Morning and late afternoon events showcase blooming Horticulture Center
|
|
See what's blooming at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center this Saturday morning
or on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 18. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)
|
Weather swings notwithstanding, May is gorgeous at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. Over the next seven days, the Sacramento County master gardeners offer two opportunities to view the demonstration garden at its spring best.
This Saturday, May 14, the Open Garden will be at the usual time: 9 a.m. to noon. Then on Wednesday, May 18, for the first time FOHC will be open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., for visitors coming home from work or school, or folks interested in a pleasant stroll before dinner. At both events, all areas of the one-acre Horticulture Center will be staffed, with master gardeners ready to answer all types of gardening questions.
Expect to see plenty of pollinators in the Water Efficient Landscape area. Master gardeners there are creating a model wildlife habitat garden for a home landscape with plantings, bee and bird houses. In the Orchard, crop thinning will be taking place. Ask about fighting pests such as codling moth!
The Vegetable Garden will have the burgeoning summer crops on view. The Compost Area team will offer tips for success, as well as answer questions on California's new composting law. (That goes into effect in July.) The Berry Area, Herb Garden and Vineyard also will be busy -- it's that time of year!
Water use is of course a big topic for gardeners. Throughout the Horticulture Center, visitors will see ways to use water more wisely with mulch, irrigation techniques and water-efficient landscaping.
The Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, south of Fair Oaks Park and Madison Avenue.
For more information or directions to the Open Garden days, go to https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/ .
-- Kathy Morrison
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Food in My Back Yard Series
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
Local News
Thanks to Our Sponsor!
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of May 11
Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch-to-1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.
* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.
Powered by California Local
