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Gardeners turn out for Sacramento’s annual Harvest Day

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED AUG 5, 2018

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.

If a tomatillo isn’t growing properly, they don’t rip it out, they explain it. If a sweet potato vine develops fasciation (a condition in which the vine flattens and looks fused), they use it as a learning tool. They tackle questions like “Is there any way to keep birds from eating the grapes in the vineyard?” If you saw the little organza bags tied around the bunches of grapes, you saw their attempt at an answer. (Apparently the bags do stop the birds, but not the squirrels. Ah, well.)

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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GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

Harvest Day composting gardening Sacramento vegetables grapevines heat Fair Oaks Horticulture Center Farmer Fred Hoffman fruit trees summer

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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.

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