The Real Dirt

When you look up into the bare branches of some oak trees at this time of year, you can see ball-shaped growths hanging there, looking almost like nature's Christmas ornaments. These are galls. A gall is an abnormal growth produced by a plant under the influence of another organism.

The plant that graced the botanical gardens of the Aztec empire over 600 years ago, and the flower of Holy Night legends, is the poinsettia (poin seh tee uh), or flor de nochebuena in Spanish. Seen everywhere for sale during a short six weeks of the year, this plant has come to symbolize Christmas.

You may be surprised to learn that the signature of Abraham Lincoln on a Senate bill in July of 1862 put into motion actions and ideologies that would culminate in a nation-wide program that includes the UC Master Gardeners of Butte County.

Imagine a mountainous and remote rainforest along the ocean coast. Whisps of fog drift through the trees as cascades of colorful flowers sweep down from plants perched high on the tree limbs.

If you have peach or nectarine trees, winter is the time to spray them to prevent peach leaf curl. Peach leaf curl is a fungal disease that attacks peaches and nectarines. It appears in spring, causing new leaves to become reddish, puckered and severely distorted.