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Take a break from the heat with an online class or video

Resources to view during those too-hot-to-garden times

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED MAY 6, 2021

Pollinators are the subject of an upcoming webinar from the Placer County master gardeners. (Photo:

Kathy Morrison)

Around here, mornings in spring are made for gardening. But if — when! — the weather heats up, ome inside and spend some time online with the many resources available from the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, including the UC Cooperative Extension.

Check out these online events and webinars:

-- Principles of Propagation Zoom Workshop, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 8, presented by the Placer County master gardeners. As they note: "Propagation is the term for the multiplication of plants, either by natural means or by the actions of the nurseryman or gardener. This introductory workshop will show you some of the many ways you can propagate plants." Click here for the Zoom link and password .

-- Heat Illness Prevention and Environmental Hazards in Your Garden, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 12. This timely virtual presentation is from the El Dorado County master gardeners. "Prevention is key to avoiding heat related illnesses and potential injuries and illnesses associated with environmental hazards, such as rattlesnakes, poisonous plants, skin cancer, insect bites, etc. Join Master Gardener Cathie Mankins to learn tips on preventing illnesses and injuries in your garden." Registration is free but required .

-- Springtime Household Pests, 1 p.m. Thursday, May 20. This 1-hour webinar is part of a new monthly series from the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. "This webinar will cover identification and management of pests encountered in the home during springtime including carpet beetles, fleas, and fungus gnats associated with houseplants." The present is Dr. Andrew Sutherland, Area Urban IPM Advisor, San Francisco Bay Area. Free, but registration required here . The June 17 webinar will be "IM for Rodents." For more on the IPM series, visit this page .

-- Plant It and They Will Come: Planning for Pollinators Zoom Workshop, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 22, also by the Placer County master gardeners. "Learn how to attract and support bees, butterflies and other pollinators by choosing a palette of plants that provide a living landscape which offers nourishment and nesting places for these creatures that enliven our gardens, as well as provide pollination services. It’s a win-win for humans and pollinators!" Go here for the Zoom link and password .

Several view-anytime videos are linked from the Sacramento County master gardeners video library . Here are a few that are relevant right now:

"Better Pollination In The Home Vegetable Garden," from the Honey Bee Haven at UC Davis.

"Thinning Fruit on Your Fruit Trees," by the Sacramento County master gardeners.

"Aphid-eating Insects in Action!" The focus is on beneficial insects that devour (and I mean devour, wow!) bad bugs, from UC IPM.

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UCCE master gardeners gardening vegetables El Dorado County webinars Placer County classes pollinators videos Sacramento County gardening advice

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 25: Crape myrtles, Sacramento's unofficial tree of summer

Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

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

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