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A Gardening Blog for the East Side

The climate of the Eastern Sierra is very different from most of California and so gardening here is different, too! 

Preparing the contents of the pile.

In this blog we examine some of the quirks of gardening on the East Side, and cover horticultural issues that are important locally. Note that if you're visiting our site from the outside our little corner of California, you may find this information may not apply to your area.

Articles are written by local UC Master Gardener volunteers or the local Farm Advisor. 

 
And a website...

The Inyo-Mono Master Gardeners also have a website with local gardening and soil information. Visit it to learn more about our program and gardening.

 

Article

Iron Cross Blister Beetles

June 26th, 2019
By Dustin W Blakey
It's always fun when clients bring insects into the office to be identified. Although I'm pretty good at recognizing common pests, I'm not an entomologist. That makes it a little more work to figure out what I'm looking at. This insect was recently brought in: (Photo by Aaron Schusteff on BugGuide.
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Article

Another Fun Insect Pest!

June 21st, 2019
By Dustin W Blakey
I know you'll be glad to hear that there is a new garden pest in the Eastern Sierra. Well, it's native and so not technically new, but as far as I know, gardeners haven't had to deal with it in recent memory. This insect is a stink bug with the gnarly name of Chlorochroa kanei.
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Only tomato stumps left.
Article

Gardening on the Mesa: The Saga Continues

June 12th, 2019
It's been awhile since I attempted gardening any kinds of vegetables out in the Mesa after the initial year of failures. I thought hard about putting in raised beds closer to the house, maybe putting in a pest deterrent fence around it.
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Hands working to plant flowers
Article

Garden Safety Tips

May 29th, 2019
Did you know that more than 400,000 gardening injuries are treated each year in the emergency room? If winter ever ends, we will all be spending a lot more time in our gardens. The following gardening safety tips may help you avoid becoming one of the 400,000.
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