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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

By Michele Nowak-Sharkey, Master Gardener of Mariposa County In the winter months, more time is spent inside than outside when it comes to the garden. Although there are still things do such as pruning and mulching, the dreaming part of gardening is reserved for the colder, precipitation-filled days of the year. However, before being swayed to purchase dozens of seed ...

By Tery Susman. We are proud to introduce the new ‘crop’ of UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County, Class of 2022! We graduated on May 13th after 17 weeks of extensive training both online and in-person. We had weekly zoom lectures on everything related to horticulture, from below the ground, up! We learned how roots, shoots, soil, water, insects, weeds, ...

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 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 ...

MARIPOSA —  The UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County welcome 13 new graduates to their Master Gardener program. UC Master Gardener volunteers are trained representatives of the University of California Cooperative Extension. Trainees complete an 18- week course and pass a written examination to become ambassadors for the statewide UC Master Gardener program. They also complete annual volunteer hours and ...

By Bob Labozetta —  This final part of a three-part series on growing tomatoes in our hot, dry climate details proper cultivation techniques. In areas with no natural shade use shade cloth to cool tomatoes during the hours of most intense sunlight — usually between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Orient the shade structure so it is open to the ...