Gardening in Lake Tahoe — it’s possible
By Kathryn Reed
While it can be dicey in the Lake Tahoe Basin to put plants in the ground before Memorial Day weekend, it doesn’t mean there isn’t gardening to be done now.
Carolyn Meiers drove that point home Tuesday night during a talk at the South Lake Tahoe library that was sponsored by Friends of the Library. Meiers, who is a master gardener, knows the soils of Tahoe well from living here for decades and being part of various garden clubs.
“Just because they sell it in Lake Tahoe, don’t assume it will be OK. There are a lot of things you should not be buying,” Meiers said May 7.
She suggests people go to reputable garden centers to talk to experts about plants.
Master gardener Carolyn Meiers says frost cloth will protect plants from freezing. Photo/Kathryn Reed
Reading the information on the tags that come with plants is also critical because they talk about sun and shade, growing season and how tall the plant will become.
While there are rules to follow, Meiers also advocates for just trying something to see how well it does in your yard.
Sun, shade, wind, water, soil – they all play a role in the success of a plant’s life.
“You don’t want to put a $5 plant in a 50-cent hole” is a phrase Meiers said she has borrowed from a fellow gardener. This means making sure the soil is nutrient rich.
“You need to modify the soil. There are all kinds of mulches you can buy,” she said.
Ideally, much of the work on the soil is done in the fall so when spring rolls around it’s perfect for planting.
Now is the time when everything should be raked, weeds dug out and anything that has blown into beds plucked out. Meiers even said people should be picking their daffodils. Some of the nearly 50 in the audience laughed, saying theirs were barely out of the ground and blooms have yet to be seen.
“Be careful how you fertilize. It’s either going in the air or water or on your own body,” Meiers said. “Use the least toxic pest control method. We do have a beautiful lake that we need to protect.”
Critters are something every gardener has to contend with. Rabbits have been growing in numbers on the South Shore in recent years. Meiers talks fondly of climbing roses she once had. Then a beaver “decimated” them. She is left with photographs of them.
A member of the audience suggested using sonar devices that are stuck into the ground to rid a yard of voles. Steer manure compost was another suggestion.
Putting tulip bulbs in nylon stockings stops the squirrels from uprooting them.
There are always daffodils. Squirrels don’t go after them.
A trend in gardening is to have edible plants as landscaping, and not just be part of a vegetable garden.
Even after Memorial Day the basin is susceptible to freezing nights. Meiers recommends using a frost cloth to put over plants on those occasions. She said lots of things could be used – just use something that is not too heavy.
For those who are going to start with seeds, time is ticking because they usually take four to six weeks before needing to be transplanted.
Meiers suggests everyone in the basin have a copy of “Home Landscaping Guide for Lake Tahoe and Vicinity” to use as a resource for gardening.
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Note: University of Nevada Cooperative Extension will host its annual Master Gardener Plant Faire and Sale from 7am-2pm May 18 at the Master Gardener Greenhouse, No. 13, 920 Valley Road in Reno. Thousands of certified organically grown plants will be available for sale.
Great job, Carolyn. Sorry we couldn’t be there to hear you, but Kae’s article helps answer some of our questions. The rest we can get from you personally.
HA! Don’t do it! Don’t start! Gardens are like children that don’t grow up. They required constant attention, supervision and money. Be happy with the pine needles and Manzanita and your free time! ;-)
Seriously, I love my garden, but it takes up A LOT of my time. Be realistic going in, and don’t delude yourself into thinking it will ever be “done”.
I was too busy listening at Carolyn’s meeting to take notes. I am glad Kae captured them so well. This was my first time hearing Carolyn, or anyone, speak of gardening in Tahoe. It seems daunting and J-Mac is probably right, but Carolyn was so motivating. Hmm, maybe a sweet pea or two to start.
Gardening in Tahoe? Challenging? Yes. Rewarding? Most definitely! It’s well worth the effort and you’ll be glad you planted those seeds when they mature.
I started planting outdoors at the end of April as it was warm and I was chompin’ at the bit to get an early start. Also growing in the windowsills so come the warm weather they will hopefully transplant successfully.
Radishes just broke ground this morning. So c’mon now Snow Peas, Lettuce, Green beans, Spinach and the rest of you guys! Show your little green heads!
I am prepared to cover them with a tarp should we get a late in the season sno-fall.
Diggin’ in the dirt, Old Long Skiis
Yep. Even though we know better, those couple of weeks in April got us all antsy to start growing stuff. The snow peas are poking their heads out of the dirt, no sign yet of the cucumbers or carrots (though a leftover carrot from last year popped up in early april~the dog loved it!) Haven’t planted the lettuce yet ’cause the new planter box isn’t finished yet. We have to put the wire mesh UNDER the boxes for the voles and the chicken wire over a frame for birds, squirrels, and rabbits. Tomato plants will go into planters this weekend!
Bagged dirt mixed with manure from friends’ horses makes for some pretty hearty vegetables!
Dogula and other early Tahoe Gardeners,
Break out the the tarps. National weather service calling for mild days but lows at night in the lower 30’s getting down to the 20’s by the end of the week.
Covered my plants the other night and it caused a growing spurt! Sure their small sprouts but ya gotta start somewhere! Holding in the heat I guess caused the spinach to really take off as well as the snow peas, green beans, lettuce and onions. The spuds, carrots, cilantro and zucchini have yet to break ground. Window sill garden doing well. Tomatoes, bell peppers and cantaloupe growing in So. Shore? Time will tell!
Grow food, not lawns! Old Long Skiis
Thanks for the warning, OLS! I’ll get prepped.
The snow peas are looking great, carrots have greens starting to show, nothing on the cucumbers or lettuce yet (good, maybe they’ll be safer underground). Time to break out the old painting tarps. . . and the tomatoes may have to move into the garage again!
Kae, Bill, Dogula,
Kae, thanks for the eye opening piece about the parking garage and where our taxpayer dollars are going. Between that and other comments from LTN readers about the taxpayer subsidized support for the airport… well(?) things don’t look good and that’s putting it mildly. Keep up the good work Kae!
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Bill Kingman, thanks for putting up that picture. That was on one of my Dads and I “rounds” when I was a kid. Go to the “P.O.”, as Dad called the post office, and then we’d go pay a few bills as we rode around in our 1953 Willys pick up. Maybe stop at Cornet Variety or Nay’s Bijou Market for a few things.
It seemed we always had a couple of full garbage cans tied down in the back of the Willys p.u., as the landfill out off of Pioneer was our last stop before we headed home. Pay Patrick at the little wooden shack at the entrance and dump the trash into the pit. Then drive an unpaved section of Pioneer trail back home.
Mom was left home at the Echo Motel, hoping to rent out a few rooms and take reservations over the phone while me and Dad “Took care of business “. Actually we were for the most part just riding around in an old truck and and having one heck of a good time!
Thank you for the memorys Bill!
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Dogula, I think you and I are probably political opposites but we do have somethings in common. A love of Tahoe and all the things that go along with it, and I might add, growing vegetables in a very challenging environment. Bad soil(good for pine trees, not much else), not much sun and a very short growing season.
But grow we will!!! Now if I can just find that “frost cloth” that Carolyn Meiers is shown holding up in the photo!
Take care, Old Long Skiis(bobroxtahoe@yahoo.com)
OLS, if you find that cloth, please post! Though, with money being tight, I’ll still probably stick to the canvas tarps. Most of my plants are under chicken wire, so the weight of the tarp isn’t an issue.
Yep, probably political polar opposites. But some of the people I love the best believe contrary to what I believe. It isn’t the only thing in life, and certainly if a friendship can’t overcome politics, it isn’t much of a friendship to start with. We can disagree, and still respect and love one another.
Vive la difference!
Now if we could just weed the congressional garden and get back to the day when those who disagreed with you weren’t “across the isle” but rather “the loyal opposition”.