The Real Dirt

As we enter another summer of drought, conserving water is essential. Luckily, there are a number of ways you can significantly reduce water use in your vegetable garden. Before planting a single seed, a good first step in vegetable gardening is to amend the soil with compost.

At this time of the year, aphids can be a serious problem in the garden. But salvation can arrive in the form of ladybugs. Ladybugs are actually beetles, not bugs. And while they are sometimes called ladybirds or ladybeetles, of course they are not all female.

Plum leaf curl is a malady indicated by tightly curled and deformed leaves which are usually near the ends of new plum shoots in the spring.

This is a story of adaptation, by both plants and their people. It's set in the fire-prone foothills of eastern Butte County, where in 1994 David and Cathy Walther purchased a home on 1.5 acres.

Almost thirty participants strolled through Verbena Fields on March 30 for the second of a year-long series of Wildtending Walks. This month's leaders, Raphael DiGenova and Janeva Sorenson, shared their passion for and knowledge about the native plants of this area.