In the wild areas on our planet, trees, bushes, and grasses grow on ground that has continual additions of new layers of dead and dying plant matter. Leaves fall from trees and shrubs, grasses dry in the summer: these materials cover the soil and gradually decompose. No Till gardening takes its cue from this natural process. There's no double-digging. No bi-annual rototilling. No weed pulling.

The idea behind a No Till garden is to disturb the soil as little as possible, while using organic materials to cover the ground and smother undesirable growth (e.g. weeds). No Till gardening is also often referred to as “lasagna gardening” (because the planting area is layered with organic materials) and “sheet composting” or “sheet mulching” (because sheets of newspaper and/or cardboard are used in the layering process). Some people call it just plain “lazy gardening” (because the effort it takes is minimal).

Why No Till Works

Soil is inhabited by billions of microscopic organisms. It is this abundant life, attracted to the sugars put out by plant roots, that creates a mutually beneficial feeding relationship with plants. Breaking up the soil by tilling, digging, or weeding disrupts these vital organisms.

No Till aids the soil's ability to retain water. The roots of previous weeds and other pre-existing plants create pathways for water to penetrate and be stored in the soil.    

When you avoid tilling you'll have fewer weeds in your garden, since tilling brings weed seeds to the surface where light signals them to grow.            

A No Till garden requires less work on the part of the gardener. Ultimately, a No Till bed will need less weeding, less watering, and less digging.

There is no need to wait before planting in a No Till garden – you just plant on top of the decomposing plant life.

How to make a No Till vegetable garden:

There are several different approaches to creating a No Till garden. The simplest method is described here.

Materials you will need:

• Cardboard (with tape & labels removed) or newspapers (newsprint only – no colored ads or glossy pages).
• Compost, well-aged manure, worm compost, or organic soil mix. Organic blends are a little more expensive but they will do a better job of supporting the growth of your subterranean microbes, which help your plants get the nutrients they need for optimal growth and resistance to pests and diseases.
• Plants and seeds.
• Mulch (wood chips, straw, grass clippings, or pine needles).

Steps:

1. Select a sunny site. Think small. Two 5 x 10 - foot beds can grow a lot of produce. Even No Till gardening can get overwhelming if you take on too much.
2. Cut existing vegetation to the ground and water the area well. Avoid burying large clumps or a thick layer of fresh green vegetation under a compost layer. Anaerobic decomposition can be detrimental to root growth.
3. Apply a 4-to-6- inch layer of a well-composted mix. Well-aged horse manure (often available free from stables), plus worm compost makes a terrific mix. The City of Chico Compost Facility on Cohasset highway (currently closed due to COVID-19) sells finished compost that can be mixed with an organic soil mix or worm castings as another option.
4. Cover the compost layer with overlapping pieces of cardboard, or 5 to 10 thicknesses of newspaper (overlapping them by one-third). Dousing the sheets of newspaper in a bucket of water will help stabilize them.
5. For large deep-rooted plants (like tomatoes, peppers & eggplants) cut a circle in the cardboard or newspaper. Scoop out soil, add 2 to 3 shovelfuls of compost mix, and plant. For shallow-rooted vegetables or flowers, cut an X to open the cardboard or newspaper and plant smaller plants.
6. Water well.
7. Cover the bed with 4 to 6 inches of mulch. This will weigh down the cardboard or newspaper, prevent soil from drying out, and keep light from activating weed seeds. It also looks attractive.
8. Install a drip or micro-sprinkler system or make a hand-watering schedule. Plan to water your No Till bed daily for the first week. Gradually taper off to every 3 to 5 days.
9. Repeat! When a crop is finished, cut it to the ground, add compost, tuck in new plants, and mulch heavily.

An even simpler No Till method is to put the cardboard or newspaper layer on top of the mowed vegetation. Top this with compost mix, and then add plants and mulch. This works well for shallow-rooted transplants and direct seeded vegetables like beets, carrots, cucumber, lettuces and other salad greens.

Plants love the even moisture and lower soil temperatures created by No Till and mulch. Give it a try. Your microbes and your back will thank you.

For inspiration, browse the California State University, Chico Regenerative Agriculture website. For specific vegetable planting times, see our Planting Guides for the Chico Valley Area and for the Foothills.       

The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, call the Hotline at (530) 538-7201 or email mgbutte@ucanr.edu.

Cutworms are moth larvae that hide in the soil during the day, and then come out at night to feed on plants. They get their name from their ability to "cut off" a seedling at ground level by chewing through the stem at or just below the soil level.

The larvae of many species of adult moths are called cutworms, although they are actually caterpillars, not worms. They do not bite or sting; if disturbed, they will roll up into a c-shape. While they are not harmful to humans, they can be a major problem in the garden.

Cutworms are voracious leaf, bud, and stem feeders and can destroy plants. Some species are subterranean and eat roots as well.Cutworms do their damage only when they are in the larval stage. Adult cutworm moths do not damage plants. Early in the growing season cutworms chew off seedling, young transplants, garden vegetables, and flowers. Later in the season these pests can also injure the crop by eating irregular holes in the surface of young fruits or vegetables, and causing fruiting stems to wilt and fail. On grapevines, cutworms feed from the bud swell stage until shoots are several inches long. Injured buds may fail to develop. A few cutworm species also climb up on foliage and chew holes or bore into heads of lettuce or cole crops like kale and cabbage.

Cutworms are grouped into 3 general categories:

1) Surface cutworms: do considerable damage to leaves and stems.

2) Climbing cutworms: climb onto plants and eat buds, leaves, and fruit.

3) Subterranean cutworms: stay on or below ground and feed on the roots of plants.

Identifying Cutworms. Cutworms belong to the insect order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). A cutworm moth will typically lay 350-800 pearl-shaped eggs. Mature cutworm larvae (caterpillars) are one to two inches long, plump, soft bodied, and often have longitudinal stripes. Depending on their species, they can be gray, green, black or dull brown in color, and solid, spotted, or striped. At the end of its larval stage, a cutworm will rest in the soil for about a week before pupating below the soil layer. Cutworm pupa are reddish-brown in appearance and can be found at or below soil level. It is during the pupal stage that the adult winged form develops. Adult cutworm moths are dark gray, black, or brown in color, with markings on their front wings. Cutworm species can only be reliably identified in the moth phase through wing color and pattern. Females are darker than males.

The Cutworm Lifecycle. Depending on the species, there can be one or more generations of cutworms per year. Most species pass the winter in the soil or under garden waste as young larvae or pupae. Adult moths emerge from the pupal stage in spring, mate, and females lay eggs 5 to11 days after emerging. Cutworm eggs hatch in April or early May, and the young cutworm caterpillars feed on vegetation near the ground. After 14 days, they avoid daylight and become nocturnal, coming out at night to feed heavily on seedlings and young plants. The young larvae of most species pass through 6 stages (instars), each separated by a shedding of skin (molting). Larvae fully develop in 24 to 40 days and then pupate. The pupal stage generally lasts 21 to 34 days, but can take longer, depending on the temperature. Adult cutworm moths are also nocturnal. They measure about one and one-half inches long with a one-and-one-half-inch wingspan.

Management and Control. Plant collars can be used to protect tender transplants, because cutworms need to completely encircle a stem in order to munch it off. Make a collar out of cardboard, plastic, or aluminum foil. Paper cups (with bottoms removed) or tin cans (with both ends removed), also make good collars to place over young plants. Place a collar around each stem extending it one to two inches into the soil and two to three inches above the soil.

• Control weeds, grasses and plant debris both in and around the garden to reduce habitat and food favored by young cutworms.
• Keep up with cultivation. Moths prefer to lay eggs in high grass and weeds. At the end of the season, till your garden and mow surrounding areas to destroy their over-wintering habitat.
• A few weeks before planting your garden, dig the soil down about two inches, and squash any caterpillar larvae and/or pupae you find manually (or drop them into a bucket of soapy water).
• Once larvae emerge from pupae, hand-picking at night with a flashlight is very effective. Clip and dispose of infested foliage and blossoms.
• Pesticides are not very effective and can harm beneficial insects, so they are not recommended.

Natural Enemies.Cutworms are attacked by a large range of natural enemies. The most important are parasitic wasps and flies, and some predators. The most common predators include ground beetles, lacewings, praying mantis, ants, and birds. Hens are useful because they dig out and eat cutworms present near the soil surface. Hens are very effective when confined on garden beds prior to planting.

Additional information on cutworm damage on fruits and vegetables can be found here on the UC IPM website.

The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, call the Hotline at (530) 538-7201 or email mgbutte@ucanr.edu.

Gardeners looking for a drought-tolerant and highly disease-resistant native shrub might consider adding the blue elderberry (Sambucus cerulean also known as Sambucus Mexicana) to their landscape.

This species of elderberry is native to the West coast of North America at elevations ranging from sea level to 10,000 feet from Baja to British Columbia. Although it is drought tolerant, it can be considered riparian because it prefers moist locations near rivers or springs. It will also show itself to be particularly thankful for fertile, nitrogen-rich soils.

This elderberry's habitat ranges from desert to temperate rainforest, thriving in both full shade and full sun. In good growing conditions in the wild it can reach up to 30 feet high. Its growing habit creates a wide bramble that puts on a spectacular show of flowers and berries in season, but becomes a bit ratty as the summer heat wears on. 

The elderberry can be identified through its flowers in late spring, and bunches of blueish berries in mid to late-summer. Typically, hundreds of tiny flowers comprise what appears to be one light cream-colored flower in skyward-facing bunches.  A waxy coating on the purple berries gives them their blueish finish. Another distinctive characteristic is that the elderberry is among the first shrubs to show green shoots, sometimes in late fall after the first rains and even well before the California buckeye, another early blooming native.

The plant's flowers and berries are valuable for native wildlife. Nearly two dozen moths and butterflies seek the pollen from the fragrant cream-colored elderberry flower. The berries are an important source of food for native birds in California. Once birds eat the berries, they return the favor by helping the plant propagate, spreading the un-digested seeds far and wide.

According to UC Cooperative Extension advisor Rachael Long, the elderberry is one of several natives that provide nectar and pollen for native bees, honey bees, and other insects. “I see a lot of green lace wings (predators of aphids, spider mites and other pests) in elderberry” she notes. The berries are edible for humans if properly prepared. They contain a mild toxin which can easily be cooked out.

The berries and other parts of the elderberry have been valued for their medicinal properties for thousands of years. Modern medical research has established a scientific basis for some medicinal uses that warrant further research. Early Europeans made food and medicine from the berries, and musical instruments from the hollow elderberry branches. In the western hemisphere, Native peoples were using many parts of the plant, well before each culture was aware of the others' existence.

The elderberry gets its name from Anglo-Saxon words: “auld” or “ellarn”, meaning fire or kindle, because the hollow branches were used to direct air blown into kindling. Those hollow stems also led to their use as musical instruments, among these the "Sambuke" from which the genus name "Sambucus" was derived.

Elderberry references make cultural appearances spanning space and time. In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus presented the gift of fire to man in a hollow elderberry branch. In our own time, it is the elder wand, fashioned in part from elderberry wood, which delivers a decisive blow for good over evil in the final chapter of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

Blue elderberry grows extensively throughout Butte County, favoring streamside locations. For example, in Chico it can easily be found along Big and Little Chico Creeks and Lindo channel. In places along these waterways, there are nearly unbroken stretches of elderberry thickets. The elderberry's tenacity can be seen in the burn-scar area of Butte Creek canyon, where vigorous elderberry canes are re-emerging in profusion.

Blue Elderberry is the only host plant of the Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus), a Federally Threatened species. This beetle's current California Fish & Wildlife Service status is “threatened” due to loss of habitat resulting from conversion of land to agriculture, grazing, and levee construction; competition from non-native species; and loss of land to development for recreational, industrial and urban purposes. The adult beetles eat elderberry leaves and flowers, and the larvae eat the pithy inside of the elderberry stem, where they live for part of their lives. Because of the “threatened” status of the beetle, and the fact that the blue elderberry shrub is its host plant (its habitat, so to speak), the elderberry shrub is protected from being disturbed, destroyed, removed, and even trimmed, if the branches are larger than 1 inch in diameter, since the beetle larvae could potentially be living inside branches of that size or larger. In your yard, the elderberry can be managed by pruning as long as the branches are smaller than 1 inch in diameter. Small elderberry branches are hollow and pithy and fairly easy to cut.

If you have space in your yard for a hardy native shrub that will provide food for beneficial insects and pollinators, consider the elderberry. It's best to enjoy this multi-use shrub in a section of your yard where it will not be disturbed, and where it can grow to its full size (30 feet) without needing to be trimmed or moved.

The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, call the Hotline at (530) 538-7201 or email mgbutte@ucanr.edu.

Butte County has had its share of disaster and turmoil. Now we face a virus that may not go away completely. Shopping for food has become a challenge. The stores are not always stocked the way they used to be. Times are challenging.

Now is a great time to rethink the backyard or front yard edible garden. This is one way that we can help ourselves. Take a cue from the “victory gardens” citizens planted during World Wars I and II, and increase your self-sufficiency by growing at least some of your food. Let's call it a Resilience Garden.

This kind of garden can be as small as some microgreens growing on a windowsill, or, if you have a deck or patio, you can fill containers with nutrient-dense vegetables. Out in the yard, you can tuck some vegetable plants into spaces around your existing landscape plants. If you have room, you can build or buy raised beds; these can be made of used lumber or even a repurposed old galvanized stock tank.

We live in a moderate climate that is great for planning and planting a food garden. Many nutrient-dense cool season vegetables can be planted now. They have a quick turnaround time, so in about thirty days you can go from planted seed to food on your plate. Leafy greens like kale and chard grow quickly. Lettuces, onions, broccoli, and beets do well in our area until it gets too warm.

To prepare for summer, plant warm season vegetable seeds indoors now, to bring out into the garden after the danger of frost has passed. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, okra, eggplant, and squash are easy to germinate in a sunny window in your house. You can still find seed in most nurseries or big box stores in our area, and seed is often available at grocery stores this time of year.

Find something to grow that will work in your yard. If you plant the right plant in the right place at the right time you should be successful. If your yard is partly shaded, lettuces, leafy greens and spinach should work for you. Perhaps you can plant your vegetables and herbs in containers that are small enough to move around to sunny spots. Think creatively: if your vegetable-growing neighbor has a sunny yard, perhaps you can trade your leafy greens for their tomatoes and squash. Work together and plan your gardens so you can share food. If you have lots of room, plant an extra row so you will have extras to give away to someone in need.

The main prerequisite for growing vegetables is to find a spot where there is sunlight and water. Watch your yard for a full day to map where the sunlight hits. The area that gets the most sun is perfect for growing summer (warm season) vegetables. If this happens to be on a patio or a deck, remember that you can use containers filled with a container soil mix to grow almost any vegetable.

Summer vegetables need 6 to 8 hours of sun. Soil amendments such as compost or manure add organic matter, improve soil tilth, and encourage healthy plant growth, allowing vegetables to be productive and nutritious. Air temperatures of 65 to 90 degrees and soil temperatures averaging of 60 to 70 degrees are ideal.

Cool weather crops grow best in air temperatures of 50 to75 degrees and soil temperatures of 50 to 65 degrees.

For a specific seed starting chart for your area, consult either the UC Master Gardeners of Butte County vegetable planting guide for the Chico valley area, or for the foothills.

Choose nutrient-dense vegetables like potatoes, cow peas, okra, shelling beans, and peppers. Tomatoes are not considered nutrient dense, but they are delicious.

Consider growing dry beans like pinto or black beans. These can be eaten fresh or allowed to dry on the vine. Once dried, they're picked and shelled. They can be stored for a long time in your pantry.

If you are unable to find dry bean seed locally, you can use dried beans from your pantry if they are not too old. Test their viability by taking a few and sprouting them as follows: place a few bean seeds onto a damp paper towel. Put the damp towel into a zip lock bag. In a few days check to see if they have sprouted. If they have, they are still viable and can be planted in the ground.

There are a few vegetables like okra and cow peas that work well together and are also drought resistant. You might consider incorporating an old Native American tradition called the “three sisters.” To do this, start by planting corn. When the corn is about five inches tall, plant pole beans around the corn stalks. The beans will use the corn as a trellis. Then plant squash or pumpkins around the beans. This method uses less water because the squash or pumpkin leaves shade the ground and help the soil retain water.

Growing popping corn is another way to prolong your food harvest. Once the corn is ready to pick, dry it and then remove the kernels from the cob. Store in an airtight container to be popped later.

Diversity in your food garden is a way to help it be more resilient. Adding some culinary herbs and pollinator-friendly flowers will invite beneficial insects to pollinate your vegetables and may help minimize undesirable bugs.

These are some basic ideas to get you started. The point of Resilience Gardening is to encourage you to see how you can grow nutritious food and share it with others. At the same time, you will spend more time outdoors in nature engaging in a healthy purposeful practice.       

The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, call the Hotline at (530) 538-7201 or email mgbutte@ucanr.edu.