Master gardeners host February Open Garden on Saturday
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If the Eva's Pride peach tree is blooming, can spring be far off? The Fair Oaks Horticulture
Center orchard trees are just beginning to show off their blossoms. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)
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We all want rain, but might as well enjoy the sunny days we have, right? No better opportunity arrives than on Saturday, Feb. 12, when the Sacramento County master gardeners present their February Open Garden.
Open Garden Day gives visitors access to the entire Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, which is just south of Fair Oaks Park at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd. The FOHC is the master gardeners' demonstration garden, but usually just the front portion -- the Water Efficient Landscape, or WEL -- is open daily to the public.
But all the gates will be open Saturday, from 9 a.m. to noon, and visitors will be able to see how the warm late-winter weather is affecting the various growing areas. Master gardeners will staff each area and answer gardening questions.
In the orchard, the Eva's Pride peach tree leads the way in blooming. Expect to see those beautiful pink blossoms abuzz with bees.
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Visit the worms at the compost area of the Fair Oaks Horticulture
Center.
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In the compost area, the master gardeners can tell all about worm composting while they're harvesting castings from the big bin full of red wigglers.
Other areas to visit include the berry garden -- where the blueberries have just been pruned -- the vegetable area, the herb garden and the vineyard.
For questions that don't quite fit into those areas, stop at the Ask a Master Gardener table, where they have all sorts of resources for backyard gardeners.
The 2022 Garden Guide will be for sale, $10 for invaluable growing information and a great calendar.
For general information on the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, go to sacmg.ucanr.edu/?calitem=516810
Can't make this event? The next Open Garden will be March 12.
-- Kathy Morrison
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Garden Checklist for week of April 21
This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.
* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.
* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.
* 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.
* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.
* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* 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.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, 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.
* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.
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