The Real Dirt blog covers regional gardening issues from soil health to planting for pollinators; from fire resistant landscaping to attracting wildlife. Read all about it!
Once again, we are experiencing a summer of devastating fires, with repercussions that will last decades or even longer. One of the lesser-known ways in which wildfires wreak havoc is the fact that they create ideal conditions for a particular pest, Melanophila acuminata, the black fire beetle.
We have endured multiple years of drought, and are probably in store for more. For many of us, it makes sense to replace all or part of our lawn area with less water-intensive plantings.
A new season of Master Gardener Workshops is about to start! The series begins September 9th with a session on Neighborhood Habitat Certification, and concludes on December 3rd with a timely workshop on Perennial Vegetable Gardening.
I first heard the term on the local evening news in fall of 2018: Meteorologist Kris Kuyper was talking about hydrophobic soils. This potentially catastrophic natural phenomenon seems counterintuitive: soils which are damaged by the intense heat of fire become water repellent.
How is your garden holding up during our all-too-frequent summer heat waves? Chances are you're seeing scorched leaves, deformed flowers, severe die-back, blistered branches, constant wilting, and even plant loss.
