Heat arrives along with the State Fair, but cooldown is expected soon
Yolo County gardeners offer hands-on rose workshop
Placer master gardeners host free event Saturday
Master gardeners, food preservers team up for free workshop
July is a good time for the gardener to assess plants’ continuing health
Annual run at Cal Expo has shorter hours, but more food-focused fun.
New! Fresh fig clafoutis with Mission figs
Make most of cooler temperatures; heat is coming soon
What could be wrong (or right) with this year's tomato crop
Sacramento County master gardeners present their annual celebration
Sherwood Demonstration Garden in Placerville will be very busy with weekly events
Chard and heat-tolerant lettuce varieties offer crisp leaves during July and August
Learn how to improve soil, get questions answered during 'Let's Talk Dirt'
New! Roast a not-ripe cantaloupe to sweetness
June ends on warm note, but July Fourth won’t be sizzling
With a 'Midsummer Night's Dream' theme, evening event focuses on self-care, creativity and fun
Celebrating summer, from prize-winning produce to thrilling carnival rides
Find wide selection of garden art, ceramics and more along with lots of tropical plants and succulents
Don't panic when these things show up in the garden
'Women in Digital Media' share how they turned passion into profits
Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Food in My Back Yard Series
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of June 29
We're into our typical summer weather pattern now. Get chores, especially watering, done early in the morning while it's cool.
* It’s not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers. Plant Halloween pumpkins now.
* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.
* Water, then fertilize vegetables and blooming annuals, perennials and shrubs to give them a boost. Feeding flowering plants every other week will extend their bloom.
* Don’t let tomato plants wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week.
* Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* Harvest tomatoes, squash, peppers and eggplant. Prompt picking will help keep plants producing.
* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.
* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
* Give vegetable plants bone meal or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting.