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Learn how to make a bee house, prune grapes

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED MAR 5, 2019

Mason bees love these kind of "houses." (Photo courtesy

Sacramento County master gardeners)

Sacramento County master gardeners host free demonstrations at Open Garden

Do you want to help bees feel at home? Grow backyard grapes? Make gifts with home-grown herbs?

Learn all those skills and more during a full morning of demonstrations and hands-on opportunities as the Sacramento County master gardeners host an Open Garden, from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 9, at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., in Fair Oaks Park.

Open free to the public, these informal gatherings allow visitors to ask these UC Cooperative Extension experts gardening questions while watching them tackle garden tasks. Rain or shine, the event will be held outdoors, so dress appropriately.

At 10 a.m., master gardeners will conduct demonstrations on:

* How to help pollinators, including construction of “houses” for mason bees;

* Cane and spur pruning of grapes for arbors;

* Herbal gift ideas from the garden; and

* Tips for selection and planting of drought-tolerant woody perennials for the water-efficient landscape.

Throughout the morning, master gardeners will be stationed in various areas of the Hort Center. They’ll demonstrate how to winter prune fruit trees in the orchard. In the vegetable garden, they’ll discuss preparation for spring planting. In the vineyard, they’ll show how to fight disease and grow healthier (and more productive) grapevines.

The Horticulture Center has an extensive display on compost

bins. Check them out Saturday. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Interested in berries? They’ll share how monitoring soil pH and amendments can lead to greater yields. Also get tips for composting success, including which bins are best and fast-cooking compost "recipes."

In the Water-Efficient Landscape, learn how to use WUCOLS (Water Use Classification of Landscape Species) ratings to choose the right plants for the right place in a drought-tolerant makeover.

Got a puzzling pest or mystery plant? Bring a sample in a sealed plastic bag to the Ask a Master Gardener information table. And if you haven’t already, pick up a copy of the 2019 master gardener calendar and gardening guide ($10), packed with need-to-know information for garden success including how to preserve your harvest.

Details: sacmg.ucanr.edu.

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Keywords:

UCCE master gardeners grapevines events fruit trees composting gardening vegetables bees herbs Fair Oaks Horticulture Center pollinators water-wise gardening perennials

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

FALL

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

WINTER

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

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Garden checklist for week of Nov. 16

During breaks in the weather, tackle some garden tasks:

* Clear gutters and storm drains.

* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* After the storm, seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Plant bulbs at two-week intervals to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting them. Do leave some (healthy) leaves in the planting beds for wildlife and beneficial insect habitat.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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