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Get some TLC for fruit trees

SacTree program open to South Sacramento residents

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED DEC 28, 2020

Fruit trees can get some help to be healthy and productive via the Sacramento

Tree Foundation. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Could your fruit trees use some TLC? Have your citrus been less than fruitful? Or are you interested in growing your own supply of backyard fruit?

If you live in South Sacramento, you’re in luck. The Sacramento Tree Foundation has a special program, just for your neighborhood.

Thanks to additional state funding for SacTree’s mini-grant program, SacTree is offering free fruit tree care services to residents in South Sacramento.

“These services will help to ensure your trees develop well, and are on their way to a long and fruitful future,” SacTree posted online. “We’ve teamed up with regenerative agriculture expert Dominic Allamano to support previous fruit tree recipients and other South Sacramento residents in caring for their fruit trees.”

Available until Jan. 31, services include pruning, soil care and education. Trees will get thoughtful pruning to improve structure and future growth. Soil will get a boost with compost, worm castings and mulch. And residents will get expert advice on how to help those fruit trees thrive.

These services are part of the Sacramento Food Forestry Project, bringing more healthy food to those in need.

Boundaries for the project area are generally Fruitridge Road on the north, Mack Road on the south, Freeport Boulevard on the west and Power Inn Road on the east. (The service area does not include Sacramento Executive Airport; for a map, see web page.)

For more information or to sign up, go to: https://www.sactree.com/news/321

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orchard gardening Sacramento healthy eating backyard produce fruit trees Sacramento Tree Foundation home orchard

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Dig In: Garden Checklist

For week of June 4:

Because of the comfortable weather, it’s not too late to set out tomato and pepper seedlings as well as squash and melon plants. They’ll appreciate this not-too-hot weather. Just remember to water.

* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, melons, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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