Huge sale and educational event set for Memorial Day weekend in Elk Grove
Also on tap: Guided tour of Capitol Park trees
Too much of a good thing can break tree branches in summer
NEW Ricotta and lemon zest give brunch dish some tang
Warm weather brings rapid snow melt – and cold water
Get advice from experts in Sacramento and El Dorado counties
Event near Davis is free but requires registration
Event features hundreds of vendors, exhibits and cute animals
Ikebana club and Friends of East Sacramento present event full of 'useful and interesting stuff'
Carmichael Cactus and Succulent Society hosts 45th annual sale
NEW Almond flavor three ways enhances the fruit-filled muffins
Heat arrives and so does vegetable planting time
Find huge discounts on water-wise selections, perfect for our climate
Six Loomis and Granite Bay sites to welcome visitors
Find hundreds of rare plants at Sacramento chrysanthemum cutting sale
Sacramento Rose Society hosts auction; heritage rose expert holds yard sale
Popular Sacramento tradition returns, benefits David Lubin School
NEW Roast these little root veggies with garlic
After chilly, wet start to May, expect a rapid warm-up
The event's After Party will be buzzing at The Hive
Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 24
In between rainy episodes this week:
* Keep your gutters and storm drains cleared. Watch out for leaning trees or weakened branches; if you spot trouble, call an arborist.
* Remember to turn off the sprinklers or other irrigation. Be careful walking on or working with wet soil; it can compact easily.
* On rainy days, do some indoor gardening. Tend to houseplants. Sort seed packets. Start seed indoors for cool-season veggies and flowers.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Rake and compost leaves, but leave at least some healthy leaves in planting beds for nesting insects and foraging birds. But dispose of any diseased plant material. For eample, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* If you decide to use a living Christmas tree this year, keep it outside in a sunny location until Christmas week. This reduces stress on the young tree.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* After they bloom, chrysanthemums should be trimmed to 6 to 8 inches above the ground. If in pots, keep the mums in their containers until next spring. Then they can be planted in the ground, if desired, or repotted.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers such as California poppies and plant spring bloomers such as as sweet peas, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.