Use at least four inches of organic mulch such as straw, shredded leaves, or wood chips. It slows evaporation and helps more ...

Most gardeners who spend time hauling out a hose to water a raised bed of cutting flowers or a vegetable garden would prefer to be digging and planting, so it’s no surprise there’s a growing number of ...

Plants need water, and people aren’t always around to provide it. I realized this fact when a wildfire engulfed my rural ...

The best fertilizer may be the footsteps of the farmer, as the Chinese proverb says. But all of the fertilizer and shoe leather in the world won’t raise so much as a hill of beans without water. Just ...

If you’re tired of high water bills and unhappy plants, switching to a drip irrigation system could be a win-win for both you and your yard. Drip irrigation saves water and time by delivering water ...

Tackling that confusing, intimidating and frightening maze of pipes running under your lawn and throughout your garden beds doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Contra Costa Master Gardener Steve Griffin ...

The gardener who can do a thorough job of watering with hose in hand is rare indeed. Assuming that the hose spews out about 3 gallons per minute in a circle about 4 feet in diameter, I roughly ...

With a second year of below-normal rainfall, California is sliding into another drought cycle. Here in the north valley, total rainfall for the current Water Year (October 2020 through March 2021) ...

Democratic governments are, by their nature, slow-moving creatures — and that’s the way it should be. Social stability generally requires that change be evolutionary, not revolutionary, lest the ...