- Author: Margaret Phelps
For the past three years, I have grown food for IMACA, at a plot at the Bishop Community Garden. Tomatoes are usually the primary product, although last year we also had kale, chard and other greens. We usually include squash, but after the invasion of the monsters by the millions (i.e. squash bugs), I may pass for a while and see if they go away. For the first two years, the garden was watered almost daily by myself in the morning and by a neighbor earning community service hours in the evenings. This year, after attending a Master Gardener workshop on drip irrigation, we decided to install a drip irrigation system. This meant that I only had to check on the garden twice a week, which made things much easier.
This year, I harvested over 450 pounds of tomatoes, in addition to squash, green beans, tomatillos and onions. On the second Tuesday of the month, the harvest went to the Commodities Distribution from the Senior Center, and sometimes those who attended the Methodist Church's Lunch Program received fresh produce as well. People appreciated the produce and I have some ideas on getting more help with the project next year. If you or anyone you know are interested in helping, please let me know 872 6608.
~Maggie Phelps, Master Gardener
- Author: Alison Collin
As you pore over seed catalogs and dream about what is possible in your 2014 garden, have a look at the bounty that Master Gardener Alison Collin received from her garden last summer. Thanks, Alison, for the detailed records and for the notes on what worked and what didn't. All this for $80 in supplies, plus - I suspect - a few hours of labor!
Yields from 17 x 30 veggie plot in Bishop, CA
Green Pole Beans, Fasold. (6) 11.6lbs
Onion Sets (12) 9.48 lbs
Onion Seed, Golden Grandee (17) 17.84 lb
Summer Squash, Magda (2) 74.83lb
Summer Squash, Golden Egg (2) 31lbs
Summer Squash, Zephyr (2) 8lbs
Winter squash, Sunshine (1) 22lbs
Winter Squash, Early Butternut (2) 9.64lbs
Slicing Cucumber, Tanja (2), Burpless(1) 42lbs
Tomato, Pineapple Cordon (1) 6lbs
Tomato, Pineapple unpruned (1) 14.78lb
Tomato, Juliet (1) 29lbs
Tomato, Golden Gem (1) 12lbs
Ground Cherry, Pineapple (4) 5.8lbs
Snap Peas, Oregon (8ft) 3lbs
Sugar Peas, Sugar Bon (8ft) 2.3lbs.
Early Potatoes, Victoria (5) 8.6lbs
Early Potatoes, purple (2) 3.5lbs
Early Potatoes, Red la Soda (5) 4.21lbs
Early Potatoes, Cal White (5) 10lbs
Carrot, Tendersweet (8ft) 4.5lbs
Carrot, Danvers Half Long* (8ft) 10.37lb
Parsnip, Gladiator, Albion* (17ft) 12.9lbs
Leeks, American Flag* (12ft) 3lbs (trimmed)
Cabbage, Wakefield* (1) 2.34lb
Pepper, California Wonder.(3) .75lb
Melon, Amy (3) 12.56lb
Produce from rest of garden
Raspberries 1.8lbs
Strawberries, Chandler (12) 4.34lbs
Strawberries, Sparkle (12) 6lbs
Rhubarb (2) 2.59lbs
Black Currant, Crandall (2) 0.9 lbs
Peach, early (1) 149.4lbs
Peach, late (1) 109.72lbs
Pear, Bartlett (1) 82.76lbs
Grape, Thompson’s Seedless 26.62lbs
Raspberry (12) 2lbs
TOTAL WEIGHED PRODUCE: 759lbs!
() denotes number of plants or length of row.
- *Denotes that there are still several plants to be harvested over winter.
- Although I tried to weigh everything, occasionally produce was given away prior to weighing, and grandchildren (and I) snacked on a good deal of produce out of hand which has not been included!
- Weights were after trimming such things as carrot tops.
- There was some waste which has not been included e.g. many of the carrots did not get harvested early enough and became split so were unusable and thus not included. Many peaches could not be reached, or were damaged.
- Crop failures included beetroot, spinach, apples, Contender and scarlet runner beans. (some produce but very small total).
- Potatoes were harvested as “new”potatoes, and yields would have been considerably higher if they had been left to mature.
- $80 spent on seed (have enough for more plantings).
- 1 pouch of Miracle Grow used during season, using up “left overs”. Otherwise, only compost was used.

- Author: Dustin Blakey
To me December represents the nadir of garden activity. It's cold, the days are short, and frankly I'm too worried about surviving Christmas with the kids to think about plants. As far as gardening is concerned, January is a huge improvement over the preceding month.
Maybe you get them sooner, but the companies I buy seeds from send me their propaganda in January. I can't think of anything that instills more of a sense of optimism and confidence in one's ability to raise a garden than a seed catalogue. Thankfully my lousy soil and uncooperative weather conspire to ensure I am fully humble by August when I'm left with not much more than some basil, cherry tomatoes, and maybe some sunburned peppers.
But today I'm excited! August is a long way off.
This weekend I'll probably put in my order for seeds for 2014 if I don't have to put in too much time toward child supervision.
This is the time of year you need to start thinking about what you want to grow and where you'll get the seeds or transplants. I usually just use what ever tomatoes and peppers I can find transplants for locally, but when I want a specific cultivar, then I will need enough lead time to grow the transplants in order to have them ready in time for spring. The time to sow vegetable transplants is getting close. If your seed order is still a to-do item, you may miss your chance to grow your own transplants. Don't delay! Operators are standing by.
You probably need to sow about 6 to 8 weeks before transplants are set out in the garden. If you grow cole crops from seed instead of buying transplants that means you need to be sowing soon!
Be sure when you make your seed order that you get enough for your fall crops. It is hard to find seeds or transplants in late summer and the seed companies may be sold out of the kind you want.
Remember that seed companies' writers always describe their offerings as amazingly super-awesome, but clearly not all can be. I recommend experimenting a little because that's fun, but don't be afraid to grow tried-and-true cultivars that worked for you in the past. Likewise when you can't find your favorite, don't worry about it. They usually drop poor sellers that either perform poorly compared to their other cultivars, or are just too hard to produce. In other words, there's usually a good reason you can't find it.
You can always ask a Master Gardener or a friend what they grow, as well. In some cases it just doesn't matter at the small scale of a home garden what you pick. I've always been impressed with eloquent descriptions of items like radishes. Is there really a radish worthy of a J. Peterman treatment?
Most seed companies buy many of their seeds in bulk from suppliers and repackage them. If you see the same cultivar available elsewhere–and it's packed for the current year–don't be afraid to go with the cheaper option. Sometimes you're just paying for a fancy seed envelope, shiny catalogue, or great story. (Ask me about kiwanos some time.)
Finally, plant what you like to use. If you don't like turnips, they don't need to be in your garden. Plant more of what you like instead! I find myself planting radishes, eggplant and squash each year because that's what you grow in a garden, but I really don't like them. Every spring I think that this will finally be the year I like squash, but it has yet come to pass. As I'm fighting squash bugs in July I annually conclude that I would have been happier with that space planted in bell peppers.
Maybe this will be the year I only buy seeds for what I like and will grow, and do it early enough to plant on time. But don't bet on it.
I'm sure you'll do better than me.
- Author: Dustin Blakey
Water has been in the news and on our minds a lot, so I thought I'd share a bit about North America's driest spot.
I spent Saturday, Jan. 4 at Death Valley. The family and I, among other things, went to Zabriskie Point. I'm not sure why, but Death Valley is about the only place we can take the kids without a fuss. (Well, that and the donut shop.)
Here I am in a pic my wife took with the happy kids:
My daughters are both Junior Rangers at Death Valley -- with badges! -- so I assume they take extra notice of their surroundings. It's a nice thought, anyhow. Natalie (the older one) saw these interesting formations on the ground.
These are little impact craters from rain drops, but it looks like the Moon's surface. This could be from the monsoon last summer -- or maybe later.
Well, this morning I was looking at our MG's Facebook page and I noticed this interesting post from the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. Apparently on Jan. 4, 1974 there was a snowstorm there. Our visit was on its 40th Anniversary.
This is a picture of accumulated snow at Zabriskie Point. It's not exactly the kind of snow they get in Mammoth, but it was neat to see where we had just been blanketed with snow. Apparently they got several inches of snow in Las Vegas that day.
Obviously the weather was more hospitable for humans this past weekend, but I think we would all welcome some precipitation.
If you go there, be sure to hike around in the badlands below the viewpoint. Most everyone stays up on the overview. It's much quieter below (fewer people) and there are some neat views to be had without a photographer standing in front of you.
- Author: Alison Collin
- Remember to winterize irrigation systems before the heavy freezes start. If you have a “frost free” faucet attached to the wall of your house, make sure to disconnect any hoses from it, especially those with a pressure nozzle attached. The mechanism is inside the house wall, and the stretch between the mechanism and the actual faucet is prone to bursting in cold weather if water cannot drain from it. The same applies to “splitters” or Y connectors – either remove completely or make sure that the nozzles are in the open position.
- If you banded trees with Tanglefoot for insect control, remove the bands for the winter.
- Check any plant ties to make sure that they have not become too tight over the summer and loosen or reapply as necessary.
- If you did not harvest bush or climbing beans when fresh, leave them to dry on the vines and then harvest them as dry beans for use in soups. Put them in the freezer for a couple of days after shelling them to kill off any bugs.
- If you are planning to use straw mulch over the winter, make sure that you buy straw and not hay. Hay contains seeds of grasses, oats or alfalfa and although these are nutritious for stock they will rapidly grow in the garden – and who needs all that weeding?
