It's not too soon to start thinking about fall garden clean-up. As days begin to shorten and temperatures begin to cool (fingers crossed!), the pace of gardening slows along with plant growth. But there is still plenty to be done during the fall and winter months. In fact, much of what is done in the garden in October and November will set the tone for the following year.
Consider planting a winter garden. Radish, spinach, pea and onion seeds can be planted in October or November. Cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce and turnip seedlings can be planted in November. If you don't want a winter garden, clean up your summer garden and mulch it with straw, grass clippings or chopped leaves. Mulch will discourage weeds and provide soil nutrients for next year's garden.
Planting bare root trees and shrubs during their winter dormancy allows healthy root systems to develop before budding out in the spring. Fall is also the time to plant bulbs and perennials. Squirrels can notice disturbed soil and may dig up tulips and other bulbs. Disguise your work by flooding the soil surface with water and then covering the soil with mulch.
Renovate garden beds by weeding, adding organic matter, and tilling the soil to a depth of at least six inches. Refresh existing mulch around established plantings.
Conduct an irrigation review and adjust your watering schedule to reflect the lower water requirements of fall and winter. Make any repairs (such as fixing broken pipes, hoses, or damaged sprinkler heads) before spring. If you have an automatic system, be sure it is operating correctly.
If you plan to create new garden beds, fall is a good time to do it before you are faced with the rush of spring gardening jobs. And if you plan on creating a new bed in an existing lawn area, a good method is to cover it with a thick layer of newspaper topped with a layer of mulch. This will kill the lawn (as long as it's not a dormant perennial like Bermuda grass) and the bed will be ready to be worked in early spring without the effort of manually removing the sod.
Want to be sure you make the most of the fall and winter months in your garden? Attend our free workshop, “It's A Wrap! Autumn Garden Clean-up, Winter Prep, and Preservation” on October 19th, part of the Master Gardeners' Fall 2024 Workshop Series. For more information, and to register, visit our website.
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 Autumn! As we shift to cooler weather, take time to evaluate your garden's damage and stress caused by this summer's extreme heat. This is the perfect time to devise long-term cooling and shading strategies to reduce sun and heat damage in the future.
Write down your observations, keeping in mind the damaged plant species, location in the garden, and daily hours of exposure to sunlight and shade, especially during the summer months. Be sure to note whether the plant receives hot afternoon sun (western/southern exposure) rather than a kinder eastern morning sun exposure. Note any nearby hardscaping, decorative rocks, pathways, concrete, or buildings that reflect heat and sunlight or radiate heat overnight. Take time to analyze soil condition, moisture, watering system coverage, mulch, and any other directly involved factors.
Armed with all your information, ask the following question for each affected plant: is the plant species the right match for its location in terms of summer sunlight? While it's heartbreaking to accept, sometimes the plant isn't suited to our extreme heat conditions, no matter what we do to protect it. A gardener must weigh the time and effort required to safeguard a mismatched plant in our environment. The payoff might not be worth it.
More often, the plant will grow well in our area when relocated to another spot that provides a more appropriate microenvironment. Research the best time to transplant the particular plant species and follow the instructions accordingly. Be mindful of the sun and shade conditions in the plant's new location and be prepared to incorporate some of the following suggestions to protect your plant, even in its improved location.
If the plant can't be relocated, consider incorporating seasonal landscaping solutions. Plant taller, more sun-tolerant annuals or biennials like hollyhocks and sunflowers that cast shade to protect a shorter plant during the harsh summer months. Staking these taller plants may be necessary. A perennial hedge, situated to provide shade during the afternoons, is a longer-term solution.
Dark shade cloth, available in rolls, will also help, but for less unsightly long-term solutions, consider more attractive shade cloth awnings. There are many shapes and colors available; choose a knitted screening cloth with a 30-60% density rating. Permanent, buried concrete footings can be established to hold removable poles or supports that elevate the shade cloth. Even better, cable systems attached to permanent structures by hooks and turnbuckles are excellent ways to create an adequately elevated, taut cover. Build as much flexibility into your shade cloth system as possible so it can easily be removed after the summer to allow winter light in.
Another visually attractive solution combines annual plantings with hardscaping design. Interlace your landscaping with strategically placed lattice panels or other decorative open fencing tall enough to provide shade for low shrubs, ornamentals, and roses. Fence placement should focus on reducing your garden's exposure to the hot south or western sun. Plant fast-growing annual vines to temporarily climb on the fencing to add visual interest and, of course, increase shading possibilities.
Trees, especially quick-growing, tall, narrow trees, are another longer-term way to provide shade in extreme heat. Thoughtful analysis, planning and selection is essential when planting trees to establish a permanent break from hot afternoon sun. Pruning to properly shape and manage tree height may be necessary.
Concrete paths and driveways often increase daytime reflective light and temperatures and radiate excessive overnight heat near plants that need to cool down. Removing the concrete and replacing it with gravel is an option. Any gravel materials will store heat during the day and radiate it back at night but gravel can raise humidity if the underlying soil is moist, possibly helping to cool nearby areas[O1] . Extending mulch onto the concrete can be a short-term alternative. As is often the case, adding deep mulch throughout your landscape is a very beneficial way to reduce heat and dryness experienced by a plant's surface roots.
Adding an outdoor fountain or other type of water feature is another way to cool things down. As the mist from a fountain evaporates, it cools the surrounding air. The increased humidity from mist helps heat-stressed plants and even aids in flower retention. Misting systems are a good alternative if a water feature is out of the question. Placing time-controlled mist emitters high in trees and along rooflines of garden buildings can bring extreme temperatures down quite a bit.
When adopting these cooling solutions, be open to flexibility and possibility. Future extreme heat events, each unique, will require you to adapt your landscape planning to weather changes. If something doesn't work out, try a different strategy. Eventually, your garden will be a happier, and hopefully cooler, oasis.
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.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a science-based pest management process which focuses on managing the ecosystem for the long-term prevention of pests and the damage they cause. The University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) has developed an IPM program dedicated to helping Californians “prevent and solve pest problems with the least unintended impacts on people and their environment.” For the home gardener, a guiding principle of IPM is to understand why your landscape favors particular pests, and then enact changes which will make that environment less attractive to those pests.
One component of the IPM approach is to use biological control measures rather than pesticides to curtail garden pests whenever possible. This usually involves creating conditions that attract the natural enemies of pests. For rodent control, owls are an often-overlooked ally of both home gardeners and farmers.
According to the Altacal chapter of the Audubon Society, ten different species of owls can be found in Butte County. Of these, eight are permanent residents: Barn Owls, Great Horned Owls, Western Screech Owls, Northern Pygmy Owls, Burrowing Owls, Spotted Owls, Long-eared Owls, and Short-eared Owls. Since most owls are nocturnal, they aren't easily seen in the wild, but birders often recognize different species by their distinctive calls. [The National Audubon Society has a website with recordings of the calls of different bird species, including owls]. I've never seen them, but I regularly hear Great Horned Owls and Screech Owls around my home in the foothills above Oroville.
Nest boxes are commercially available but can be expensive. For the DIYer, nest box plans for various owl species are available at no charge from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Either the roof or one side of a nest box should be hinged to create a door that can be opened for cleaning after any owlets have fledged and left the nest. Quarter to half-inch holes drilled near the roof will aid air circulation and similar holes in the floor will allow drainage if necessary. Lay wood chips or wood shavings on the floor of the box for bedding. The box should be placed at least 15-20 feet above the ground with the opening facing northeast.
Owl safety is a consideration when deciding if it is appropriate for you to attract them to your property. Do you have high speed roadways nearby where owls could collide with vehicles? Do you or nearby property owners regularly use pesticides, herbicides, or other potentially harmful chemicals? As predators, owls are particularly susceptible to such chemicals as they often become more concentrated as they pass up the food chain. Additionally, the light pollution produced by porch and outdoor lights can be confusing and act as deterrents to these nighttime hunters.
It is important to preserve large trees because most owls prefer mature trees for roosting, hunting, and nesting. Dead snags can provide nesting cavities but can be hazardous in fire areas. Finally, think about family pets. A hungry owl could make a meal of a small dog or house cat. (I have a sneaking suspicion Great Horned Owls are the reason our local feral cat population has been kept in check).
The natural habitat preference of a particular owl species will help guide the decision on which species to attract. Four owl species found in Butte County with varying habitat needs are good examples of how habitat influences owl distribution: Barn Owls, Great Horned Owls, Burrowing Owls, and Western Screech Owls.
Barn Owls are medium-sized owls, with adults standing 13 to 16 inches tall and weighing between one and one and a half pounds. They usually hunt within one to three miles of their roost and are only mildly territorial, so you can put up several nest boxes in an area with possibly multiple families taking up residence. Great Horned Owls are the fiercest predators of Barn Owls, while collisions with cars also contribute heavily to the Barn Owl death toll.
Barn Owls seem to be the go-to owl when it comes to biological control of rodent pests, dominating the literature on owls and IPM. According to several studies, pocket gophers, mice, and voles constitute most of the Barn Owl diet. In fact, 99.5% of prey creatures studied were agriculture pests, so clearly owls can provide valuable pest control services for farmers. According to UCANR, a family of five Barn Owls, including two adults and three young, will feed on about 1,000 rodents during a season. Because they prefer to hunt in more open areas, they readily hunt in vineyards, alfalfa fields, and along levees, making them valuable allies for farmers practicing IPM. Over a three-year period, one study found that Barn Owls killed more than 30,000 rodents in a single vineyard for a fraction of the cost of trapping or poisoning: “the average cost of trapping was $8.11 per pocket gopher versus $0.34 per rodent taken by Barn Owls.”
Growing up to two feet tall, weighing three pounds, and with a wingspan of nearly four feet, this huge, powerful bird is the largest owl in North America. It gets its name from tufts of feathers (“horns”) projecting from its head. Fierce predators, they will hunt prey weighing up to 15 pounds, including rabbits, grouse, and skunks (and family pets!), as well as smaller prey such as squirrels and mice. Great Horned Owls will hunt and kill all other owls, so don't place Great Horned Owl nest baskets near any other owl boxes.
Burrowing Owls have historically preferred nesting in prairies and grasslands -- areas with short grass or exposed soil where they can excavate their burrows. Today they can also be found on farms, golf courses, vacant lots, and even airports. Unlike other owls, Burrowing Owls nest in underground burrows and these sorts of open spaces facilitate burrow construction. These owls will often commandeer and enlarge burrows started by other animals. Property owners who can offer this kind of habitat can further encourage Burrowing Owls to take up residence by starting an artificial burrow that these owls can complete.
Another small owl, the Western Screech Owl ranges in size from seven to ten inches tall and weighs between three and a half and eleven ounces. Western Screech Owls have a wide-ranging diet that includes everything from worms and crayfish to rats and bats. They will even take prey larger than themselves, such as cottontail rabbits or mallard ducks. Although they are gutsy hunters, if they are frightened these masters of camouflage will elongate their body and tighten their feathers so that they appear to be a branch stub.
Owls can be a valuable ally for farmers and homeowners who wish to practice biological pest control. With a little research and relatively minimal effort they can be encouraged to take up residence near you.
Want to learn more about Integrated Pest Management? Attend our free workshop on October 15th, part of the Master Gardeners' Fall 2024 Workshop Series. For more information visit our website.
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 an exasperating experience. You go to the nursery, pick out a flowering plant, shrub, or tree and bring it home only to have some critter damage or destroy it within the first week. Pests cause damage and waste time and money. The most common pests in the home landscape and garden are voles, moles, and gophers. By knowing what you're dealing with, it will be easier to eradicate the problem.
Voles are active both day and night and do not hibernate. They are shy creatures and build complex tunnels under dense ground cover such as lawns, grasses, and meadows. They live in colonies, spending most of their lives underground. Voles have an extremely short life cycle, living just three to six months, but females can become pregnant at three weeks old. The gestation period for female voles is sixteen to twenty-four days. A typical litter is five to eight baby voles. Young voles become self-sufficient after several days, at which time the mother vole moves on to find another partner to mate with. Because of their rapid reproductive rate, one mating vole pair can be responsible for producing one hundred voles (offspring, offspring of offspring, you get the picture) in a year. Even a single pair of voles can rapidly become a vole kingdom.
Modifying the habitat can be effective in controlling vole populations. Keeping the yard cleared of dense vegetation, any lawn mown, and shrub branches trimmed up off the ground can deter voles. Circling tree trunks with guard mesh is also helpful. Voles often thrive underneath weed cloth put down to prevent weeds from growing around ornamentals, and beneath mulch used to keep plant roots cool in the summer. Removing both is a deterrent tactic. It is also helpful to remove bird feeders, or control birdseed spillage. Keeping birdseed off the ground reduces food for voles.
Exclusion, repellants, and traps are more effective means of controlling voles. Hardware cloth (with one-quarter inch or smaller mesh) can be a useful barrier. The cloth can be fashioned into a fence at least twelve inches high and buried three inches in the ground to surround flower beds. Baskets can be made or purchased to protect trees and shrubs. Because coyote and fox urines are stressful to voles, application encourages them to move on. Coyote urine and fox urine can be purchased online. Repellants containing capsaicin (and active component of chili peppers) and thiram (a fungicide) have also proved to be effective on ornamental plants, but remember that repellants often wash away with rain and need to be reapplied. Although bait is not required, peanut butter mixed with oatmeal can be smeared on trap triggers when using mouse traps to eradicate voles. Two to three traps need to be set by each hole or runway. Baited traps need to be covered with a box or PVC pipe to deter other critters such as birds and squirrels. Make sure the box has a one-inch hole cut out in order to allow the vole to reach the trap.
Gophers. Like voles, pocket gophers are rodents and herbivores. They prefer the fleshy underside of plants and roots. Called pocket gophers because of their furry cheek pouches that carry food and nesting materials, these critters are larger than either moles or voles, ranging from six to ten inches long. Gophers have long, yellow-orange front teeth, small eyes and ears, and short tails.
Gophers can wreak havoc on a row of plants by pulling entire plants down into their tunnels. They use their sense of smell to locate a source of food, preferring herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees. Gophers will also gnaw on drip irrigation tubes and hoses.
Gophers reach sexual maturity at one year. Females produce up to three litters a year, with an average of five to six offspring per litter. Gophers live alone in their burrows except when females are caring for their young or during mating system. Since gophers can live up to three years, a gopher colony can become quite large over time.
Voles, moles, and gophers can wreak havoc in the garden but they can be managed using various methods to control, deter, or eradicate. Consider your natural environment, whether children and pets can be harmed by deterrents, the expense of the deterrent method, and your commitment to the program of eradication when choosing a plan to deal with these pests.
For further information, see Kim Pokomy, Moles, voles and gophers dig the garden | OSU Extension Service (oregonstate.edu).
For in-person help in dealing with these critters (including a demonstration on exactly how to set a gopher trap), attend our free workshop on gophers, moles, and voles October 9th, part of the Master Gardeners' Fall 2024 Workshop Series. For details, and to register, visit our website.
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.
- Author: Bonita Malone, UC Master Gardener of Butte County
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. Also known as fire chasers or fire bugs, these beetles are often the very first to arrive at the scene of a conflagration. By using pheromones, chemical signals, and auditory cues, and monitoring temperature and humidity, Melanophila acuminata will fly over eighty miles to a freshly burned forest. Once there, they meet up, mate, and lay eggs, thriving in places most living creatures avoid.
Once they have arrived at the scene of a fire, Melanophila acuminata use sucking mouthparts to ingest tree and plant fluids. Chemical cues from burned vegetation determine the optimum time and place for egg laying. Strong social bonding guides their nesting behavior, provides protection from enemies, aids in finding food, and helps them rear their young.
The eggs, laid under the burned bark of trees, primarily conifers, cannot survive the repelling chemical defenses of healthy trees. Indeed, the eggs are sometimes laid in wood that is still smoldering. To ensure the survival of the young, the parent beetle secretes a nutritious meal made from microorganisms, fungus, aphids, scale insects and occasionally animal flesh. Parents groom and guard the offspring to support a healthy brood.
In short, Melanophila acuminata are complex, innovative creatures. But we hope they are not causing more trouble (and pain) for our much-appreciated firefighters.
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.
Photo Credit for Melanophila acuminata by AG Prof. Schmitz