Gardens By Type

 (This article originally appeared in the May / June edition of California Gardens Magazine)Few plants capture the drama of the California landscape quite like the Matilija poppy. Striking in its display of large “fried egg” blossoms and deeply tied to fire, drought, and cultural memory, this native…

As we get ready for this year’s vegetable garden planting season, I begin thinking about summer heat. Pretty much every year in late July, my family slides into a tomato depression thinking that all those beautiful green tomatoes will never get ripe. It depresses me to even think about it. However, this year…

The Basics of Growing Edible Crops in Tahoe  by Kristianne H., UC Master Gardener of the Lake Tahoe BasinOvercome ChallengesA Short Window: The average frost-free growing season is only about 93 days.The frost-free window typically runs from June 18 to September 19. This is unpredictable! Freezing…

Spring is in full swing, and there’s lots to see at the Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden: buds, blooms, flowering shrubs, developing fruits, summer vegetable plants! Plus, wildlife: bees, birds, and butterflies. Here there is something for everyone to discover, enjoy, and perhaps try in their own yard…

It is time to start thinking about thinning the fruit on peach, nectarine, plum, pluot, apricot, apple, and pear trees. To produce fruit that is large and healthy, fruit trees need plenty of leaves to feed the developing fruit.  Since trees often set far more fruit than their leaves can adequately support,…

Below is a crop-by-crop summary of the best time to plant vegetables here in the Lake Tahoe Basin.  Keep in mind these are estimates of ideal planting windows, each season can bring very different conditions so also take into account potential freezes in the weather forecast and your individual planting…

When you add new flowering plants to your garden this year, be sure to keep pollinators in mind. Planting for pollinators is a colorful way to attract bees, butterflies, birds, and insects to your garden while increasing the productivity of many edible plants.