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Master gardeners host fall Open Garden


The Fair Oaks Horticulture Center will be buzzing Saturday with demonstrations and mini-workshops. It's also a pretty place just to stroll around. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

Learn how to make raisins, plant for cool season ahead

It's time to dig into fall. Who better to inspire an intelligent approach to cool-season gardening than the UC Cooperative Extension master gardeners?

Join dozens of Sacramento County master gardeners on Saturday morning, Sept. 14, during Open Garden at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center.

During this free event, the master gardeners open the gates to their little paradise in Fair Oaks Park to demonstrate how they do what they do: growing delicious vegetables and fruit, composting, and developing water-wise landscaping.

Demonstrations start at 9 a.m. and run through noon. Information tables provide expert advice on any Sacramento-area garden issue, including what to plant now and pest identification.

Get ideas for fall planting in the Water Efficient
Landscape Garden.
At 10 a.m., the master gardeners will host mini-workshops on several autumn topics including:
* Fall planting and water-wise plant selections, in the Water Efficient Landscape Garden.
* Propagating herbs, in the Herb Project Area.
* How to grow a raisin, in the Hort Center vineyard.

Ongoing throughout the morning will be demonstrations on the benefits of mulch; pruning cane berries and blueberries; preparing the garden for cool-season vegetables; and compost pointers.

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Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

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