The Real Dirt blog covers regional gardening issues from soil health to planting for pollinators; from fire resistant landscaping to attracting wildlife. Read all about it!
Among community gardens in Butte County, The Garden at St. Timothy’s in Gridley is notable for offering people a full-circle experience, from growing, gleaning, and preserving food, to composting food waste.
A visit to the Butte Country Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden in late May / early June promises to be an eye-opening experience. For starters, there are many plant and design possibilities for home gardeners to admire and borrow ideas from. Undoubtedly, you will find new varieties of plants and trees…
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 our local gardeners are no exception. Not only are succulents drought tolerant, they grow almost anywhere. …
We are well into Spring now, and if you haven’t done it yet it’s time to make sure your garden tools are in peak condition. Good maintenance not only prolongs the life and usefulness of garden tools; it also improves their performance in the garden. In addition, clean tools help prevent the spread of…
Two of the most common earthworms found in our area are redworms and nightcrawlers. Redworms (eisenia foetida, also known as red wiggler worms) are shallow dwellers, living in the top 12 inches of the soil. These are the worms most commonly used for vermicomposting, a method of creating rich garden compost…
