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Prepare for spring during Open Garden Day

Master gardeners will be available to answer questions

Fair Oaks Horticulture Center with gate and people
The gates will be open and master gardeners on hand this Saturday during Open
Garden at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

How can I keep bugs from eating my vegetables? Can I plant an orange tree now? What are these weeds popping up? Which plants will bring hummingbirds to my garden? Do herbs grow well in pots? Which fertilizer is best for blueberries? How do I start a compost pile?

Spring is the busiest time for garden questions. If you have any of the ones above, or any others, the March Open Garden this Saturday at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is the place to get them answered.

From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 12, the Sacramento County master gardeners will be on site in all areas of the Horticulture Center, with tips and advice for spring planting.

Bring plant samples or unidentified insects (in plastic bags) to the Ask a Master Gardener table. The last copies of the 2022 Gardening Guide and Calendar will be on sale for the bargain price of $10.

The Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks. south of Madison Boulevard, in Fair Oaks Park next to the library.

If you are unable to attend this Open Garden, these are scheduled for the rest of spring:

-- A mid-week Open Garden, 9 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, April 13;

-- Saturday morning Open Garden, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 14;

-- An afternoon/evening Open Garden, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.,  Wednesday, May 18;

-- Saturday morning Open Garden, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, June 18.

And save the date, Saturday, Aug. 6, for Harvest Day. The master gardeners' big annual event at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center will be held in person this year for the first time since 2019.

-- Kathy Morrison

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Garden Checklist for week of April 20

Before possible showers at the end of the week, take advantage of all this nice sunshine – and get to work!

* Set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Give shrubs and trees a dose of a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Start thinning fruit that's formed on apple and stone fruit trees -- you'll get larger fruit at harvest (and avoid limb breakage) if some is thinned now. The UC recommendation is to thin fruit when it is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 6 inches apart; smaller fruit such as plums and pluots can be about 4 inches apart. Apricots can be left at 3 inches apart. Apples and pears should be thinned to one fruit per cluster of flowers, 6 to 8 inches apart.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.

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