Learn how a seed library works during 'Lettuce Unite!'
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Lettuce is one of the easiest vegetables to save
seeds from. Learn how at a Zoom free workshop
on Feb. 5. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)
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Have you ever “checked out” an heirloom watermelon? Or “deposited” some favorite beans? You can do both at a seed library.
Learn how seed libraries work – as well as the basics of starting one of your own – during a free Zoom workshop.
Offered by the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Placer County, “Lettuce Unite!” is open to gardeners of all ages and locations. Set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, the one-hour session will focus on seed saving, an age-old method of preserving heirloom varieties of vegetables and flowers.
“What is a seed library? How do I ‘borrow’ seeds? How do I ‘return’ seeds? What do I do with those seeds?” say the master gardeners. “Learn all about what a seed library is, how to grow a summer garden, and a little about how to save seeds successfully.”
Seed libraries are becoming increasingly popular among vegetable and flower gardeners, especially those interested in growing heirloom varieties. The concept is simple: During planting time, gardeners “borrow” the seed of their choice. Instead of harvesting all of a crop, gardeners allow some of the plants to form seed. The gardeners then save that mature seed and return some to the library.
Gardeners also may make contributions of seed they saved from other plants not originally grown from the library’s stock. Lettuce – as the workshop’s name implies – ranks among the easiest seed to save. Another theme of this gardening pastime: Seed saving brings gardeners together.
This workshop is great for school or community garden groups. Gardeners also can learn tips on how to save seed for their own use.
To participate, click on https://pcmg.ucanr.org/?calitem=521353&g=123640 and follow the Zoom link. Passcode: seed.
“Lettuce Unite!” is part of a late winter-early spring series of Zoom sessions hosted by the Placer County master gardeners. Upcoming online workshops include:
Feb. 12: “Citrus Tree Care in the Foothills.”
Feb. 26: “Totally Tomatoes.”
March 12: “Dealing with Deer.”
March 26: “Planning Your Vegetable Garden.”
Miss a workshop? Catch it later on the Placer County master gardeners home page.
Learn more: https://pcmg.ucanr.org/
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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
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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.
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