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Image caption: Area nurseries are well-stocked with bare-root berry plants and orchard fruit trees. Now is the time to plant bare-roots, especially with the weather drying out this next week.

Featured: Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Jan. 5

Make the most of dry, sunny January weather

Fri, Jan 03, 2025

Snowpack survey offers positive NorCal water outlook

Get up-to-date local water information with handy online tool

Thu, Jan 02, 2025

Declutter your seed collection, too, this month

Before buying more, thin your seed stockpile; compost or share the rest

Wed, Jan 01, 2025

Resolutions for a great 2025 garden year

How to be a better (and more thoughtful) gardener

Tue, Dec 31, 2024

Start the New Year with expert gardening advice

Get 2025 garden guides/calendars from Sacramento, Placer master gardeners

Mon, Dec 30, 2024

Gray mold gives rose gardens winter blues

Fungal disease prompted by wet weather; tips for stopping its spread

Sun, Dec 29, 2024

Persimmons put seasonal twist on California favorite

New! Persimmon date-walnut tea bread uses super-ripe fruit

Sat, Dec 28, 2024

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 29

Pruning season arrives after another soggy weekend

Fri, Dec 27, 2024

Tomato report card: What to plant in 2025

Weird weather did produce some winners (and a few winter tomatoes)

Thu, Dec 26, 2024

Pick oranges now or wait? Here's how to know

Taste-test the fruit -- every year can be slightly different

Wed, Dec 25, 2024

Recycle your Christmas tree into a garden gift

Where to mulch your tree for free in Sacramento and Yolo counties

Tue, Dec 24, 2024

Volunteers needed for Sacramento's most romantic spot

Learn pruning while helping McKinley Park rose garden at two January events

Mon, Dec 23, 2024

How to care for moth orchids

Popular gift plant is easy to love (remember to add ice)

Sun, Dec 22, 2024

Put a lemony, seasonal twist on red and green coleslaw

New! Brussels sprouts-apple slaw with pomegranate, pistachios and Meyer lemon dressing

Sat, Dec 21, 2024

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 22

Expect a very wet Christmas week; make most of breaks between storms

Fri, Dec 20, 2024

Volunteers needed for UC Davis Arboretum

Sign up now to help world-famous public gardens, learn new skills

Thu, Dec 19, 2024

Need a last-minute gardening gift?

Calendars, clothes pins and memberships are top suggestions

Wed, Dec 18, 2024

Sacramento rain adds up to healthy totals

Downtown has received more than 18 inches so far in 2024 -- with more on the way

Tue, Dec 17, 2024

How to combat ants when they come indoors

Skip pesticides and grab a soapy sponge (and caulk)

Mon, Dec 16, 2024

How to cope with soggy soil

Wet weather can cause issues for gardeners with water-logged landscapes

Sun, Dec 15, 2024

Pomegranate jelly-filled cookies show off seasonal red

Classic! These thumbprints are a twist on a traditional favorite

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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!