This article was written by Bert Wilson, a fire fighter, landscape contractor, and a native plant nursery owner. He was probably the most knowledgeable man on this topic that may have lived. He did a lot of his own experiments to separate fact from fiction. https://www.laspilitas.com/fire.htmhttps://www.laspilitas.com/fire.htm

If you are raking your leaves and bringing them to your local compost pile there’s a good chance you are. The Pacific Ultrapower plant in Chinese Camp burns local agricultural, logging, and yard “debris” for energy. The trees on your property are actually extremely complex solar panels. Unlike your solar panels on your home the energy is stored in the […]

Gives first responders immediate information as to what the status of the occupants of a home is during a wildfire Click here for their website

In 2015 an escaped burn pile tore through the Big Creek watershed and headed north (towards Pine Mountain Lake) before it was stopped at the I-120. You can see the charred trees a few miles before you hit Smith Station Rd. on the right hand side as you head east from Groveland. Some important reminders from this fire: 1) Escaped […]

Learned this today from Chris Bright. 1) Skip the soaker hoses. Too many bust from high pressure 2) Use the 5/8ths tubing not the 1/2 3) Do not use t-connectors. Give each plant their own separate line 4) Keep the lines above ground for easy diagnosis 5) Leave a saucer of water out for the squirrels. Then they won’t chew […]

Juniper igniting an apartment complex in Carson City, NV

One day when weedeating, a praying mantis flew up and it got me thinking about the ecosystem I was plowing through. I had already taken out vetch, clover, lupine (all nitrogen soil injectors) and many wildflowers. I knew it was time to do something different! Here’s what you can do: 1) In winter, evenly space out oak limbs. In spring […]

Step 1: Call your local chemical sprayer. Step 2: Inform technician to spray your entire property. Step 3: Repeat year after year. Yes friends, it’s that easy! And here are all the benefits! 1) Your rocks are not only low maintenance. They’re NO maintenance! ZERO pruning, fertilizing and watering 2) Dont like those creepy crawlies like worms and bugs? Well […]

  First off, whenever I weedwhack, I always leave a few wildflowers. It alleviates some of the pain from having to trim them, especially this time of year. The Chinese lanterns (or fairy lanterns) are in bloom this year as are the lupin.    Second the term “weedwhacking” is EXTREMELY problematic. Calling our groundcover “weeds” implies that they have no […]

I had a VERY interesting conversation today with a potential landscaping client. When I looked at her property she had properly left all the leaf litter on the ground (leaving a clear area around the home) and pruned up all of her trees. She is a German woman and she told me that in the 1500s the Germans raked up […]