom oaks are a passion. That chance includes giving them some water during our record drought, contrary to most previous advice. She and Greg Giusti, a forest and wildlands ecology advisor for Lake and Mendocino counties, are offering guidelines for keeping oaks from ...

MARIPOSA — The Mariposa County Cooperative Extension proudly announces the graduation and certification of nine new volunteer Master Gardeners, plus three from Merced County. Course work began in January 2015 and continued through May 13 – graduation day. All trainees completed 75 hours of intense classroom instruction from a variety of horticultural experts and successfully passed a comprehensive final examination.