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Dealing with an ant invasion | The Real Dirt
We often experience ants in our homes when weather conditions change. They are typically looking for food, water, warmth, and/or protection from extreme weather conditions. Ants belong to the insect...
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More on our wild buckwheats: The California buckwheat
Continuing our focus on select species of Eriogonum (wild buckwheat), this week’s discussion features California buckwheat (E. fasciculatum). First, here is a quick review of characteristics common to...
View ArticleSummer survival mode | Sow There!
July is the price we pay for living in amicable Northern California. Most of the time, we have it pretty good. We’re a few minutes from the Sacramento River, a few hours from the mountains, and there...
View ArticleOh, the places we hope to go | Sow There!
When a teacher plans a lesson, she tries to build an “anticipatory set.” This means helping students to access background knowledge, providing an overview of what will be learned and hopefully building...
View ArticleAre your tomatoes feeling the heat? | The Real Dirt
It’s hot. Tomatoes like heat, right? Actually, tomatoes like warm weather, between 65 and 85 degrees. When temperatures soar past 95, tomatoes stop growing. In that kind of heat, their flowers fail to...
View ArticleWhat’d life be without homegrown tomatoes | Sow There!
The time of the great tomato harvest is upon us. This time of year, I often write four columns in a row about red tomatoes, followed in the fall by eight columns about green tomatoes. I love tomatoes...
View ArticleThree more wild buckwheats | The Real Dirt
This final discussion of Eriogonum, or wild buckwheat, examines three beauties that are grown at the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden at Patrick Ranch: E. nudum; E. umbellatum; and E. grande var....
View ArticleVolunteers needed for garden box blitz build on ridge
Volunteers are needed in preparation for the Victory Garden BLITZ on the Camp Fire burn scar planned for August, with installations from August 22-30. The project is sponsored by the Butte County Local...
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Milkweed — it’s not really a weed | The Real Dirt
Milkweed is a drought-tolerant and deer-resistant perennial plant named for its milky latex sap. It is a great host plant for many beneficial insects including Monarch butterflies, bees, beetles, and...
View ArticleDehydrated brain axioms | Sow There!
Weeks have blended into one another and I’ve done what some of us have done – let my brain turn to mush. We all have our routines and in another life these included getting ready for work and leaving...
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The desert willow: A beautiful small tree for native gardens | The Real Dirt
Someone needs to tell the Urban Forests Ecosystems Institute that their tree location map is missing the desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) that was planted at the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden...
View ArticleRaisins on the horizon | Sow There!
This week the bumper crop is grapes. For regular readers who were eager to read endless columns about harvesting, preserving and eating ripe red tomatoes, no need to lament. I’ll have plenty to say...
View ArticleReady for a California power outage? 5 things you probably forgot to do
You got the flashlight and the battery-powered radio. You remembered to charge your mobile phone. But you’re not fully prepared for a blackout unless you: Have a list (on paper) of important phone...
View ArticleThinking beyond the thermometer: plant cool season vegetables | The Real Dirt
Cool season plants like a warm start, so it’s not too early to begin adding some of them to the vegetable garden now. In this way you can extend the harvest of both warm season crops and cool season...
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‘Crisis gardening’ is green therapy | The Real Dirt
“You’re absolutely filthy!” This admonishment of misspent youthful summer afternoons should be considered a compliment for young and old alike in these stressful times, if the filth comes from the...
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Someday we’ll be together | Sow There!
Umpteen days ago was my first meet-and-greet with my new students. Of course, it was more than simple introductions, intense eye-contact and masked smiles. We had information to give to families, such...
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Workshops, new Garden Guide available | The Real Dirt
The Master Gardeners are offering our fall series of free workshops online via Zoom, beginning Sept. 10. Like the in-person, hands-on workshops offered in the past, these six classes will be packed...
View ArticleFailing grade on gift giving | Sow There!
Our culture is one of gift-giving. It’s a good thing because buying things happens to be an important aspect of our economy. I’m mostly kidding, but I think if we didn’t have holidays with gifts as a...
View ArticleIt’s not Mendon’s anymore, but Deja Vu Gardens Galore
PARADISE — The sign at the front of 5424 Foster Road says Deja Vu Gardens Galore Nursery, but Cindy Dawson is likely to hear people refer to her business as “the old Mendon’s Nursery” for awhile. She...
View ArticleSoroptomist International of Chico kicks back in session with guest speaker...
CHICO — The group Soroptomist International of Chico is back in session starting Wednesday, with meetings being held via Zoom due to COVID-19 limitations and regulations. The group’s first program will...
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