The Real Dirt Blog

Owls Contribute to an Integrated Pest Management Program

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...
Serious Garden Pests: Voles, Moles, and Gophers

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...
The Black Fire Beetle: As if Firefighters Didn’t Have Enough to Worry About….

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...
Lawn Removal: Do It Right

We have endured multiple years of drought, and are probably in store for more. For many of us, it makes sense to replace all or part of our lawn area with less water-intensive plantings. If you...
Master Gardener 2024 Fall Workshop Series

A new season of Master Gardener Workshops is about to start! The series begins September 9th with a session on Neighborhood Habitat Certification, and concludes on December 3rd with a timely workshop...
Hold Your Ground: Mitigating the Effects of Fire on Your Soil

I first heard the term on the local evening news in fall of 2018: Meteorologist Kris Kuyper was talking about hydrophobic soils. This potentially catastrophic natural phenomenon seems...
Does Extreme Heat Mean Taking Extreme Measures in Your Garden?

How is your garden holding up during our all-too-frequent summer heat waves? Chances are you're seeing scorched leaves, deformed flowers, severe die-back, blistered branches, constant wilting, and...
Fighting Blossom End Rot

Are your tomatoes not looking their beautiful best this year? They may be suffering from blossom end rot. Blossom end rot first appears as a small, water-soaked spot on the blossom end of a...
Are Your Tomatoes Feeling the Heat?

It's hot. Tomatoes like heat, right? Actually, tomatoes like warm weather, between 65 and 85 degrees. When temperatures soar past 95, tomatoes stop growing. In that kind of heat, their flowers...
A Native Plant Garden is Planned for the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in Willows is headquarters to the Sacramento National Wildlife Complex. In January of this year, construction was completed on a beautiful new headquarters...
Elderberry

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....
The Desert Willow: A Beautiful Small Tree for Native Gardens

Chilopsis linearis, the desert willow or desert catalpa, is prized in dry gardens for its showy, fragrant blossoms which cover the tree in summer. When many native bloomers are past their...
Local Trees: Consider the Redbud

Redbuds in bloom are a most welcome harbinger of spring. Their dense clusters of magenta flowers bloom early, providing splashes of color against a winter landscape of browns and grays. Is the name...
Local Trees: The Enchanting Dogwood

Ideally, you'd be reading this in very early spring, when the dogwood bloom is beginning to work its elegant magic in the older neighborhoods fanning out from Lower Bidwell Park and downtown Chico....
Local Trees: The Cork Oak

Why are wine bottles tall and narrow? That distinctive shape contributes to the happy marriage between cork and a bottle made tall enough to lie on its side so the wine can “breathe”...
Local Trees: The Pacific Madrone – Rare in Lower Bidwell Park

A beautiful tree sits on the north side of Little Chico Creek, shading the picnic table at site #34 in Lower Bidwell Park. Its thick, smooth lower branches are perfect for climbing, and its form is...
Shrubs for Shady Spots in the Garden

Summers are getting hotter in much of the U.S., including our local environment. One way to counteract this change in climate is by planting trees to provide more shade in the summer...
Best Friends in the Garden—Companion Planting

Companion planting combines diverse plants in an informed manner to bring a balanced ecosystem into the garden. This approach to gardening has been used by organic gardeners for decades. ...
How Plants Adapt to Their Environment

Next time you go for a walk in Upper Park, look closely at the different plants you see. Notice the enormous diversity of shapes, colors, and forms. There are trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals,...
Azaleas are a Great Perennial Choice

A colorful perennial has been brightening spring gardens for many weeks. Azaleas are the easy-to-care-for stars of semi-shaded locations. The most common varieties are evergreen azaleas,...