The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension system, serving our ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – It’s a simple equation: If you want to grow better plants, you first need to understand the soil. “The texture of a soil is its proportion of sand, silt and clay,” said James Cassidy ...

To grow, plants must absorb nutrients from the soil. Not only must these nutrients be present in sufficient quantities, they must also be available for uptake by the plant. Nutrient availability is ...

Sometimes in passing some citified slicker will claim to be working the dirt in his/her garden. I usually smile politely and edge away. Gardens don’t have dirt in them, they have soil. The difference ...

True gardeners rarely refer to soil as simply dirt. They understand the difference between the stuff you dig up in your backyard versus the "black gold" that consists of compost, manure, decomposed ...

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Gardeners obsess over that stuff in the ground. Year after year, we throw potions and powders at it to break it apart and build it up. But most people don’t ...

Brian Darby receives funding from the United States Department of Agriculture. Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to ...

Development and maintenance of good soil is the basis for all gardening; therefore, successful gardening comes down to knowing the condition of your soil and realizing when it is necessary to amend it ...