Lettuce has been making headlines lately—it can be physically contaminated and economically pricey. Growing your own salad makings is all of a sudden very worthwhile. With one-hundred-degree heat in the summer and snow on the ground in the winter, you would think growing greens is a lost cause, but it is not…
August can be a time for autumn plantings. With hot August days, this may sound counter intuitive. But temperatures are beginning to drop and the cool season of fall can be ideal for short season crops like carrots, radishes, lettuces, even bush beans and squash (if you didn’t get overloaded during the…
Even though we’re experiencing high summer temperatures, it’s not too early to be thinking about fall and winter gardening. Many people think that this area is too cold for a winter garden – it’s not! At lower elevations, no plant protection is needed for many cold tolerant …
Garlic is a fun herb to grow and does not require a lot of time or effort. But just like any edible, it requires a little preparation and planning. Ordering your seed garlic (cloves) from a catalog works best. Order in July or August for fall planting. If you don’t have time to do this, you can buy garlic in…
The word “biodiversity” means the number and variety of living things existing in a specific area. The more biodiverse an ecosystem, the more resilient it is to perturbation or upset. We normally think of biodiversity in terms of the animals and plants we can see. But biodiversity may be even more important…
Other than the decorative bowl on my deck railing that I refill each morning with water for the birds, I do not have a single ''water feature'' on my property — yet. Until recently, the idea of installing a babbling fountain or digging and maintaining a pond in my hot, dry, Sierra Foothills yard seemed…
Noxious weed! This “cute” perennial plant grows about 3 feet tall, displaces desirable vegetation, and reduces the biodiversity of our native ecosystems. It was introduced from southern Europe as an attractive ornamental. But it has no natural deterrents, takes over natural habitats, and is quite invasive…
Although probably impossible to grow plants with NO water, our unusual winter precipitation patterns cause us to reflect on how best to use water resources in our gardens and landscapes. In the Sierra foothills, July is the month with the highest rates of evaporation from the soil and transpiration from…
I’ve always loved that time in early spring when our hillsides are painted with great drifts of blue, lavender, and white Ceanothus, otherwise known as California Lilac. After many years of admiring them from afar, I plan to add some to my garden. In the meantime, here’s a bit of what I’ve learned so far…
Lime in Tuolumne County Gardens and Historywritten by UCCE Master Gardener Nancy Piekarczyk Tuolumne County—in the past and present—is a significant producer of lime and dolomitic lime. The stone is used for construction, agriculture and making slaked lime for mortar and plaster…
