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Pruning native shrubs? Small-space gardening? There's a class for that

Calendar is filling up with informational events

Yellow flower on flannelbush
California flannelbush is a spectacular native shrub. But how to prune it? The California Native Plant Society presents a webinar tonight on pruning natives.
(Photo: Kathy Morrison)

What do you want to learn? Which gardening situations do you want to understand better? There's so much information out there, but the trick is learning things that actually apply to our climate and our nearly year-round way of gardening. (Much of U.S. has gardens buried under snow right now.)

The region's garden calendars are suddenly packed with free opportunities to expand garden knowledge. Some are in person, others are online webinars. Here are a few coming up in the next couple weeks. Others we will flag as they get a little closer.

-- Native Gardening: Pruning 101. Move fast if you want to watch this one: It's tonight (Thursday, Feb. 3) at 5:30 p.m., presented by the California Native Plant Society. Expert landscape and educator Emerson Funes will go over tips and tricks for pruning native shrubs and perennials. Register here: https://www.cnps.org/gardening/webinars

That CNPS webinars page has a list of other webinars scheduled monthly through May, with topics such as Aromatic Plants and Therapy Gardens. Links to recordings of past talks also are listed. A great resource.

-- Lettuce Unite! This seed library/seed-saving Zoom workshop is presented by the Placer County master gardeners. 1 to 2 p.m., this Saturday, Feb. 5. In case you missed Debbie's earlier post on this, here's the link to the post. The Placer County master gardeners are at https://pcmg.ucanr.org/

-- Gardening in Small Backyard Spaces. 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Feb. 9. This is a mid-week in-person workshop offered by the El Dorado County master gardeners. Master gardener Mike Pavlick will cover site location, design, raised bed options, container gardening and other methods that will allow anyone to have a vegetable garden in a small backyard setting. The workshop location is Cameron Park Community Center, 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park.

For general information on the El Dorado County master gardeners' events and Sherwood Demonstration Garden, go to https://mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/ (Psst: They already have plant sales scheduled, on April 16 and 30.)

-- February Open Garden. The Sacramento County master gardeners will be back at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center for the second Open Garden of winter, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Feb. 12. The fruit trees will be starting to bud, bulbs popping up, and the vegetable garden will be transitioning to spring. Bring your curiosity! FOHC is at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks.

The next Open Garden after this one will be Saturday, March 12. In April, the Wednesday mid-week Open Garden will return after a long absence,  9 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, April 13. And May will feature two Open Gardens: Saturday, May 14, and Wednesday, May 18. The latter will be an "evening" event from 4 to 7 p.m. The Sacramento County master gardener website is sacmg.ucanr.edu

-- Citrus Tree Care in the Foothills. 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 12. Citrus can be a perplexing topic. This Zoom class from the Placer County master gardeners will cover the basics of selecting a tree, planting, irrigating, fertilizing, and pruning. No registration is necessary. The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89988321438 and the passcode is garden.

-- Urban and Community IPM Webinar. This free monthly series on integrated pest management continues noon to 1p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, with "Bed Bug Prevention." Other topics coming up: "IPM for Subterranean Termites" on March 17 and "Squirrel Pest Management" on April 21. That latter one will be popular with backyard vegetable growers, I'm sure. Webinar registration and information is here: https://ucanr.edu/sites/ucipm-community-webinars/





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Garden checklist for week of April 12

After these storms pass, get to work on spring clean-up.

* Weed, weed, weed! Take advantage of soft soil and pull them before they go to seed.

* 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. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant heat-resistant lettuce seedlings.

* Feed roses and other spring-blooming shrubs.

* 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.

* 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.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds. Avoid "volcano mulching" -- be sure to keep mulch a few inches away from tree trunks or the stems of shrubs. This prevents rot and disease.

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Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event.  sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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Taste Winter! E-cookbook

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening

WINTER

Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

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Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air 

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

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

SPRING

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