This past summer was a challenging one for many of us in the garden. Due to the lingering heat, we’ve heard from many gardeners reporting poor fruit set on their summer vegetables.
Our environment east of the Sierra crest is unique. The combination of intense heat, high light levels, and very low humidity creates a stressful environment for many standard vegetable varieties, often preventing them from setting fruit. But some kinds do work!
Sharing Local Knowledge
As a resource for Eastside gardeners, I am collecting local knowledge on which specific vegetable varieties actually tolerate our conditions. This is being used to build a crowdsourced, curated list of cultivars that have been successfully grown right here in our region.
While the list isn't comprehensive yet, it is a useful starting point for anyone planning their next garden. You can view the current list here: Eastern Sierra Crowdsourced Heat-Tolerant Varieties.
You can also help add to the list! If you have personally grown heat-tolerant cultivars anywhere on the east side between Ridgecrest and Benton that worked well and tasted good, please share your observations. There is a link on the page mentioned above where you can contribute your findings. (Garden outside that area? Please send a note to our helpline so we can try out your suggestions locally.)
Our goal is to update this list a few times a year to ensure it remains a useful tool for all local growers.
Need Help With Your Vegetables?
If you have specific questions about growing tomatoes or other vegetables in the Eastern Sierra, our local Master Gardener volunteers are here to help. Please feel free to reach out to the helpline at immg@ucanr.edu.