Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Virtual plant sale aids American River College horticulture program

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED APR 16, 2020

It's the next best thing to being there: a virtual plant sale is on for ARC. (Photo:

Kathy Morrison)

Buy some real seedlings or give a donation to the program

Like so many highly anticipated spring garden events, the American River College plant sale was canceled in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The spring sale, as well as one in the fall, supports the active Horticulture Department program.

But plant starts don't wait for anything, and the students have vegetables, herbs and flowers available that would have been snapped up at the sale this month.

So the next best thing: A virtual, no-contact plant sale, with real plants. The catch is buyers have to go pick them up curbside in West Sacramento. Local curbside delivery is available, but only for qualifying orders. The sale link is here .

Supplies are limited, so don't tarry. Most of the succulents already are gone, but there looked to be a decent selection of tomatoes, peppers, greens and eggplant, along with some tomatillos and onions. Flowers include strawflower, cosmos and bachelor buttons. A full range of herbs also is for sale. Prices start at $2 -- best deal in town. (No perennials are included in the sale.)

If you're not in the market for veggies or flower starts, consider a donation to the ARC Horticulture program; that is also offered on the Virtual Plant Sale site. A $1 donation earns the title of Blue Eyed Grass Donor, while a $100 donation dubs you a Blue Oak Donor; there are other levels in between.

This is a great program, well worth supporting. After all, we all want the next generation to include professional plant propagators.

-- Kathy Morrison

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

spring sales Sacramento vegetables coronavirus herbs ARC Horticulture Department plant sale spring gardening flowers

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Food in My Back Yard Series

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

Local News

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!

Thanks to Our Sponsor!

Sites We Like

Garden Checklist for week of March 23

The warm weather expected early in the week will prompt rapid growth – especially weeds! Make the most of those sunny breaks and get to work!

* Fertilize roses, annual flowers and berries as spring growth begins to appear.

* Watch out for aphids! Knock them off plants with a strong stream of water from the hose.

* Pull weeds now! Don’t let them get started. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout.

* Prepare vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.

* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.

* Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to help corral blossom blight.

* Feed citrus trees, which are now in bloom and setting fruit.

* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.

* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and cole family plants, such as cauliflower, broccoli, collards and kale.

* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground. (Soak beet seeds overnight in room-temperature water for better germination.)

* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.

* Shop for perennials. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!