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Many opportunities Saturday to explore and learn

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED FEB 6, 2020

It may not be shorts weather this weekend, but Soil Born Farms' American River Ranch still will be a lovely place

to stroll Saturday. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Fun gardening events around the region this weekend

Another sunny weekend is heading our way. If you haven't already made plans for Saturday, Feb. 8, you might want to check out these events:

-- Second Saturday Open Garden Day at the Sherwood Demonstration Garden, 6699 Campus Drive, Placerville, 9 a.m. to noon. The garden, run by the El Dorado County master gardeners, will be open for roaming. Discover the beauty of the 16 individual gardens. Docents will be available to answer questions. Free, but parking at the site (part of the Folsom Lake College El Dorado Center) is $2, exact change required.

-- Rose Pruning Demonstration. It's still pruning season, especially for foothill gardeners. If you visit the Sherwood Demonstration Garden in the morning, stick around from 1 to 4 p.m. for the free demonstration by Master Gardener Eve Keener. (You'll already have paid for parking, after all.) For more information on the El Dorado County master gardener offerings, go to mgeldorado.ucanr.edu .

-- Family Nature Walk at Soil Born Farms, 2140 Chase Drive, Rancho Cordova. Starting at 9 a.m. until about 11 a.m., naturalist Cliff Hawley will lead a walking tour of the American River Ranch, exploring plants, animals and relationships among them that make up the ranch environment. Family friendly, but recommended for kids ages 5 and older. $10 tickets; proceeds support the American River Ranch Restoration and Development Fund. Information and tickets here . Soil Born also will be open for Saturday at the Farm, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with cooking demonstrations, fresh produce for sale, live music and kids Valentine's Day activities, among other offerings. www.soilborn.org

-- Grape Pruning Workshop, at Woodland Community College, 2300 E. Gibson Road, Building 400, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., offered free by the Yolo County master gardeners. Doug Mackenzie will present strategies for developing vines from recently purchased plants to fully developed vines, and for pruning fully mature vines. Participants will be able to experience pruning vines at the WCC demonstration garden after the lecture. Bring clippers and/or mini-loppers. Information here .

-- Backyard Chickens Workshop, at the Esparto Regional Library, 17065 Yolo Ave., Esparto, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The free workshop, also a presentation of the Yolo County master gardeners, will cover the basics of keeping chickens. All the offerings by the UCCE master gardeners of Yolo County can be viewed at http://yolomg.ucanr.edu/

And see our posts from earlier this week on two other Saturday events: the Open Garden at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center and the Weavers and Spinners show at the Shepard Garden & Arts Center.

-- Kathy Morrison

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Keywords:

UCCE master gardeners Sacramento grapevines Shepard Garden & Arts Center events roses chickens gardening Yolo County Sherwood Demonstration Garden walking tours El Dorado County Soil Born Farms

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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