The Real Dirt

If you didn't already prune your apricots at the end of last summer, please hold off a little longer. Our area has a fungus called Eutypa that infects fresh pruning wounds when rainfall occurs 2 to 6 weeks after pruning.

At this time of year, some nurseries start selling the egg cases of Chinese mantis as a biological control for the garden. These alien-looking insects are Praying Mantis and are harmless to humans, but have an insatiable appetite for aphids, caterpillars and other insects.

Among the joys of a California spring are swaths of annual wildflowers blooming around the state. Here in Butte County good places to view this wildflower show include Upper Bidwell Park, Table Mountain, and Feather Falls Trail. Annual wildflowers have a life cycle that lasts just one year.

If mushrooms or toadstools have suddenly appeared up in your yard, you are probably wondering why, and what you can do about them. Mushrooms, toadstools, and other fungi reproduce not by seeds, but by spores. These are microscopic, often single-cell spores, and are spread by the breeze.

The word is out -- container gardening is for both novice and experienced gardeners alike. It's the perfect way to experiment with plants, delve into edibles, and exercise creativity.