The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are offering a wide variety of new and encore Public Education Workshops this season. Some will be held in person; others will be offered on Zoom.  Most of the in-person workshops will take place at our Demonstration Garden at Patrick Ranch in Durham; a few are scheduled at private residences. Space is limited for all in-person workshops. All workshops are free; registration is required. To register, and for more details and regular updates as they become available, check our website.

The series begins, appropriately enough, with Seed Starting on Wednesday, February 2.  There will be two workshops (one from 10 to 11:30 am and another from 1 to 2:30 pm) held in the Demonstration Garden.  If you would like to plant different varieties of summer vegetables than those that are available as starts at the big box stores, this workshop is for you. Learn to start your own plants from seed, and you can choose any variety you'd like! Our focus will be tomatoes and peppers. We will also explore options for starting seeds indoors, including the proper lighting and temperature control (no heated greenhouse necessary!).

Next up, on Tuesday, February 15 from 10 to 11:30 am is What's Bugging You, a new workshop which looks at some of the insects that cause damage in our gardens. We will explore how to find the information you need to control and even appreciate garden insects. We will demonstrate the use of an insect identification cell phone app, online aids to diagnose problems on different host plants, and simple online searches for more information. In addition to discussing the different types of insects and how they grow and feed, we will present a slide show of common insects and the damage they do. Finally, we will cover the basics of Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

We begin March with a new workshop on the Summer Vegetable Garden, Thursday, March 10, from 10 to 11:30 am at our Demonstration Garden.  Get a head start on planning your summer vegetable garden! This workshop starts with the basics of what to plant and how to prepare your soil and planting beds, and then highlights best management practices for growing and harvesting summer vegetables. Topics include pest management, irrigation and water conservation, crop rotation, and succession planting for long-lasting vegetable harvests.

The popular Garden Guide and Journaling workshop returns. It will take place at Magnolia Gift & Garden (1367 East Avenue, Chico) on Tuesday, March 15, from 10 to 11:30 am. Join us to explore how to get the most from our Butte County Garden Guide and Three-Year Journal (available in two versions: bound as a book and unbound, ready to add to a loose-leaf binder). We will discuss using the Garden Guide to find the best times to perform seasonal and weekly garden tasks, as well as useful information on plants, climate, and soil for our region. An integral part of this workshop is using the Garden Guide to record lessons learned and keep track of useful plant and weather information for your garden over the years. This invaluable resource, written by UC Master Gardeners of Butte County, is full of material about our local climate, plants, and wildlife, and includes weekly tips and fun facts.

Honeybees are the focus of our next workshop, held at the private residence of a Master Gardener beekeeper in Durham on Friday, March 18 from 10 to 11:30 am. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to keep a hive of honeybees, you will want to sign up for this session. Humans have been fascinated by the honeybee for a very, very long time: evidence of beekeeping goes back at least 9,000 years, and humans collected honey from wild bees before that. In this class you'll have an opportunity to observe honeybees and learn how to set up your own apiary. Along the way, you'll learn what you can do to help honeybees and pollinators survive and thrive in our current environment. This workshop is designed for those considering beekeeping as a hobby, and also those who are interested in learning more about attracting and supporting honeybees and other pollinators.

Three days later, on Monday, March 21 from 10 to 11:30 am, we explore the world of Native Bees, at the home and orchard of another Master Gardener bee expert in Paradise. Learn about the Blue Orchard Mason Bee, a native pollinator perfect for a backyard that contains several fruit trees and early flowering plants. Mason bees do not sting or provide honey, but they do provide superior pollination for three months with little effort. The current understanding of colony collapse disorder (which affects only honeybees) will also be discussed.

A tour of our newly planted Succulent Garden and a discussion of the plants featured there are the basis of our workshop about Succulents, on Wednesday, March 30 from 10:30 am to noon, at our Demonstration Garden. Succulents do well in our Mediterranean climate because their thick, fleshy leaves retain water during our long dry summers. Their striking and unusual appearance makes these plants great choices for ornamental gardens. This workshop focuses on the heat and water requirements of succulents, as well as types that are suitable for planting in the ground and in containers.

We begin April with a workshop in the Demonstration Garden exploring Companion Planting on Tuesday the 5^th from 10 to 11:30 am. Companion Planting is the art of arranging certain plants in proximity to one another so that they attract beneficial insects and pollinators, deter unwanted pests, and offer shelter and food for other critters. Companion plants provide one another with things they need, such as nutrients, shade, and physical support. We will show you how to accomplish this in the home vegetable garden, focusing on the potential symbiotic relationships between various vegetable, herb, and flower combinations. We will also include time for you to analyze your own garden and consider plant combinations that can work there.

On Wednesday, April 6 from 10 am to noon, we take a deep dive into the subject of Biochar.  Held in the outdoor classroom at our Demonstration Garden, this workshop begins with an overview of what biochar is, how it is made, and how you can use it in your garden, followed by a live demonstration of how to mix biochar into raised beds. A brief tour of the biochar experiment taking place at our Demonstration Garden will be included.

A new and timely workshop exploring Soil Science is offered via Zoom on Friday, April 8 from 11 am to 1 pm. You will discover how to build a more resilient garden, work less to maintain it, and help prepare for our dryer, hotter summers. We will discuss garden practices to move away from so we can focus instead on farming the microbes below ground rather than the plants above it, for healthier gardens with fewer weeds and pests. And we'll look at biochar, a long-term investment in garden vibrancy. This workshop invites you to imagine life underground and prepare the way for a new kind of gardening.

Another new topic this season is Converting Yards to Invite Monarchs with Native Plants. We team with the Paradise Garden Club on Tuesday, April 19 from 10 am to noon in Pat's Barn at Patrick Ranch. Here you will learn about the lifecycle and migration habits of the beautiful Monarch butterflies, as well as what you can do to help increase their dwindling numbers. In this workshop, we focus on how to invite monarchs into your yard with a variety of native plants.

Learn all about Gardening with Chickens on Tuesday, April 26 from 10:30 am to noon at a private residence in Chico. Backyard chickens offer more benefits than their fresh eggs. The focus of this workshop is how to create a symbiotic relationship between you, your garden, and your chickens. We will explore optimal garden design, including the selection of plants that benefit chickens, and we will introduce a number of resources on raising chickens that will help you optimize your space in relation to the needs of your chickens.

Our workshops will continue in May and June with topics including House Plants, Rodent Control, and Composting. Check our website for details and further announcements.

COVID Safety Information:  Maintaining the safety of our volunteers and workshop participants is a top priority. Please follow the safety guidelines below when attending a UC Master Gardener workshop (guidelines are subject to change):

Face Mask Use: No face masks are required for outdoor activities; face masks are required for indoor activities.

Practice Social Distancing: Do not participate in any in-person activities if you are sick or have COVID-19 symptoms or if you or someone you have been in contact with has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Hygiene: We maintain safe hygiene practices by cleaning high-touch areas often.

UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.