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Leaf season dilemma: Piles vs. parking


Fill up your green-waste bin first, Sacramento city residents, so the leaf piles don't take up all the parking space. (Photo:
Kathy Morrison)

Help your neighbors and use green-waste bins first



The biggest complaint during leaf season in Sacramento? Those street piles take up parking places.

This problem is particularly huge in neighborhoods with heavy leaf canopies, such as Midtown, Land Park, McKinley Park, College Green, River Park and Pocket/Greenhaven.

By using the weekly green-waste bins, residents can help alleviate the parking issues. Fewer piles also allow The Claw crews to complete their city rotation faster, too.

“Even in the heaviest years, if you use the container every week, it makes a huge difference,” said Erin Treadwell, spokesperson for Sacramento’s Recycling and Solid Waste Division.

In particular, “blow and go” landscapers tend to put everything in the street during leaf season,  Nov. 1 through Jan. 26. Talk to your landscapers and ask them to put the green waste in the container first, Treadwell advised.

“We did a can survey during heaviest days,” Treadwell said. “Out of 1,000 yard waste cans on a typical route, only 200 cans were set out, but the streets were crowded with leaf piles. If only half the route had used cans, it would have made a huge difference and there would be a lot more parking.”

For more on leaf season and street pile rules, got to
www.cityofsacramento.org .

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Dig In: Garden Checklist

For week of March 24:

In between cloud bursts, try to catch up with early spring chores. 

* Attack weeds now! Get them before they flower and go to seed. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout. Aim for 1 inch below the soil line.

* Start preparing 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. To prevent sunburn and borer problems on young trees, paint the exposed portion of the trunk with diluted white latex (water-based) interior paint. Dilute the paint with an equal amount of cold water before application.

* Feed roses with a balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium available in that product).

* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs and trees after they bloom. Try using well-composted manure, spread 1-inch thick under the tree. This serves as both fertilizer and mulch, retaining moisture while cutting down on weeds.

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

* Seed and renovate the lawn (if you still have one). Feed cool-season grasses such as bent, blue, rye and fescue with a slow-release fertilizer. Check the irrigation system and perform maintenance. Make sure sprinkler heads are turned toward the lawn, not the sidewalk.

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

* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground.

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

* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.

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