Yolo County master gardeners offer morning Zoom class
Tomatoes can still be started in time for April or May planting. Yolo's "Kitchen Garden Chat" will include information on starting seeds. Kathy Morrison
What's a gardener to do? There's a very good chance this Saturday will be too wet to garden. And the 100th Sacramento Camellia Show (thankfully indoors) doesn't open on Saturday until 3 p.m. (It runs until 6 p.m.; Sunday is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
But, stuck inside on a Saturday morning, gardeners still can get their green on. From 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., online via Zoom, the Yolo County master gardeners will present their monthly "Kitchen Garden Chat." The talk is free, and no registration is required. The Zoom link is https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/98028723763
March is an important month for area vegetable gardeners. Yolo master gardener Treva Valentine will go over what needs to be done in the edible garden during the month: what to plant, what to harvest and other important chores. She will also share details about starting edibles from seed and how to prepare the soil. This talk is part of an ongoing series.
The Yolo master gardeners have several events coming up -- most on Zoom -- but the next one, a flower-arranging class on Monday, March 4, will be in person from 1 to 5 p.m. at the West Sacramento Community Center, 1075 West Capitol Ave.
Upcoming Zoom classes include "Backyard Composting," 3-4 p.m. March 14, and "Vermiculture" (Worm Composting) from 3 to 4 p.m. March 28. The Yolo master gardeners also staff a "Questions and Answers" desk the first and third Saturdays of the month at the West Sacramento Lowe's store.
To get Zoom links and more information on Yolo County master gardener events, visit https://yolomg.ucanr.edu/?calendar=yes.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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
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Garden Checklist for week of June 8
Get out early to enjoy those nice mornings. There’s plenty to keep gardeners busy:
* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal or rock phosphate can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.
* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. Inconsistent soil moisture can encourage blossom-end rot.
* It’s not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers or eggplant.
* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.
* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.
* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.
* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.
* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.
* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.
* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.
* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.
* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.
* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.