A great choice for the home orchard is the Pluot, a plum-apricot hybrid.  Pluots (pronounced plew-otts) are like plums in flavor and texture, but are sweeter and less acidic.  Many pluot varieties are actually sweeter than either parent. 

Pluots vary in color.  Their smooth skin can be dappled, streaked, yellow, green, crimson or magenta, and their flesh can range from creamy white to blood red.  Pluots have whimsical varietal names like Dapple Dandy (also called Dinosaur Egg), Flavor Grenade, Last Chance, and Mango Tango.  Flavor Heart, one of the largest pluots, is heart shaped with black coloring and yellow flesh; the Candy Stripe pluot has pink and yellow striped flesh with a spotted red skin.

Pluots are easy to grow and contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber, in addition to naturally-occurring phytonutrients and antioxidants.  They contain no fat and are sodium free.     

The plant breeder, Floyd Zaiger (of Zaiger's Genetics ) created the pluot in the late 1980s by backcrossing Luther Burbank's less-than-successful 19^th-century plumcot with a plum . Some people assume that pluots must be genetically engineered but that is not the case.  Those who avoid genetically modified foods need not fear:  pluots were developed using traditional hand-pollinated horticultural methods.           

There are two keys to success with pluots.  First, it is important to consider the number of chill hours required by a pluot variety.  Chill hours, indicated on the fruit tree tag, refer to the number of hours below 45 degrees Fahrenheit that a tree requires each dormant season in order to bloom and set fruit properly.  Pluot chill hours vary from under 400 to about 800 but most varieties require between 400 and 600 chill hours, as do many peach varieties.  Not surprisingly, most pluots do well in our area and there are even some varieties best suited for local microclimates. 

The second crucial requirement for pluot success is a nearby pollinator.  Pluots are not “self-fruitful,” which means they require an external pollinator to set fruit.  Depending on the variety, a plum or another pluot planted within 100 feet will do the job.  Check the fruit tag or talk to the nursery about which pollinator is required for the pluot variety you are considering.

Pluots require the same basic care as plum trees.  For the first few years, provide adequate water, especially during the growing season, but after trees are established provide less frequent but deep irrigation.  Mulch as often as necessary to block weeds around the base of the tree, and feed lightly twice a year (in early spring and late summer) with compost or a nitrogen fertilizer such as ammonium sulfate.  Pluots are susceptible to aphid attacks and various fungal problems. For mild aphid infestation, simply use a hose to spray them off or a nontoxic neem oil or insecticidal soap spray; extreme cases may require a dormant oil spray to smother overwintering aphid eggs.  Avoid fungal problems with a preventive approach: twice a year (in fall after leaf drop and early spring before buds swell), spray trees with lime-sulphur or copper.  Fruit trees require pruning to stay healthy and produce plentiful and high quality fruit; don't be afraid to use pruning to keep your pluot tree extremely low so it's easy to reach the fruit.

Now is not the time to plant a pluot but it is the perfect time to do some research on the many types of pluots that might do well in your yard.  From now until September, tasting the various types of pluots as they come into season will help you decide which varieties you might want in your own home orchard.

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, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.

Are you interested in becoming a Master Gardener?  The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County will begin training a new class in mid-January 2024.  Graduates of the 17-week course will join the current roster of 100 volunteers involved in a multitude of local gardening projects. If you want to learn more about the Master Gardener (MG) program, please consider attending one of the upcoming informational meetings being held from July through early September (three at locations in Chico and one in Oroville).  A full list of these meetings can be found on our Join Us webpage.

The origins of the nation-wide Master Gardener program go way back – to a Senate bill signed by Abraham Lincoln in July of that year, 1862, to be precise. 

The first half of 1862 was a busy year for Lincoln and the US Congress. Our country was a year into a brutal civil war when two bills were signed that would shape our nation in ways that are still pertinent 160 years later. The first of these congressional actions was the Homestead Act of 1862, signed into law by Lincoln in April of 1862. Hot on its heels was the lesser-known Morrill Act (also known as the Land-Grant College Act), which was passed into law just before 1862's Independence Day celebrations, such as they were at that fractured time in our history.

Sponsored by Vermont Senator Justin Morrill, the Land-Grant College Act called for the donation of public lands “to the several States and [Territories] which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the Mechanic arts…” Through this Act the Federal Government was committed to grant each state 30,000 acres of public land, which became the basis of our national system of Land-Grant state colleges and universities. It is important to acknowledge that lands nationwide had been occupied by Native Americans for tens of thousands of years. In keeping with the dominant world view of that time, the land appropriated by the federal government was considered “public” and could be given to each of the states for beneficial use.

The Hatch Act of 1887 is also relevant to the history of the Master Gardener Program. This Act provided federal funding to the state land-grant colleges to conduct basic and applied agricultural research in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The resulting Agricultural Experiment Stations now exist in all 50 states. Congress continued its interest in developing agriculture and supporting farmers throughout the US by passing the Smith-Lever Act in 1914. This took farm advisors directly into the field to teach improved agricultural practices to farmers through the Agricultural Extension Service, later becoming Cooperative Extension. For farmers to access these new services, a county “farm bureau” had to be organized to request the posting of a county extension advisor in partnership with the USDA and the Land-Grant College.

In California, the University of California at Berkeley was established as the Land-Grant College. Today, UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, and closest to home, UC Davis carry on that legacy by housing the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Cooperative Extension specialists and Experiment Station Faculty are based on these three campuses and coordinate their education efforts with UC-funded Cooperative Extension Advisors. Fifty of California's 58 counties support a UC Cooperative Extension department.

The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) County Advisors are valuable resources who conduct outreach and education that encompasses much more than crop development. In addition to plant sciences, pest management, and soil and water health, they oversee agricultural economic issues; management of livestock and natural resources; nutrition, family, and consumer sciences; and youth development – particularly through the 4-H program.

Over time, as the reputation of the County Extension programs and California's population grew, busy Farm Advisors increasingly found themselves fielding questions about plants, pests, and problems from home gardeners. The Master Gardener (MG) Program was developed to help the Farm Advisors extend information by training volunteers in the science of gardening and horticulture. This program was conceived by Dr. David Gibby of the University of Washington Cooperative Extension. Gibby ran a pilot program in Tacoma, Washington in 1972. Following its resounding success, the Master Gardeners were officially established, along with a rigorous training program and curriculum. The concept quickly spread throughout the US and Canada. Each MG program in the US is affiliated with a land-grant university and a county UC Cooperative Extension office.

In California, Riverside and Sacramento Counties were the first to launch programs in training and certifying Master Gardeners, beginning in 1980. Since then, certified Master Gardener programs have been founded in more than 50 California counties.

In 2007, Butte County UCCE Farm Advisor Joseph Connell and Family and Consumer Science Advisor and County Director Susan Donohue identified a real need for a local MG Program. Working with UC Davis, the county, the UCCE office in Oroville, the Butte County Farm, Home, and 4-H Support Group, and three Master Gardeners trained elsewhere, Connell and Donohue organized a local MG training program. The MG training course was to be taught by Advisors, Specialists, and professors from the UC system and the Butte County UCCE put out a call to enroll volunteers. In May of 2008 the inaugural group of Butte County Master Gardeners completed their training. The 17-week training program of weekly classes is now offered every other year in Butte County. The upcoming 2024 class will constitute our eighth cadre of graduates.

Master Gardener training is thorough, comprehensive, and science based. The mission of the UC Master Gardeners is “to extend research-based, scientifically accurate knowledge and information on home horticulture and pest management to the residents of California.” Aspiring Master Gardeners are trained in a wide variety of topics, including (but not limited to): Botany, Irrigation, Soils, Plant Pathology, Entomology, Integrated Pest Management, Fire Safety, Plant Identification, Diagnostic Techniques, Trees, Turfgrass, Irrigation, and Home Vegetable Gardening. The goal is to familiarize students with a wide range of pertinent topics, not to create experts in each field. The training emphasizes research techniques, so that MGs can assist clients by knowing where to look for the information that will help them identify and solve issues faced by local home gardeners.

The Butte County MGs have come a long way since the first class of 21 volunteers graduated in 2008. Currently we have exactly 100 active Master Gardeners. We staff a Hotline for gardening questions which can be reached by phone at 530-552-5812 and by email at mgbutte@ucanr.com. Each spring and fall we present a public education workshop series covering a wide variety of topics. We've established a helpful and beautifully-designed website which contains a wealth of information and tips specifically focusing on our local gardening environment, as well as details about our upcoming activities. Every month we email a newsletter to subscribers. Our Gardening Guide and Three-Year Garden Journal contains information, tips, and note-taking space for every week of the year. You can find our outreach booths at local farmers markets and garden-related events. Twice a year we hold a plant sale, highlighting plants that grow well here. And on Fridays we publish an article on a gardening topic in our Real Dirt column in this newspaper as well as on the Real Dirt blog on our website.

Perhaps our most ambitious and rewarding project to date is our Demonstration Garden at the Patrick Ranch Museum on the Midway south of Chico. We call it “A New California Garden - A Garden for Today: Sustainable, Functional, Beautiful.” Here we have established multiple landscape examples, including gardening under oaks, edible landscaping, a space dedicated to Butte County All-Stars (plants proven to thrive in our local environment), and a cleverly designed space for holding outdoor classes. The one-acre area dedicated to the Demonstration Garden was made possible by Patrick Ranch Museum.

The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County owe our inception to the foresight and hard work of Joseph Connell and Susan Donahue, Cooperative Extension Advisors Emeritus. Major portions of the Demonstration Garden were made possible by funding from the Farm, Home, and 4-H Support Group. And we owe our continued existence to our MG volunteers and all the gardeners and plant lovers in our region. Please consider joining our ranks! For more information, a list of upcoming informational meetings, and the on-line application, see our Join Us webpage.

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, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.

It's peak season for fruits and vegetables from now through September: peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches, apricots, plums, berries … the list goes on and on.  It's not unusual for a neighbor to drop off a bag of peaches, or to find a roadside stand offering melons, or to encounter a box of cucumbers or zucchini labeled with a “free” sign when out on a walk.  Our farmers markets offer an amazing selection of locally-grown fruits and vegetables, and wild blackberries thrive on the banks of our creeks and rivers.  If you find yourself in the enviable position of having more fresh produce than you can possibly consume or give away, it's time to start canning and preserving. You'll be glad you did when you can pull out a jar of homemade bread & butter pickles at Thanksgiving, or slather your own apricot jam on a piece of toast come February.

Sun drying is the earliest form of food preservation. Evidence of this method has been found from 12,000 BC. Humans living in arid and semi-arid regions simply laid raw food in the sun to dry. This method is quick and easy for drying large quantities of fruits on drying trays after sulfuring.  Exposing halved fruits such as peaches and apricots to sulfur fumes for a period of time before drying prevents the browning reaction and preserves a fruit's bright color and quality.  The modern-day dehydrator works great for other foods and is especially useful for drying persimmons late in the fall when it's too cool for sun drying.

Apparently the ancient Greeks and Romans loved jams and jellies. Around 500 BC, traders began pulverizing over-ripe fruit, then boiling the juice and adding honey to turn what would have been waste into something useful. One of the first known cookbooks is De Re Coquinaria (“The Art of Cooking” in English), from the fourth century AD or earlier. It includes a recipe for jam which is simply fruit and sugar boiled together. Those living in northern climates with insufficient sunlight to properly dry fruits soon added this method to their food preservation techniques.

During the 15^th century, curing became an effective means of preserving meat. While both ancient Egyptians and Romans used a salting method, it proved ineffective for storing meats. During the Middle Ages, it was discovered that storing meat inside a salt solution (brine) would lengthen the amount of time it took for the food to become spoiled. Placing meat in the brine prevented the growth of bacteria. This method was used by armies going to war, but the brined meat still didn't last long before going rancid. The meat offered little nutritional value and reliance upon it often led to scurvy. Because of the downsides of brining, the French emperor Napoleon spent time and money looking for a better way to preserve food for his armies. This interest would lead to the development of new methods such as canning and pasteurization.

Toward the end of the 18^th century, natural refrigeration became a means of preservation in areas where snow and ice were available. Holes were dug into the ground and meat was stored and covered with snow during the winter. This method of preservation reduced both enzymes and bacteria, keeping meat from going rancid. But it wasn't until the invention of mechanical refrigeration that cold storage became more widespread.

The 19^th century saw the introduction of mechanical refrigeration as well as methods of canning and pasteurization which added to the overall quality and safety of food preservation. Nicolus Appert, a French scientist, began sealing food in glass jars with cork, wire, and wax before placing them in boiling water. Appert discovered that this technique made the contents air-tight and kept out bacteria. But glass jars could also be cumbersome and would often explode due to pressure from the nonperishables packed into the jars.

At around this same time in England, there was increasing need to feed the navy as well as arctic explorers over long periods of time. Drying, pickling, or preserving in jars were the only methods of longer-term food preservation. Metal cans came into the picture when Peter Durand, a British merchant, patented a method of storing food in cans on behalf of French national Phillippe de Girard who had invented the method in 1811. Durand sold the patent to Bryan Donkin, a British inventor and manufacturer. Donkin began processing meat in iron tins, and this canned meat made its way to the English Royal household. Several days after King George III and Queen Charlotte tasted the canned meat, Donkin received a letter from the Duke of Kent telling him how much the King and Queen had enjoyed the meal. Soon the manufacturing company of Donkin, Hall, and Gamble began distributing canned foods to the British navy and eventually selling canned perishables throughout England and across the Atlantic to merchants in New York City.

Although canned goods could be purchased from England, it wasn't until an American, Gail Bordon, invented condensed milk in the 1850s that canned goods became commercially successful in the United States.

In the early years of the 20^th century the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its first guide to home food preservation. “Canning Vegetables in the Home” was published in the Farmer's Bulletin 359 in May 1909; a year later, “Canning Peaches on the Farm” appeared in the same publication.

Since that time, home canning has played a critical role in important eras of American history: growing and preserving one's own food helped many citizens supplement rationed food supplies during World Wars I and II; home canning was a means of survival for many families during the Great Depression of the 1930s; and the back-to-the-land movement of the 1960s and 1970s saw increased interest in preserving home-grown food. As many of us are well aware, a home canning resurgence occurred during the COVID pandemic, so much so that it became difficult to find canning jars for sale on grocery shelves.

The University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources offers a Master Food Preserver Program in some counties (alas, not in Butte County; the closest program is in Yuba County).  The Program's website contains all the information you need to start canning safely – including plenty of useful recipes.

If you'd like to try some very easy ways to preserve the summer's bounty, here are two simple no-fuss recipes.

Fruit Leather: Any fruit or combination of fruits works well

 Wash fruit (peel stone fruits)

Puree three cups of your chosen fruit or fruit combination in a blender

Add a teaspoon of lemon or lime juice

Add a tablespoon of honey (optional)

Spread mixture on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper and either bake at 150 degrees or leave in the sun (covered with cheese cloth) until dry.

Bread & Butter Pickles:

 Mix together:  2/3 cup sugar

                        1 cup cider or white vinegar

                        1 teaspoon turmeric

                        2 teaspoons salt

                        1 teaspoon mustard seed        

                        1 teaspoon celery seed

Slice three to five cucumbers into rounds about 3/16ths of an inch thick and put into the mixture cold. Bring to a boil and boil for two minutes.  Pack into jars and seal (or just pack into jars, forego the canning process and store in refrigerator – super easy!).  Makes 2 pints.

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, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.

Whiteflies are small, white-winged, low flying insects that flit erratically when disturbed.  Ten species are common in California.  Whiteflies feed on many crops, weeds, ornamentals, shrubs and trees, including citrus.  As one host plant dries up or is harvested, they move on to another host.  Eggs, laid on the underside of leaves, hatch and the young whiteflies gradually increase in size through four nymphal stages until the winged adult emerges.  All stages of whiteflies, from the barely visible crawler to the winged adult, suck juices from leaves.  A few whiteflies will not significantly damage plants, but large populations of the immature whiteflies can cause plant distortion, discoloration, or silvering of leaves.  Like aphids, whiteflies excrete honeydew, so leaves may become sticky or covered with black sooty mold.  Ants, drawn by the honeydew, fend off bugs that feed on whitefly larvae so controlling ants will aid in minimizing whitefly damage.  

Whiteflies provide the perfect forum for testing Integrated Pest Management.  They are difficult to control, so a multi-faceted, integrated approach will likely be necessary. Pesticides are particularly ineffective for whiteflies since application kills the beneficial insects that keep whiteflies in check and whiteflies quickly develop resistance to insecticides. The best control of whiteflies starts early.  Check the undersides of leaves for tiny oval eggs and barely visible larvae and begin whitefly control measures before you have a major infestation.  Spray the leaves with a stream of water to dislodge adult whiteflies and also the ants that protect the larvae from beneficial insects.  Remove heavily-infested leaves.Support healthy populations of beneficial insects by learning to recognize and protect these garden helpers: lacewings, lady beetles, big-eyed bugs, minute pirate bugs, and Trichogramma wasps (see inserts).  

Other measures that have proven useful include the use of row covers, using squash as a trap crop to protect tomatoes from whiteflies, the use of silver/aluminum mulch, and placing yellow sticky traps where the adults fly.  Yellow traps can be made from squares of quarter-inch-thick Masonite board or plywood, painted yellow and spread with a mixture of 1 part petroleum jelly or mineral oil to 1 part dish detergent.  Whiteflies are not high flyers, so place the trap low, with the sticky side facing the plant.  For more information on identifying and controlling the many species of whitefly, go to Whiteflies Management Guidelines Pestnote.

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, email the  Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at (530) 552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.