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The Garden Calendar is filling up with spring events


The first UC Davis Arboretum plant sale of the spring is a highlight of the March garden calendar. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

March bringing in a whirlwind of activities

Spring officially is still more than three weeks away, but the
calendar already is filling up with gardening events and activities around the Sacramento region.

Saturday, March 9, alone has four major events:

* Open Garden at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center: 9 a.m. to noon. Includes mini talks by the UCCE master gardeners on cane and spur pruning of grapes for arbors, making houses for mason bees, herbal gifts from the garden, and selecting and planting woody ornamentals. Bring your garden questions, too. 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks. http://sacmg.ucanr.edu

* Sherwood Demonstration Garden: 9 a.m. to noon . At Second Saturday Open Garden t his month, the topics will be straw bale gardening, spring and summer crops, mulch, compost and fertilizer, and a pruning demonstration in the orchard.  $2 parking charged by Folsom Lake College El Dorado Center seven days a week. Exact change required. 6699 Campus Drive, Placerville. http://mgeldorado.ucanr.edu

* UC Davis Arboretum Member Appreciation Plant Sale : 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Arboretum's 1-acre Teaching Nursery holds its first sale of the season. Before 11 a.m., open to members only. Public welcome from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Plants include Arboretum All Stars, California natives, trees, low-water shrubs and more. Refreshments, live music, children's activities. Membership can be purchased at the door. Garrod Drive, across from the UCDavis Vet School. arboretum.ucdavis.edu

* Green Acres Elk Grove: Dig Into Spring Ideas Fair : 9 a.m. to 6 p. m. Free garden talks, plus exhibits of new plants and products, giveaways, special buys, and other activities. Check idiggreenacres.com for the workshop schedule. 9220 E. Stockton Blvd., Elk Grove. 916-714-5600.

More events are coming in daily, so be sure to check back often.

-- Kathy Morrison

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Garden Checklist for week of June 15

Make the most of this “average” weather; your garden is growing fast! (So are the weeds!)

* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.

* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot.

* 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.

* Pull weeds before they go to seed.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* 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. It also helps smother weeds.

* 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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