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Back in print: Sacramento gets a weekly gardening column

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAR 18, 2019

Look for gardening news in Sacramento
News & Review, starting in April.
(Courtesy Sacramento News & Review)

Arrington to launch new home & garden column in News & Review

Here’s big news for readers: Sacramento is about to get a weekly home and garden column in a local newspaper – again.

And it’s going to be written by me.

After an 11-month hiatus, I’m going to be back in print. The Sacramento News & Review has invited me to write a weekly column for its new Home & Garden section. The section will start off small, but grow as advertising and interest support it, according to publisher Jeff vonKaenel.

The column is scheduled to launch in April, just in time for a very active gardening season.

I worked with SN&R editor Foon Rhee at The Sacramento Bee, my employer for nearly 20 years. After a decade as The Bee’s Home & Garden writer, I was downsized in May 2018. But I never stopped writing about gardening.

Sacramento Digs Gardening launched June 1 and has had a daily blog post ever since. That’s a lot of gardening news!

Sac Digs Gardening now has 1,050 Followers on Facebook ; thank you to every one! And no worries; Sac Digs Gardening will continue with daily gardening news, events and observations (plus recipes on Sundays) as well as the daily e-newsletter.

But not everybody is on Facebook or online. In the age of digital media, print newspapers continue to be a valuable resource and an important part of building community.

In Sacramento, we are a community of gardeners. About half of all Sacramentans list gardening as a hobby or something that they do on a regular basis. In the Farm-to-Fork Capital, growing food is a major pastime (as well as profession). This interest cuts across all sorts of demographics (even politics).

Thousands of newspaper readers will see this new Home & Garden section every week. It’s another chance to spread our love of gardening as well as share news and information.

Here’s another big plus: The News & Review is distributed free throughout the Sacramento area. It publishes on Thursdays, just in time for busy gardening weekends.

Look for my new column, starting in April. If you have any suggested topics, reach out to me directly at debarrington17@gmail.com .

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GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

gardening Jeff vonKaenel Sacramento News & Review Debbie Arrington gardening column farm to fork Foon Rhee

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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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