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Be a better bug sleuth with free workshop

Sacramento's Bug Man, Baldo Villegas, kicks off Orangevale Grange series

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUN 2, 2021

Baldo Villegas is a retired state entomologist and a rose expert, too.
(Photo courtesy Baldo Villegas)

Get more out of gardening (and get answers, too) during a summer series of educational workshops, hosted by the new Orangevale Farm and Garden Club.

Part of the Orangevale Grange, Orangevale’s newest garden club started recently as a Facebook group, which already has more than 300 members. At 9 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month, the club will host a one-hour workshop at the Grange, 5807 Walnut Ave. in Orangevale. Everyone is welcome to these in-person events. Admission is free.

Kicking off the summer series will be Sacramento’s Bug Man, Baldo Villegas. A retired state entomologist, Villegas also is a rose expert with more than 3,000 bushes in the ground at his Orangevale home.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, June 5, Villegas will discuss one of his favorite topics: “Identifying and Diagnosing Insect Problems in the Garden.” This workshop is designed for both novice and experienced gardeners.

Any gardener can be a better bug sleuth. Villegas will show how to determine what’s eating your plants and suggest ways to cut down on that destruction without pesticides.

Coming up are workshops on drip irrigation and soil building.

On July 3, Justin Eubank of ACE Hardware will present “ACEing Your Way through Drip Irrigation.” This workshop will come in handy for anyone considering converting their landscape to drip irrigation, an important water-saving tool – especially during drought. Drip irrigation puts water where plants need it most – at the roots.

On Aug. 7, environmental educator Julie Barbour will explain, “When Plants Harmonize with the Soil.” An expert in integrated pest management, Barbour will discuss how plants and soil work together. When that important relationship is healthy, so are the plants – and the soil – with fewer pest problems and more drought tolerance.

Details and more: www.orangevalegrange.org .

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Orangevale Grange Sacramento pests Orangevale bug identification insects drip irrigation bugs gardening workshops free event integrated pest management Baldo Villegas

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Garden Checklist for week of Oct. 13

Our break in the heat has arrived. Time to get planting!

* October is the best month to plant perennials in our area. Add a little well-aged compost and bone meal to the planting hole, but hold off on other fertilizers until spring. Keep the transplants well-watered (but not wet) for the first month as they become settled.

* Now is the time to plant seeds for many flowers directly into the garden, including cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, portulaca, sweet pea and stock.

* Plant seeds for radishes, bok choy, mustard, spinach and peas. Plant garlic and onions.

* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.

* Reseed and feed the lawn. Work on bare spots.

* Dig up corms and tubers of gladioli, dahlias and tuberous begonias after the foliage dies. Clean and store in a cool, dry place.

* Treat azaleas, gardenias and camellias with chelated iron if leaves are yellowing between the veins.

* Clean up the summer vegetable garden and compost disease-free foliage.

* Harvest pumpkins and winter squash.

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