Sacramento Digs Gardening logo
Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

The Claw returns to Sacramento streets


The Claw is coming for your leaves! Check the calendar to find out when. (Photo courtesy City of Sacramento)

Leaf Season officially begins with collection calendar



I love The Claw!

When I heard that metal-against-concrete scrape, I knew Sacramento Leaf Season had officially begun. As someone who does a lot of pruning and has a lot of leaves, I really appreciate The Claw's service. Now I know when to expect its visit.

Through Jan. 27, 2019, the City of Sacramento rolls out its leaf-collecting brigade of John Deere scoopers. This machine, affectionately nicknamed The Claw, grabs big piles of leaves, prunings and other garden waste that tends to overwhelm the City of Trees in late fall and winter.

According to the City of Sacramento, 10 to 15 crews will cruise city streets with Claws and rear-loading trucks. By the end of the season, they expect to pick up more than 54 million pounds of green waste.

Residents can plan ahead for when to put out piles for The Claw. The city suggests filling green waste containers for weekly pick-up before piling up material in the street; that makes the whole process go faster.

Some tips on leaf piles:
* Piles should be no more than 5 cubic yards. That's 4 by 4 by 9 feet, or the size of a small sports car.
* Limbs, branches and canes should be no more than 3 feet long and under 4 inches in diameter.
* Place pile at least 6 feet away from any obstructions (such as parked cars). Allow space between the pile and the curb to allow water to flow to storm drains. Try not to block bike lanes.
* No plastic bags; it's green waste only.
* No pet waste. (Put that in the garbage.)
For more tips: www.cityofsacramento.org .

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

Find our summer recipes here!

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Local News

Ad for California Local

Thanks to our sponsor!

Summer Strong ad for BeWaterSmart.info

Dig In: Garden Checklist

For week of Sept. 24:

This week our weather will be just right for fall gardening. What are you waiting for?

* Now is the time to plant for fall. The warm soil will get these veggies off to a fast start.

* Keep harvesting tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and eggplant. Tomatoes may ripen faster off the vine and sitting on the kitchen counter.

* Compost annuals and vegetable crops that have finished producing.

* Cultivate and add compost to the soil to replenish its nutrients for fall and winter vegetables and flowers.

* Fertilize deciduous fruit trees.

* Plant onions, lettuce, peas, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, bok choy, spinach and potatoes directly into the vegetable beds.

* Transplant cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower as well as lettuce seedlings.

* Sow seeds of California poppies, clarkia and African daisies.

* Transplant cool-weather annuals such as pansies, violas, fairy primroses, calendulas, stocks and snapdragons.

* Divide and replant bulbs, rhizomes and perennials. That includes bearded iris; if they haven’t bloomed in three years, it’s time to dig them up and divide their rhizomes.

* Dig up and divide daylilies as they complete their bloom cycle.

* Divide and transplant peonies that have become overcrowded. Replant with “eyes” about an inch below the soil surface.

* Late September is ideal for sowing a new lawn or re-seeding bare spots.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!