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Fri, Jan 12, 2024

McKinley Park rose garden needs volunteers

More pruning events set for Saturdays throughout January

Thu, Jan 11, 2024

More rain is coming soon -- how's the garden holding up?

Some trouble spots to look for before Saturday's storm

Wed, Jan 10, 2024

Learn how to tell good bugs from bad pests

Yolo County master gardeners offer free Zoom workshop on insect, disease identification

Tue, Jan 09, 2024

Happy National Houseplant Appreciation Day!

Time to show your indoor garden some love

Mon, Jan 08, 2024

Want roses? Grab your shovel; it’s time to dig in!

Rose society offers advice on transplanting -- and digging up – rose bushes

Fri, Jan 05, 2024

Learn proper pruning at free Green Acres workshops

Class with expert tips offered at all locations

Thu, Jan 04, 2024

Pruning basics covered in quick, informative local videos

Topics include salvias, blueberries, grasses and more

Wed, Jan 03, 2024

Learn about 'Gardening for the Future'

El Dorado master gardeners offer free workshop on biodiversity and sustainable gardening

Tue, Jan 02, 2024

Learn about seed saving and swapping

Placer County master gardeners host free in-person workshop

Sat, Dec 30, 2023

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 31

New Year starts like the old year ends — kind of soggy

Fri, Dec 29, 2023

Learn how to prune roses better, faster

Sierra Foothills Rose Society offers free workshop with expert hands-on advice

Thu, Dec 28, 2023

Some great plants you can grow to help birds

Food, flowers and shelter especially needed in winter

Wed, Dec 27, 2023

Why are Sacramento roses still blooming?

It's time to start pruning; how to cue bushes to take a winter nap

Tue, Dec 26, 2023

Grow more fruit with this free workshop

Roseville class covers fruit tree care from planting to harvest

Mon, Dec 25, 2023

After celebration is over, consider recycling your Christmas tree

City of Sacramento, county offer options to turn trees into mulch

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Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Lemon coconut pancakes

Find our winter recipes here!

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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 5

Take advantage of this break between storm systems to give your garden some much-needed TLC.

* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.

* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback. Save them until summer.) Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.

* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.

* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.

* Apply horticultural oil to fruit trees soon after a rain to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.

* This is also the time to spray a copper-based fungicide to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. (The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.)

* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.

* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.

* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.

* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.

* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.

* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.

* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.

* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.

* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranuculous and gladiolus for bloom from late spring into summer.

* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Muffins and pumpkin

Find our fall recipes here!