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Gardeners turn out for Sacramento’s annual Harvest Day


The grape tasting table is a popular stop during Harvest Day. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)
Despite humidity and falling ash, Fair Oaks Horticulture Center packs ‘em in for annual celebration


Rudbeckia brightens the Water Efficient Landscape.
Inspiration was everywhere you looked Saturday at Sacramento’s annual Harvest Day celebration.

The Fair Oaks Horticulture Center’s vegetable garden was brimming with tomatoes, cucumbers and melons. The Water Efficient Landscape glowed with blooms and buzzed with bees. Back in the compost area, kids watched wigglers as their parents heard the details of worm composting.

This whimsical plant ID
hangs in the vegetable garden.
Presented by the UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County, Harvest Day is the biggest event of the year for Sacramento gardeners. The 2018 event lived up to its reputation as educational as well as fun. The sky was a little ashy from wildfires and the air a bit thick in the morning, but that didn’t seem to lessen the enthusiasm of the more than 2,000 people who attended.

"Farmer Fred" Hoffman, left, and Phil Purcell talk trees.
As expected, “Farmer Fred” Hoffman drew a big crowd for his opening talk, “Garden Time Savers: Automate, Elevate, Eliminate and Delegate.” He shared his presentation with Don Franklin of Hunter Industries, who talked of the wonders of modern irrigation systems (that fell under “Automate”) and Phil Purcell of Dave Wilson Nursery, who stressed the importance of pruning fruit trees to manageable heights. (That was under “De-Elevate,” Hoffman said. “Buy fruit bushes, not fruit trees!” he advised.)

Hoffman also went right to the point about those problem plants every gardener struggles with: Don’t waste your time. “Get rid of it!” he said, and replace it with something more appropriate for the space or the climate.

Master Gardener Carole Ludlum talks trouble-shooting grapevine
problems. Below, grape clusters in birdproof organza bags.
One thing I’ve always appreciated about the Horticulture Center is that it’s a working space set up by experts who can be just as flummoxed by nature as the average person. The difference: The Master Gardeners try to find out what happened and why.


Every corner of the Horticulture Center was buzzing for hours, as gardeners asked questions, listened and learned.

If you
The Master Gardeners' help table was busy all day long.
missed this year’s event, you should try to catch the next Open Garden at the center, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Sept. 8. Those events are like mini Harvest Days, with  demonstrations and plenty of Master Gardeners to ask questions of. Or you can mark your calendar for next year: Harvest Day 2019 will be on Aug. 3.
Choosing blossoms and herbs to make a solar-dyed silk scarf was a fundraising activity at Harvest Day.
Plant vendors such as Morningsun Herb Farm drew many shoppers.
The event also offered food trucks and educational tables.



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Garden Checklist for week of April 14

It's still not warm enough to transplant tomatoes directly in the ground, but we’re getting there.

* 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 needs nutrients. Fertilize 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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