The Real Dirt

Common garden advice tells us to rake up all those leaves, remove every dried stalk and maybe even begin a burn pile for branches and twigs pruned at this time of year. But a different and more laissez-faire approach to fall gardening is on the rise, as it is now known that these seasonal changes can…

"Beneficial Fire" helps restore ecosystem health and reduce wildfire risk. Beneficial fire is an important land-management tool that reduces hazardous fuels, restores natural ecological processes, and helps forests, oak woodlands, and chaparral remain resilient to wildfire. When used in combination with…

In 2014, the California legislature passed the Sustainability Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The goal of SGMA is to ensure groundwater sustainability over the long term. Groundwater is crucial to California, comprising up to 60% of the total supply in drought years and about 40% in average years. Our…

Do you have an undeveloped garden area you’d like to turn into a landscape that grows native plants and supplies habitat and food for pollinators? Perhaps you’d like to do most of the work yourself, but have no idea where to start?  There is a lot of information available about planting for pollinators,…

If you haven’t yet had time to attend one of our Fall 2026 Workshops this year, worry not – the Master Gardeners of Butte County have plenty of great sessions lined up for October and November.