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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

Tips to Keep Your Garden Soil Healthy

December 16th, 2020
By Dustin W Blakey
The first week of December is California Healthy Soils Week. To help "celebrate" the occasion I was asked to give a lecture on some tips to keep your garden soil healthy. If you're the type that likes to watch videos, then you can watch the recording.
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Article

Visiting Local Gardens: The Bishop Free Garden

December 10th, 2020
By Dustin W Blakey
Our local Master Gardener video crew (Edie and Erich Warkentine, Joanne Parsons) visited the Bishop Free Garden behind the City Park this fall. They made a short video about what has been growing in the garden.
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Article

Planting Garlic

November 20th, 2020
By Dustin W Blakey
Our local Master Gardeners have produced a video explaining how to plant hardneck garlic here in the Owens Valley.
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A Fuyu type Persimmon
Article

Persimmon Overview

November 19th, 2020
One of the most beautiful autumnal sights is that of a leafless tree sporting a crop of brilliant orange, lantern-like 'Hachiya' persimmons ready for harvest. Not only is the fruit attractive, but many varieties sport spectacular fall leaf colors as well.
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Gaillardia and Santolina
Article

Start Your Own Nursery!

October 20th, 2020
Some years back, I toyed with the idea of starting my own wholesale nursery business. We're not talking acres of palm trees in huge wooden planters here, just a few kinds of natives, wildflowers and grasses.
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