Do you associate vegetable gardening with the heat of summer, like fireworks on the Fourth of July or the drone of air conditioners on an August afternoon? The amazing thing about California is that we live in a Mediterranean climate zone with hot, dry summers and mild, (hopefully) wet winters, where we can grow food all year. Although Mediterranean climate zones comprise only about 2% of the earth's land surface, they host 20% of all plant species, and California produces the majority of fruits, nuts and vegetables for the entire United States. No other state comes close to California's output per acre. If you have been thinking about growing a garden to provide food for yourself and your family, now is the perfect time to start.

But wait! It's already September -- isn't it too late? Not at all, because every season of the year in California has a surprising variety of plants that can be grown for food right in your back (or front) yard. Last week's Real Dirt column focused on dirt: specifically, finding some! Once you have located your patch of soil, you're ready to begin a garden. The first step is to dig. This sounds uncomplicated, but there is actually more to it than you might imagine. Your soil has a structure that supports plant life as well as billions of bacteria and millions of microorganisms and fungi, not to mention nematodes and earthworms! Digging disturbs soil structure because it destroys soil aggregates, or tiny clumps, that create pore spaces in the soil used as pathways for water, oxygen and plant roots. The University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) recommends gardeners dig or turn over garden soil no more than once a season and doing so when the soil is moist but not wet to a depth of about 6 inches. A simple shovel works well. A small rototiller is another option (make sure it won't dig too deep). And you don't need to till or dig up the whole garden plot. One smart option is to dig planting rows about 18 inches wide, leaving walking spaces of 24 to 30 inches undisturbed between them. On the other hand, some gardeners do not dig at all, and instead use a gardening method called “No Till.” If you're not a fan of digging, this method is for you!

No Till gardening follows the pattern of nature, where organic materials like leaves and grasses decompose slowly on the surface of the ground, gradually mixing with soil minerals to create a rich growing medium for seeds that fall and take root. The soil is never turned over or disturbed. In No-Till gardening, you dig up a small amount of soil only where you'll plant seeds or bedding plants.

To start a No Till garden, first mow or trim any vegetation as close to the ground as possible, then water thoroughly and cover the area with cardboard or thick newspaper, dousing the cardboard or paper with water as well. Next, add a four- to six-inch layer of compost mixed with garden soil or worm castings. Compost can be purchased, but you can also make your own for free (for details see Compost in a Hurry (ANR Publication 8037). The cardboard or paper beneath the compost will gradually decompose over a period of six to ten months, along with the roots and closely-cut remains of the weeds, lawn or plants underneath the cardboard.

While waiting for decomposition to occur, you can plant seeds of shallow-rooted plants directly into the compost and soil mix.  Lettuce, spinach, and chard can all be planted this way.  You can also separate the cardboard and dig a narrow trench for your seeds, mixing fine soil with compost. For deeper-rooted bedding plants, cut an X or a circle in the cardboard and dig a hole for the plant.  Scoop out soil, add two to three shovelfuls of compost mix, and plant. The final step is to lay four to six inches of mulch on top, around your plants and over your walking paths; fallen leaves, grass clippings, straw, rice hulls or wood chips all work well for this. Some tree services offer loads of wood chips for free, and some feed stores give away straw or hay that accumulates on the storeroom floor, if you're willing to scoop it up. Over time, the mulch will break down and mix with your compost layer to renew and enrich the soil. For complete instructions on starting a No-Till garden click here. 

Once, your garden area is prepared you're ready to plant! Think about the vegetables you and your family enjoy eating. Common cool-season vegetables that are planted in the fall include asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, chives, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, Swiss chard, kale, leeks, lettuce, onions, garlic, parsnips, peas, radishes, spinach, and turnips. Consult these Master Gardener planting guides for the valley and foothills of Butte County for information on the best months to plant, when you can expect to harvest your crop, and whether to sow seeds or use bedding plants.

Cool season vegetables grow best in early fall when the soil temperature is between 55 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit in the root zone (four to six inches below the soil surface). All cool season vegetables can tolerate light frost, and some, like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, turnips, onions and garlic, for example, can survive even heavy frost. Keep in mind that once the weather turns wintery and soil temperature drops below about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, most vegetables grow very little or not at all until things warm up again in the spring. By getting your vegetables planted now, they will grow happily through the cool, crisp days of autumn until first frost, or even beyond! With a modest investment in seeds and bedding plants, you can put food on the table for yourself and your family, with the satisfaction of knowing you took that unused patch of dirt and transformed it into productive ground.

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) 538-7201. 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 Hotline webpage.

“Gardening from the Ground Up,” a recent three-part Master Gardener Workshop series, focused on gardening practices that use natural methods and systems to create healthy soils and beautiful plants grown in an environment without using chemical pesticides.  Presented by Master Gardener Cheryl Cozad, the workshops explored three basic principles of Regenerative Agriculture: 1) Minimize Disruption; 2) No Bare Soil; and 3) Diversity. (This series of workshops, along with others offered this Fall are available for viewing on the Master Gardener YouTube channel which is also linked on our webpage).

“Regenerative” and “sustainable” are current buzzwords for practices in farming and home gardening that are integrated with nature's cycles and utilize natural systems instead of chemicals and petroleum byproducts to produce nutritious food and a healthy environment. Before a review and summary of the ideas explored in Cozad's workshops, let's take a brief tour through the history of modern human food production.

Ten to twelve thousand years ago, the Agricultural Revolution was the new kid on the block. For eons prior to that, humans had lived primarily as nomadic hunters and gatherers, nourishing our bodies with seasonally available plants and animals. The sudden (in evolutionary terms) shift to staying put geographically and cultivating and storing food fundamentally changed the way many humans perceived, treated, and interacted with the ecosystems that sustained them. Living in one place throughout the year enabled an “ownership” mentality (both of land and dwellings); and humans learned to manipulate the natural world that surrounded them.

Some two hundred and fifty years ago, the Industrial Revolution further severed our connection with nature's systems and led great numbers of us away from farms and into cities. At the end of World War II, the move towards industrializing our nation's production and distribution of food accelerated. Most pertinent to this discussion is the development of products during wartime that saved lives by controlling malaria mosquitoes and lice. Once the war ended, this effective chemical pest control was leveraged to protect crop plants from other insect pests.

At the time, these chemicals seemed like answers to farmers' and consumers' prayers. Imagine the miracle of pesticides when your crop was not destroyed by pests and consumers received blemish-free produce. The miracle of herbicides provided relief from the backbreaking labor of hoeing and weeding. Anecdotal evidence abounds of farm children running behind the truck spraying DDT, and rural residents and towns had the sheer delight of a few hours' freedom from the torment of mosquitos.

Since then we've recognized the dangers of chemical substances to our health and to our environment. The first generation of broad spectrum agricultural chemicals in use through the 1970s have been replaced by much more environmentally sensitive products that control pests selectively while preserving beneficial insects. Different classes of materials in use in agriculture are now rotated to prevent resistance and are used at rates of ounces per acre instead of pounds per acre as were the early pesticides.  We now know that cancers have been linked to many chemicals in our environment; from some used in agriculture, to moth balls protecting clothes in our closets, to fire retardants on household fabrics, and including the gasoline that fuels our cars!  Chemical use has changed significantly as our knowledge of these products has improved.  Although cancer occurrence has increased in our lifetime, our life expectancy has also increased as other diseases that shortened life have been controlled by vaccines and pharmaceutical chemicals.

So -- how do we return to a method of gardening that works to regenerate soil and create healthy and nutritious food, while minimizing the use of pesticides and protecting our environment?  Cozad's research into Regenerative Agriculture, presented in her workshops, supplies many answers.

Part One, “Minimize Disruption,” assessed the advantages of No Till gardening to support the natural interaction of plants and microbes. Billions of beneficial critters inhabit the soil micro-biome;  the bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, mites, spiders, and earthworms all work together to create a careful balance of nutrients on which plants thrive. Cozad discussed how mechanized farming tills the soil releasing carbon into the atmosphere, compared with the no till method, which actually sequesters carbon. [The no-till system has been widely adopted in Midwest agriculture as a means of reducing erosion and saving fuel when farming annual crops.  Ninety-five percent of orchards farmed in California now use a non-tillage method of orchard floor management where weeds are mowed instead.]  Here in the Northstate, CSUC's Center for Regenerative Agriculture promotes no-till methods, and no-till is used at the University Farm.  Cozad also explored the deleterious effects of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides on soil and plants.

In Part Two, “No Bare Soil,” Cozad looked at the role compost plays in keeping soil and plants healthy. Starting with two questions: “What does compost do?” and “Is all compost created equal?” she dove into the differences between and benefits of bacterial- and fungal- dominant compost; discussed the principle of keeping live roots in the soil; and offered examples of succession planting to utilize this Fall and year-round. By composting, gardeners can effectively reduce all of the following: the loss of microbial life in the soil; erosion caused by wind and water; soil compaction; and soil temperatures (critical to us, given the hot summers we experience here in Butte County).

In Part Three, “Diversity,” Cozad connected these concepts to the home gardener. Delving into research about the value of multi-species cover crops to soil and adjacent plants, Cozad offered details about what to plant when, and for what purpose. A color-coded cover crop chart prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) makes it easy to customize cover crops by noting whether they are cool or warm season plants, and divides them by type (grasses, broadleaf plants, or legumes).  The chart further categorizes them by growth cycle; plant architecture; and relative water use. Cozad also noted the many different purposes of cover crops: do you need to break up heavy soils, or add nitrogen? Perhaps you want to add organic matter to your soil or suppress weed growth. Some cover crops control erosion, others can attract beneficial pollinators or help manage plant pests. It's truly amazing what a little diversity can accomplish. 

Cozad peppered her review of the academic research and emerging body of knowledge about regenerative agricultural practices with examples of successes and failures from her own experiences. Throughout her talk, her passion for putting theory into practice in her own garden, and her sincere desire to make our world a better place for all flora and fauna, was clear. This passion was especially apparent at the end of the third workshop, where she included the intriguing concept of Quorum Sensing. This is the ability of bacteria, including those that reside in humans, to create a large enough quorum of beneficial cells, micro-biomes, systems, and environments to suppress disease. She ended her presentation with an invitation and invocation to us all: “You have become a part of the quorum to protect earth's surface.” Hear, hear! Please watch her entire series to learn how.

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 (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.

Do you associate vegetable gardening with the heat of summer, like fireworks on the Fourth of July or the drone of air conditioners on an August afternoon? The amazing thing about California is that we live in a Mediterranean climate zone with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, where we can grow food all year.

Although Mediterranean climate zones comprise only about 2% of the earth's land surface, they host 20% of all plant species, and California produces the majority of fruits, nuts and vegetables for the entire United States. No other state comes close to California's output per acre. If you have been thinking about growing a garden to provide food for yourself and your family, now is the perfect time to start.

But wait! It's already September -- isn't it too late? Not at all, because every season of the year in California has a surprising variety of plants that can be grown for food right in your back (or front) yard. Last week's Real Dirt column focused on dirt: specifically, finding some! Once you have located your patch of soil, you're ready to begin a garden. The first step is to dig. This sounds uncomplicated, but there is actually more to it than you might imagine. Your soil has a structure that supports plant life as well as billions of bacteria and millions of microorganisms and fungi, not to mention nematodes and earthworms! Digging disturbs soil structure because it destroys soil aggregates, or tiny clumps, that create pore spaces in the soil used as pathways for water, oxygen and plant roots. The University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) recommends gardeners dig or turn over garden soil no more than once a season and doing so when the soil is moist but not wet to a depth of about 6 inches. A simple shovel works well. A small rototiller is another option (make sure it won't dig too deep). And you don't need to till or dig up the whole garden plot. One smart option is to dig planting rows about 18 inches wide, leaving walking spaces of 24 to 30 inches undisturbed between them. On the other hand, some gardeners do not dig at all, and instead use a gardening method called “No Till.” If you're not a fan of digging, this method is for you!

No Till gardening follows the pattern of nature, where organic materials like leaves and grasses decompose slowly on the surface of the ground, gradually mixing with soil minerals to create a rich growing medium for seeds that fall and take root. The soil is never turned over or disturbed. In No-Till gardening, you dig up a small amount of soil only where you'll plant seeds or bedding plants.

To start a No Till garden, first mow or trim any vegetation as close to the ground as possible, then water thoroughly and cover the area with cardboard or thick newspaper, dousing the cardboard or paper with water as well. Next, add a four- to six-inch layer of compost mixed with garden soil or worm castings. Compost can be purchased, but you can also make your own for free (for details see Compost in a Hurry). The cardboard or paper beneath the compost will gradually decompose over a period of six to ten months, along with the roots and closely-cut remains of the weeds, lawn or plants underneath the cardboard.

While waiting for decomposition to occur, you can plant seeds of shallow-rooted plants directly into the compost and soil mix.  Lettuce, spinach, and chard can all be planted this way.  You can also separate the cardboard and dig a narrow trench for your seeds, mixing fine soil with compost. For deeper-rooted bedding plants, cut an X or a circle in the cardboard and dig a hole for the plant.  Scoop out soil, add two to three shovelfuls of compost mix, and plant. The final step is to lay four to six inches of mulch on top, around your plants and over your walking paths; fallen leaves, grass clippings, straw, rice hulls or wood chips all work well for this. Some tree services offer loads of wood chips for free, and some feed stores give away straw or hay that accumulates on the storeroom floor, if you're willing to scoop it up. Over time, the mulch will break down and mix with your compost layer to renew and enrich the soil. For complete instructions on starting a No-Till garden go to:  Work Less and Grow More Vegetables with “No Till” Gardening.

Once, your garden area is prepared you're ready to plant! Think about the vegetables you and your family enjoy eating. Common cool-season vegetables that are planted in the fall include asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, chives, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, Swiss chard, kale, leeks, lettuce, onions, garlic, parsnips, peas, radishes, spinach, and turnips. Consult these Master Gardener planting guides for the valley and foothills of Butte County for information on the best months to plant, when you can expect to harvest your crop, and whether to sow seeds or use bedding plants.

Cool season vegetables grow best in early fall when the soil temperature is between 55 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit in the root zone (four to six inches below the soil surface). All cool season vegetables can tolerate light frost, and some, like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, turnips, onions and garlic, for example, can survive even heavy frost. Keep in mind that once the weather turns wintery and soil temperature drops below about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, most vegetables grow very little or not at all until things warm up again in the spring. By getting your vegetables planted now, they will grow happily through the cool, crisp days of autumn until first frost, or even beyond! With a modest investment in seeds and bedding plants, you can put food on the table for yourself and your family, with the satisfaction of knowing you took that unused patch of dirt and transformed it into productive ground.

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, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.

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.