The Importance of Soil
A good garden ideally begins with quality soil. Since few are blessed with perfect soil, gardeners must understand the challenges their site poses so that they can improve their situation.
The soils of the Eastern Sierra are usually geologically young and strongly resemble their source material. For many of us that means our soils are derived from granite. Soils in around Coleville, Bishop, Big Pine, Independence, Lone Pine, and Olancha (with many exceptions!) tend to be pH neutral and free of salts. Places where the soils come from sedimentary rocks like Chalfant and the low desert communities, have soils that are alkaline and often salty. Some gardeners in Paradise and Mustang Mesa even have to attempt to garden in volcanic tuff, which is more like an exercise in hydroponic growing.
Knowledge about your soil is a key factor in gardening successfully. By properly preparing your soil before planting, you are setting yourself up for success.
In this section of our website we have resources about local soils and links to information that will enhance your knowledge of soil science. Please explore it with the navigation menus.
If you want to learn more about soil science, we suggest this site put together by UC ANR as a general resource hub: https://ucanr.edu/sites/soils/
Local Soil FAQ
Many common questions about our local soils are addressed in this FAQ put together by our local Farm Advisor.