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Is becoming a master gardener in your future?


UCCE master gardeners answer gardening questions at many events through the year, including Harvest Day, above.
(Photo: Kathy Morrison)
Apply now through Oct. 18 for Sacramento County's next class

If you have ever wanted to join the ranks of the UCCE master gardeners, now's your chance. Applications are being accepted starting today for the Sacramento County master gardeners class of 2020. The deadline for applying is Oct. 18.

According to the UCCE press release announcing the new year of classes, master gardener trainees study a wide range of home horticulture topics, with online and in-class coursework and training on how to properly research and respond to questions from the public. " The mission of master gardeners is to share research-based knowledge and information on home horticulture, pest management and sustainable landscaping practices with the Sacramento community."

Applicants for this class must be residents of Sacramento County. Placer, El Dorado, Yolo, El Dorado, Amador and other counties conduct their own training, and residents of those counties should contact their local groups for information.

The Sacramento training classes will be held each Wednesday from Jan. 15 through May 13, 2020. New master gardeners also must complete 50 hours of volunteer work during their first 12 months. Twenty-five hours a year are required after that.

All classes are taught by UC specialists, horticulture advisers and community experts. Topics include:
basics of soil, irrigation and fertilization; water conservation; identification and control methods for insects, diseases and weeds; proper care of vegetables, fruit and landscape trees; and turfgrass.

Volunteering can take many forms, from conducting workshops, to answering the public's questions on the phone or at the State Fair, to making community presentations. The Sacramento master gardeners also plan, garden and conduct growing experiments at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center in Fair Oaks.

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Garden Checklist for week of June 22

Mornings this first week of summer will remain comfortably cool – just right for gardening!

* Water early in the morning to cut down on evaporation. Check soil moisture and deep water trees and shrubs. Keep new transplants and veggies evenly moist. Deep water tomatoes to encourage deep roots.

* 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.

* 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.

* Avoid pot “hot feet.” Place a 1-inch-thick board under container plants sitting on pavement. This little cushion helps insulate them from radiated heat.

* 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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