The Real Dirt Blog

Residential Hedgerows

If you are planning to put some new plants in the ground now so they will be established when spring comes around, consider planting a hedgerow. In urban and suburban areas, fences or hedges...
Planting Bare-Root Fruit Trees

There are several advantages to planting bare-root trees: they are usually less expensive, easier for gardeners to transport, and they will grow their roots entirely into native soil (rather than...
The Hidden Beauty of Fall-Planted Bulbs

Autumn has finally arrived! We have shorter cooler days, and the leaves are turning brilliant Fall colors. Gardeners with some foresight and planning can use this time of year to plant bulbs...
Edible Extras: Don’t Throw It Away If You Can Eat It!

Each year, the U.S. throws away between 30% and 40% of the food produced for human consumption (over $161 billion worth). Roughly 20% of the total volume of waste sent to landfills is food. If you...
Starting from the Ground Up: Steps to Turning a Garden Space into a Habitat

Do you have an undeveloped garden area you'd like to turn into a landscape that grows native plants and supplies habitat and food for pollinators? Perhaps you'd like to do most of the work yourself,...
CSU Chico’s Campus Greenhouse is a Hub of Discovery and Learning

Located between playing fields and pickleball courts along a popular bikeway into the main CSU Chico campus, the Biological Sciences Greenhouse is a state-of-the-art botanical and agricultural...
How to Keep on Gardening as We Get Older

“Gardening becomes increasingly difficult as we age, yet the garden beckons as strongly as ever,” notes Butte County Master Gardener Kay Perkins. Our bodies become less limber and agile,...
Living With Oaks in the Home Landscape

No doubt you have seen many species of oaks living in wild areas of Northern California. But native oaks can also be attractive and beneficial additions to the home landscape. There are...
Espalier Gardening

There is a bit of ancient Rome and a taste of old Egypt at the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden at the Patrick Ranch. Butte County MGs are practicing espaliering, the early horticultural art of...
Growing Blueberries

If you've been wanting to grow your own blueberries, fall is a good time to plant a blueberry bush (or two, or three) in our climate. Many hybrid Southern highbush blueberry varieties have been...
Succulents: Make Your Own Plants!

Butte County has a Mediterranean climate where drought conditions occur naturally from May to October. A wide variety of succulent plants have become popular across the country in recent years, and...
Compost

Many backyard gardeners are familiar with composting, a process which recycles yard trimmings along with vegetable and fruit scraps from the kitchen. Compost, a humus-like soil, results from...
Garden Tools

People new to gardening often ask what tools are needed to maintain their gardens. It's easy to become overwhelmed by the scope and variety of garden tools available in stores, online, and in garden...
Daffodils from January to April

It is time to order spring-blooming bulbs from the many catalogs that may be turning up in our mailboxes. Daffodils are perhaps the easiest bulbs to depend upon for a colorful display that can...
Think Beyond the Thermometer and Start Fall Crops Now

Cool season plants like a warm start, so it's not too early to begin adding some of them to the vegetable garden now. In this way you can extend the harvest of both warm season crops and cool...
Master Gardener Fall 2023 Workshop Series

A new season of Master Gardener Workshops is about to start! The series begins with a two-parter designed to help us make the most of our summer produce: “Canning Fruits & Pickles: The...
High Summer in the Native Plant Garden

We Californians understand the concept of summer dormancy: “Those hills aren't brown, they're beautifully golden!” We know that the cycle of seasons plays out a bit more dramatically...
Pluots for the Home Orchard

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...
The Master Gardener Program: Its History, Local Projects, and How to Join

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...
Food Preservation

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...