Sierra

or what to do if it just won't rain! Over the last thirty-plus years they've been keeping records at the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center (SFREC), we've received a germinating rain, on average, around October 21.

With the emergence of shelter-in-place directives at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, California's small-scale direct-marketing farms and agritourism operations faced drastic and immediate disruptions to operations causing major losses in revenue and layoffs for staff.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 6 p.m. (via Zoom) The University of Cooperative Extension (UCCE) is organizing an informational meeting on forming a Rancher's Fire Safe Council in the Sierra Foothills and beyond on Wednesday, October 28, from 6-7:30 p.m.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service recently published the recipients of Farmers' Market Promotion Program 2020 grants.

Note: We asked butterfly expert Arthur "Art" Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis, to comment on the effect of the California wildfires on butterflies and their habitat.

In the meantime, how are you going to cope? Having lived (and ranched) through California's 1000-year drought from 2012-2015, I often find myself recalling the autumn of 2013. Believe it or not, we had a germinating rain on September 3 - I measured 0.75" of rain here in Auburn.

Like many of you over the last several weeks (and indeed, over the last several years), I've read heartbreaking accounts of ranchers losing livestock in this latest round of devastating wildfires.

Though it's been hard to tell with the fire/weather we're having during this craziest of all yearsSeptember felt pretty summerythe plants in my garden have been telling me for a number of weeks now that summer is finally ending.

It's now October so that means that we're now in the time of year where we start to wind down our gardens for the season. If you're at all like me and refuse to plan for the eventual coming cold weather by pulling out plants, a killing frost will force the matter.

As days start to become cooler this October, leafy greens and other cruciferous vegetables will begin to be more commonly available in local markets and gardens. Broccoli is one of the most popular green vegetables, and one of the most versatile, too.