The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are offering a wide variety of new and encore Public Education Workshops this season. Some will be held in person; others will be offered on Zoom. Most of the in-person workshops will take place at our Demonstration Garden at Patrick Ranch in Durham; a few are scheduled at private residences. Space is limited for all in-person workshops. All workshops are free; registration is required. To register, and for more details and regular updates as they become available, check our website.
We begin March with a new workshop on the Summer Vegetable Garden, Thursday, March 10, from 10 to 11:30 am at our Demonstration Garden. Get a head start on planning your summer vegetable garden! This workshop starts with the basics of what to plant and how to prepare your soil and planting beds, and then highlights best management practices for growing and harvesting summer vegetables. Topics include pest management, irrigation and water conservation, crop rotation, and succession planting for long-lasting vegetable harvests.
Three days later, on Monday, March 21 from 10 to 11:30 am, we explore the world of Native Bees, at the home and orchard of another Master Gardener bee expert in Paradise. Learn about the Blue Orchard Mason Bee, a native pollinator perfect for a backyard that contains several fruit trees and early flowering plants. Mason bees do not sting or provide honey, but they do provide superior pollination for three months with little effort. The current understanding of colony collapse disorder (which affects only honeybees) will also be discussed.
We begin April with a workshop in the Demonstration Garden exploring Companion Planting on Tuesday the 5th from 10 to 11:30 am. Companion Planting is the art of arranging certain plants in proximity to one another so that they attract beneficial insects and pollinators, deter unwanted pests, and offer shelter and food for other critters. Companion plants provide one another with things they need, such as nutrients, shade, and physical support. We will show you how to accomplish this in the home vegetable garden, focusing on the potential symbiotic relationships between various vegetable, herb, and flower combinations. We will also include time for you to analyze your own garden and consider plant combinations that can work there.
On Wednesday, April 6 from 10 am to noon, we take a deep dive into the subject of Biochar. Held in the outdoor classroom at our Demonstration Garden, this workshop begins with an overview of what biochar is, how it is made, and how you can use it in your garden, followed by a live demonstration of how to mix biochar into raised beds. A brief tour of the biochar experiment taking place at our Demonstration Garden will be included.
A new and timely workshop exploring Soil Science is offered via Zoom on Friday, April 8 from 11 am to 1 pm. You will discover how to build a more resilient garden, work less to maintain it, and help prepare for our dryer, hotter summers. We will discuss garden practices to move away from so we can focus instead on farming the microbes below ground rather than the plants above it, for healthier gardens with fewer weeds and pests. And we'll look at biochar, a long-term investment in garden vibrancy. This workshop invites you to imagine life underground and prepare the way for a new kind of gardening.
Learn all about Gardening with Chickens on Tuesday, April 26 from 10:30 am to noon at a private residence in Chico. Backyard chickens offer more benefits than their fresh eggs. The focus of this workshop is how to create a symbiotic relationship between you, your garden, and your chickens. We will explore optimal garden design, including the selection of plants that benefit chickens, and we will introduce a number of resources on raising chickens that will help you optimize your space in relation to the needs of your chickens.
COVID Safety Information: Maintaining the safety of our volunteers and workshop participants is a top priority. Please follow the safety guidelines below when attending a UC Master Gardener workshop (guidelines are subject to change):
Face Mask Use: No face masks are required for outdoor activities; face masks are required for indoor activities.
Practice Social Distancing: Do not participate in any in-person activities if you are sick or have COVID-19 symptoms or if you or someone you have been in contact with has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Hygiene: We maintain safe hygiene practices by cleaning high-touch areas often.
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.