Hotline

Got Gardening Questions?

Visit or call the Hotline
Wednesday 9am-12pm
Thursday 1-4pm

Call: 530-538-7201

Or drop by: The Butte County Cooperative Extension Office
2279-B Del Oro Avenue
Oroville, CA 95965

You can also catch us in person at local farmers markets or at one of our information booths. Check out where we'll be on the Events page.

Help Us Help You

You never can tell what's at the root of the problem. Below are some questions we may ask when you call:

Name of plant
Age of plant
Soil type (loam, sandy, clay)
Current watering methods (drip, sprinkler, hand)
Frequency of watering
Sun exposure
Evidence of insects or other damage – check on both sides of leaves
Recent changes that may effect the plant (watering, fertilizing)

Samples and photos related to your question are strongly encouraged. Drop them by the office any time, or email them to:
mgbutte@ucanr.edu

Include a description of the problem.

What’s Hot Now?

pumpkin

by Barbara Hill

My pumpkin vines performed poorly this year. The few fruits they produced were small and lopsided. What happened?

Squash, melons, and cucumbers have a unique flowering habit: they bear both male and female flowers on the same plant. In order for fruit set to occur, pollen from the male flower must be conducted to the female flower. This is done primarily by honeybees. If few bees visit the garden, partial pollination may occur, resulting in misshapen fruit and low yield. When no bees are present in the area, or the bee population is too low for good fruit set, the flowers can be pollinated by hand.

Learn how to hand-pollinate (pdf).

Learn how to grow pumpkins from planting to harvest (pdf).

What's Hot Archive

2018 · 2017 · 2016