Master gardeners' virtual celebration of gardening information
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Debbie Arrington of Sacramento Digs Gardening chats with Fred Hoffman during
the most recent in-person Harvest Day, in 2019. Hoffman will be a keynote speaker for the virtual 2021 Harvest Day on Aug. 7. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)
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Happy July! It's fully summer now, which means soon it'll be time for the UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County annual Harvest Day celebration. It's scheduled for Aug. 7 (but psst! many of the offerings will be available ahead of time).
In pre-pandemic years, this event was an all-day celebration of gardening information, held at the master gardeners' Fair Oaks Horticulture Center.
Last year with everyone in lockdown, the celebration switched to a virtual event, with many short videos on gardening topics. There were keynote speakers, too, but their presentations were filmed and available ahead of time. All those videos are still on YouTube here, for anyone who missed them or wants to re-watch.
That brings us to 2021. Because Harvest Day requires so much planning, so far in advance -- beginning in winter, before vaccinations were common -- the master gardeners' Harvest Day committee voted then to have it again be a virtual event. So the walks and talks and tastings in the lovely FOHC will have to wait another year, but the new videos in the works will about double the MGs' YouTube library.
There will be a lot more coming out on Harvest Day in the weeks ahead, but here's a general look:
The keynote speakers are (drum roll, please):
* Fred Hoffman on “Growing Food Year-Round: Cool Season Vegetables.” Hoffman of course is the host of the podcast “Garden Basics with Farmer Fred” and the "Green Acres Garden Podcast." He's also a lifetime master gardener. If you've missed his radio gardening shows, I hope you know to tune into his podcasts here and here .
* Greg Gayton from Green Acres Nursery on “Successful Gardening in Raised Beds.” Gayton is a longtime supporter of Harvest Day with a wealth of gardening knowledge.
* UCCE Master Gardener Bill Krycia on “Jazzed about Citrus.” If anyone can explain the mystery that is citrus growing, it's Krycia, who is highly entertaining.
The keynote speakers' recorded talks will be available for viewing beginning mid-July on theYouTube channel at sacmg.ucanr.edu .
Then on Harvest Day, they each will be available for a live-online Q&A session: Fred Hoffman at 8:30 a.m., Greg Gayton at 9:10 a.m. and Bill Krycia at 9:50 a.m. Participants must register for this part of the event. Register at sacmg.ucanr.edu to get the participation link.
Also planned on Aug. 7 are three 40-minute webinars presented by the Sacramento County master gardeners:
* “Unusual Edibles in the Central Valley” with Quentyn Young (of Fair Oaks Boulevard Nursery) at 10:30 a.m. Young, who is part of the FOHC orchard team, has enthusiasm and expertise to spare on exotic fruits and veggies.
* “Tips for Houseplant Selection and Care” with Lori Ann Asmus at 11:20 a.m. Houseplants are a big deal, still, but can be confusing. Asmus will shed light on their particular care.
* “Growing Bearded Irises in the Home Garden” with Ruth Ostroff at 12:10 p.m. Ostroff is the iris expert among the master gardeners, with hundreds of varieties at her own garden.
These webinars also will require registration at sacmg.ucanr.edu to get the participation link.
This will be a full day of gardening fun, even if it is online. And next year, back to the FOHC -- we hope!
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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
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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 April 27
Once the clouds clear, get to work. Spring growth is in high gear.
* 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. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.
* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
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