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Must-views on YouTube: Harvest Day speakers


Karrie Reid in garden
In the Water Efficient Landscape at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, Karrie Reid talks about "Building Resilient Gardens." (Screenshots from UCCE YouTube channel)



I love Harvest Day. Each year I scramble to get to the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, find a parking place and then a seat before the roster of speakers starts. So much great information to soak up!

Well, Virtual Harvest Day 2020 is two days away, and I've already heard both key speakers! And gardeners, it's worth your time to go to YouTube and watch their videos. You'll be all set if you do it now, and then you can watch each speaker live on Saturday as they handle gardeners' questions -- including yours (hint, hint).

"Building Resilient Gardens" is the topic of Karrie Reid, the UCCE environmental horticulture adviser for San Joaquin County. I like her use of the word "resilient" because it covers all the things we worry about for the garden: weather, water shortages and changing climate. Reid talks about the importance of building soils and choosing the right plants for our planting zones.

"Grow Fruit Trees in Limited Space Using Size Control" is the focus of Ed Laivo's presentation. Laivo is a fruit tree and edible-landscaping specialist who helped establish the FOHC orchard. He now works for Burchell Nursery. His effective presentation shows how orchards can be kept to compact size with one hand tool: pruning shears. He hoists poles to show just how tall fruit trees can grow -- and to show the optimum size for a home orchard. (See the screenshot below.)

About 20 other short videos recorded by the Sacramento County master gardeners, covering topics from compost to vineyards, are available on YouTube. Do check all of them out, but aim to start with Teri VanAirsdale's charming welcome video .

Reid will be live Saturday at 9 a.m., Laivo at 10 a.m. They will be followed by a panel of master gardeners at 11 a.m. Find the link for the live event on Saturday on t he Harvest Day page . To send in questions for any of the live shows, email mgsacramento@ucanr.edu

And just think, you won't have to rush to find parking!

Ed Laivo with pole to show how tall trees get
Ed Laivo demonstrates the potential height of fruit trees with a pole in his YouTube video.


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Garden Checklist for week of June 15

Make the most of this “average” weather; your garden is growing fast! (So are the weeds!)

* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.

* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, 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.

* Pull weeds before they go to seed.

* 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. It also helps smother weeds.

* 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. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* 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.

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