Submitted by Lisa Morgan, UCCE Mariposa County Master Gardener As we fall into Autumn and then slide to Winter, we can feel less inspired to be in the garden. The pivot to Autumn and Winter chores, from splitting wood, covering cold-sensitive plants, and getting ready for the first snowfall, can seem daunting. But wait, how about a Fall/Winter Garden? There ...

Submitted by Michele Nowak-Sharkey Join us in welcoming our new “crop” of Master Gardeners to Mariposa and Madera counties! The class of 2024 graduated on May 11, 2024, after 17 weeks of in-depth training online and in person. The training class had students from both Mariposa and Madera counties. The graduates in the back row will be volunteering in Mariposa ...

AHWAHNEE—How do ministry and microgreens go together? They don’t, at least in the case of Adam and Kristen McLane. Actually they’ve embarked on a new kind of ministry now—that of providing our mountain communities ready access to locally-grown, affordable produce. Adam and Kristen met on a blind date in 1994. Adam grew up in South Bend, Indiana. Kristen went to ...

Submitted by Tery Susman, UC Master Gardener of Mariposa County MARIPOSA–With Spring right around the corner, it’s easy to imagine a lovely home vegetable garden. You can almost taste a perfectly ripe tomato or a sweet pepper still warm from the sun…but alas…you realize that you don’t have the space for a vegetable garden, or your property is mostly granite, ...

By UC Master Gardener of Mariposa County – Helen Willoughby-Peck Red, yellow, green, orange, brown, purple, and even white, the quintessential tasty treats of summer will soon stop producing. Cooler weather and shorter days signal the end of our tomato growing season and your plants will begin to decline. Tomato lovers will soon be forced to consider tasteless and characterless ...

MARIPOSA — The UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County honors 70 dedicated, UC-trained volunteers who provide research-based information to home gardeners and landscapers. Volunteers are recognized annually for hours of dedicated service in their community. Michele Minniear and Kathi Whitson achieved 100 service hours. Amanda Grissom, Bob Labozetta and Linette St. Vrain have dedicated more than 250 volunteer hours. Melinda ...

By Jeanne-Ann Pine — I now wear two hats proudly. I have been involved with our local community radio, KRYZ for over three years and last May I graduated from the UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa. Both have been exceptional experiences. And somewhere along the way I was able to start a blend of these two interests and now they ...

By Bob Labozetta —  What can home gardeners do to help their plants — veggies, landscape plants, shrubs and trees — survive the intense summer heat? Here are some do’s and don’ts of hot weather gardening: Don’t fertilize plants or trees during the hot summer months. The purpose of fertilizers — especially those high in nitrogen — is to help ...

MARIPOSA — Every year, researchers and citizen scientists gather at known locations in the monarch migration pattern to count the monarch adults as well as the eggs and cats found on native milkweed. You may think the release of monarchs would be a tremendous boon to the declining global population of this bright and colorful species. This is far from ...

AHWAHNEE — Well known local artist and former landscaping contractor Ronna Adler is leaving the area — and on Sunday, June 9, friends and fans are gathering at Rev’s Farmhouse in Oakhurst to give her a proper send-off. Ronna, 83, has lived in Ahwahnee since 1990 and now she’s moving to Oklahoma next month to live with her daughter. “This ...