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Mountain Mandarin Festival will go on



The Mountain Mandarin Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary. (Photo courtesy Mountain Mandarin Festival.)


Silver lining to smoky weekend, popular citrus event marks 25th anniversary

Mandarins are ready, so this silver anniversary will go on.

Despite reports to the contrary, the 25th annual Mountain Mandarin Festival will be held as planned this weekend, Nov. 16-18, at the Gold Country Fairgrounds, 1273 High St., Auburn.

Wildfire smoke canceled several other local events, but air quality is expected to improve Saturday and Sunday, event organizers said. The festival holds some activities indoors.

With cooking contests and food galore, the Mountain Mandarin Festival celebrates the arrival of this local citrus crop. Dozens of local growers will be on hand to offer their fruit as well as mandarin-related products such as sauces, marmalade and baked goods.

The festival also is a major event for the Placer County master gardeners. They staff a booth all three days of the show, offering advice on how to grow citrus and much more. This festival, they’ll also give away free seeds.

At the festival, the master gardeners will offer their popular and very useful 2019 Calendar and Gardening Guide ($10) written specifically with foothill gardeners in mind.

Admission for today’s 11 a.m.-5 p.m. preview day, Nov. 16, is $4 for everyone. Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, with $8 general admission, $5 seniors. Children age 12 and under admitted free. Parking is $6.


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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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