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Free gardening education is out there

Let 2021 be the year of building on 2020's lessons

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED DEC 31, 2020

Ed Laivo gives advice on choosing a bare-root fruit tree in a Dave Wilson Nursery video, one of many videos linked on the Sacramento County master gardeners' website . (Screenshot)

Experience is a great teacher, and judging from social media posts, this year a lot of gardeners -- beginners and veterans -- received a lot of schooling on growing food and ornamentals.

We all were home more, with more time to nurture plants and see our gardens develop. Or not.

The "I'll throw some seeds in the ground" crowd learned that preparing the soil first would have helped those seeds germinate better and develop as strong seedlings. Good chance they're working on a compost pile and already may have done a soil test for missing nutrients.

The "why grow 5 tomato plants when I can grow 25" folks learned about keeping up with a large crop -- and the importance of strong support for all those plants. They're already planning stronger cages or better stakes. And maybe fewer tomatoes.

The "I'm not getting any squash" group learned that not all plants develop the same way. Squash, pumpkins and melons require both male and female flowers to pollinate -- and those flowers may not develop at the same time. These gardeners may have bought a paintbrush to transfer pollen themselves. And are likely planning more pollinator plants to entice more bees.

The "but it said full sun!" gardeners learned that this note on a plant or seed package doesn't mean Sacramento sun in July or August. They're already investing in shade cloth. Lots of shade cloth.

The large "what's eating my plants?" crowd learned that growing food can mean having to share with the local wildlife. They're researching greenhouses, plant cages and motion-operated sprinklers.

There were a lot more lessons, of course, depending on one's garden size, location, contents and personal experience.

Many fine sources of information are out there to help gardeners build on their experience/education. I recommend starting with the UCCE Sacramento County master gardeners' website , which is packed with information, charts and references for year-round gardening.

Master gardener Pat Schink demonstrates hard winter

pruning of a blooming salvia plant in one of the

Sacramento County master gardener videos. (Screenshot)

And I hope all gardeners take the opportunity to check out the Sacramento master gardeners' video library. Many of the videos listed were filmed in the summer, for Virtual Harvest Day 2020, but they're good to review year-round. Pertinent ones for winter include these:

Sharpening hand pruners with Bill Black of the Sacramento master gardeners

Composting: Getting started with Susan Muckey of the Sacramento master gardeners

Shopping for bare-root fruit trees with Ed Laivo of Dave Wilson Nursery

Grafting fruit trees with Tom Spellman of Dave Wilson Nursery

Identifying and removing suckers on citrus trees with Kerry Beane of Four Winds Growers

Seed-starting with Ruth Ostroff of the Sacramento master gardeners

Pruning woody sages with Pat Schink of the Sacramento master gardeners. This video includes growing season and dormant season (winter) pruning of salvias.

With the outdoor world mostly resting, winter is the perfect time to read up on gardening topics, watch videos, and prepare for 2021 gardening.

Happy new year!

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GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

UCCE master gardeners seeds winter chores Sacramento fruit trees seed starting citrus trees bare-root trees gardening pruning dormancy Harvest day videos

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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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