By Brian David —  California’s Mediterranean climate of short, wet winters and long, dry summers sustains more diverse foliage than any other of the 49 states. For California’s commercial agriculture and home gardening, however, capturing water is crucial. We channel surface runoff from watersheds, diverting water into reservoirs and dams and direct the flow and delivery of water through aqueducts ...

MARIPOSA — The Mariposa County Master Gardeners recently held their annual Awards Banquet to recognize significant community contributions from various Master Gardeners. Prior to awarding the deserving recipients, Mariposa Master Gardeners President Ingrid Angelini held a general meeting for in-house business and discussed future community-purposed events. Heads up, these free and open to the public upcoming events include: ● 1/19/19 Fruit ...

By Brian David —  This new year welcomes us into its vibrancy. Air, water; sand, clay and silt pulse with wiggling earthworms, dancing bacteria and exercising fungi. From the soil’s fertile womb our earth births seeds into plants and covers her modest bare ground with carpets green and brown. Three fourths of all plant roots interact in mutually beneficial relationships ...

By Brian Moore — MOUNTAIN AREA — Hugelkultur builds garden mounds using tree trunks, limbs, branches, leaves, decaying organic matter (compost) and soil as a planting base. Hugelkultur mimics a forest floor’s process of decomposition and regeneration. Hugelkultur can improve soil vibrancy, water holding ability and soil heating. But what is with the name? In the late 1970’s two German ...

MARIPOSA — As the gardening season winds down, gardeners always think about the future. What can we do to improve our soil? Enhance our landscape? Ease the workload? What plants have caught our eye? Master gardeners are thinking about the future in a different way. Master Gardeners go through training to help you with gardening challenges. We write, answer questions, ...

Submitted by Sherri Mace – MARIPOSA – It’s that time of year when the UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County gear up for their Fall Plant Sale and Native Grasses workshop. They’ll also be at the 33rd annual CoyoteFest in historic downtown Coulterville on Saturday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Master Gardeners are proud to participate ...

By Brian David —  We know that wildfire smoke affects people’s health. Particles of burned plants and trees land on dust particles and are breathed into the lungs. However, this year’s Ferguson Fire not only affected you, it affected your plants. This summer’s Sierra foothill smoke has limited gardening, in part by imposing health restrictions on gardeners. In areas that ...

By Helen Willoughby-Peck —  Most home gardeners who grow tomatoes have experienced  problems with tomato diseases.  Tomatoes can suffer a variety of diseases and environmental factors contributing to poor production, foliage damage, or plant death. Here are a few of them that you might be seeing on your tomato plants this summer with possible solutions to ‘cure’ your plants. Tomato ...

By Helen Willoughby-Peck (UC Master Gardener, Mariposa) It is a good idea to take a walk in your garden every day. It is good for you, but more importantly, it is good for your plants. Observing your plants on a regular basis can help control pests beginning to enjoy your tomatoes before you can. When caught early, pests are usually ...

By Brian David (UC Master Gardener, Mariposa) In Mariposa we can access answers to gardening questions through the University of California’s Master Gardener Helpline. Belinda Gilbert and Diane Timmins, UC Master Gardener Helpline volunteers, explain the helpline process. What is the purpose of the U.C. Master Gardener’s Helpline?  We receive calls from people wanting help identifying insects or plants. Sometimes ...