The Real Dirt

If you have peach or nectarine trees, winter is the time to spray them to prevent peach leaf curl. Peach leaf curl is a fungal disease that attacks peaches and nectarines. It appears in spring, causing new leaves to become reddish, puckered and severely distorted. This disease is caused by the fungus…

For many of us in the North State, Autumn is our favorite time of year. The heat of summer is past, and deciduous trees put on a spectacular show of deep reds, yellows, and oranges. The intensity of this show, however, is not consistently the same each year. What makes the colors of autumn leaves vary in…

It’s a New Season! Gone are the hot dry days of summer. An October rainfall has energized everything that is growing in the Demonstration Garden. The plants seem to be offering up a sigh of relief, just as we humans do when the summer heat is past. And the moistened soil now makes digging easier for all…

Fall is the best time to plant garlic for a summer harvest.  Both the softneck and hardneck types of garlic can be planted now.  The softneck varieties are found in most grocery stores.  They have a mild flavor and store very well.  Two recommended softneck varieties for our climate are “California Early”…

Vertebrate pests can pose a serious threat to the achievement of one’s “dream garden” by wreaking havoc on plants and vegetables literally overnight. They feed or gnaw on the roots of ornamental plants, vines, shrubs and trees, and even plastic water lines. In our area, pocket gophers, moles, voles and…