This Fall we are offering over a dozen workshops.  We have quite a few new topics on tap, as well as a timely four-part series on Landscaping with Fire. Most workshops will be held in-person at our outdoor classroom located in our Demonstration Garden at Patrick Ranch, on the Midway just south of Chico. Covid safety protocols will be followed for all in-person workshops, and numbers of participants will be limited.  All workshops are free and take place in the morning; none are more than two hours long. Registration is required. You can register and find more information here.  The series includes the following workshops.

Drought Triage.  Join us at our Demonstration Garden on Wednesday, September 8, to learn how, where, and when to best use our increasingly scarce water resources in your home landscape. The focus will be on determining which plants to save (and why) and the best methods of applying irrigation to them. It's important that we conserve water and save as many plants, particularly shade-producing trees, as possible. The Master Gardeners are committed to helping with that effort.

On Tuesday, September 14, learn about Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardening in the Edible Garden section of our Demonstration Garden. The satisfaction of growing your own food doesn't have to end when summer does! Vegetable gardening in milder weather with (hopefully) irrigation by rain can make for a more enjoyable, leisurely garden experience. Join this workshop to learn how to transition through the seasons by preparing your garden beds to grow fall and winter vegetables and selecting vegetables that perform best in our climate.

Berry and Grape Care also takes place in the Edible Garden, and features the berry and grape garden we planted earlier this year. On Friday, September 17, learn about the best varieties to plant in our climate, along with optimum methods of planting, training, pruning, irrigating, and harvesting. In addition to grapes, the workshop will cover blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, even Goji berries and elderberries, plus any other brambleberry fruits of interest to participants. Bring your questions!

This year's popular class on how to get the most out of our Garden Guide and Three-Year Journal is offered on Monday, September 20, outside at Magnolia Gift & Garden. We will discuss using the Garden Guide to determine the best times to perform seasonal and weekly garden tasks, as well as find useful information on plants, climate, and soil for our region. An integral part of this workshop is using the Garden Guide to record lessons learned and keep track of useful plant and weather information for your garden over the years. Written by UC Master Gardeners of Butte County, this publication is full of material about our local climate, plants, and wildlife, and includes weekly tips and fun facts.

Learn about Irrigation and Maintenance on Wednesday, September 29. Drip irrigation is arguably the most efficient method of providing water to trees, crops, gardens, and landscapes. This workshop, held at our Demonstration Garden, will provide an overview of different options available for drip irrigation systems and how to install them. You will also learn how to troubleshoot and inspect your system, and how to make repairs when needed.

Another favorite hands-on workshop, Propagation, will be held on Monday, September 27, at our Demonstration Garden.  Learn the best time to propagate woody perennials and divide plants; how to select and make cuttings; the proper techniques for dividing plants; the best planting mediums to use; and how to plant cuttings and divided plants. You will get to take home several plant starts from cuttings in our Demonstration Garden. Bring your own garden pruners; all other materials will be provided.

Our October workshops include the new topic When to Control Pests? Degree Days Tell Us, in Pat's Barn at Patrick Ranch, on Friday, October 8, from 9 to 10:30 am. This new workshop features scientific information on how to treat for pests based on outdoor temperature and plant growth stages. Both plants and insects reach each developmental stage according to the amount of heat they experience. A simple on-line University of California app calculates this heat as degree days. UC research has determined the degree days necessary for the developmental stages of different kinds of insect pests.  The best control is to time treatments for when the insect pest is at its most vulnerable stage. In this workshop, we'll walk through examples for some common pests by getting degree days, applying UC treatment-timing research, and choosing a treatment.

Landscaping for a Future with Fire is a four-part series recorded from last year's OLLI presentations and offered this year on Zoom each Wednesday in October from 10 to 11 am. Register for any or all of the presentation dates below. A live question and answer period will follow each presentation. The series focuses on preparing our homes and landscapes for the new reality of living with fire. Throughout these workshops we will be discussing natural regeneration, erosion, fire ecology, and the characteristics of plants that provide the best fire resistance.  The four parts of this series are as follows:

Defensible Space will air on October 6. Since the Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County in 2017, our understanding of the best way to design defensible space around the home through hardscape and plant choices has been revised and refined. In this workshop, learn about current state guidelines and the recommendations of University of California researchers.

On October 13, we cover Soil Restoration, Erosion and Mulch, exploring the impacts of fire on the soil in your landscape. Learn more about this topic and explore possible remediations, including how to address post-fire erosion. This workshop also explores the many types of mulch and their various uses, helping you decide which mulch is most appropriate for you and your garden.

In Firewise Landscape Conversion on October 20 we talk seriously about the landscape choices we make and how those contribute to a changing climate; water supply; and overall environmental health. Learn how the plants we choose, why we plant them, and where we put them can make a positive difference in the present and in the future.

The final part in this series on October 27 discusses Maintaining Your Firewise Landscape and presents recommendations and actions for maintaining the safety of your landscape over time. This session includes information about post-fire care of your trees and your soil.

Workshops meet outdoors again in November, beginning with Gardening with Chickens on November 3 in the Demonstration Garden. Backyard chickens offer more benefits than just fresh eggs (although fresh eggs are terrific!). The focus of this workshop is on creating a symbiotic relationship between you, your garden, and your chickens. We explore optimal garden design, including the selection of plants that benefit chickens, and we introduce a variety of resources on raising chickens that will help you make the most of your space in relation to the needs of your chickens.

Our Espalier Garden, planted in 2016, is the setting in November 9 for a class on Espalier Gardening.  This workshop covers how and why to train fruit trees on a support structure. Espalier gardens are often seen in formal and grand gardens but can work in almost any garden type. After seeing this garden, you will want to create your own espalier garden.

Rob Fanno of Fanno Saw Works leads our Tool Care workshop in December 1. Winter is the best time to sharpen, oil, and perform routine maintenance on your hard-working garden tools. Rob will discuss the different types of garden tools, provide an overview of material differences in the selection process, discuss strengths and weaknesses of specific tools, and review tool care and maintenance.

Be sure to check our website for details on how to register for any or all of our 2021 Fall Workshops.

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.