'Rubied sprouts' feature two seasonal favorites
After sunny days, change is in the air; rain's due Thursday
Elk Grove garden store hosts family fun along with sale
Celebrate, learn about and purchase California natives
Just in time for fall color, a new self-guided tour teaches about varieties on campus
Fun outdoor events at the Carmichael nature center this weekend
Indoor plant store in Davis draws shoppers via social media
Try mandarins in an easy parfait dessert
Frost could be in the forecast. Make the most of clear days in the garden.
New location replaces locally owned business's first store
Frosty weather can endanger trees and fruit
Enjoy live music and plenty of mandarin-flavored foods
Find handmade arts and crafts (and food) in time for holiday shopping
See mums of all types and learn how to grow them, too
Treat features fruit and a special ingredient
Make the most of soft ground and clear skies
Prepare for frost with these handy tips
Find native plants at find out farms
Find gift ideas, food and plants galore
Sacramento-area textile artists model their one-of-a-kind creations, then hold big sale.
Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of Feb. 16
Take advantage of this nice weather. There’s plenty to do as your garden starts to switch into high gear for spring growth.
* This is the last chance to spray fruit trees before their buds open. Treat peach and nectarine trees with copper-based fungicide. Spray apricot trees at bud swell to prevent brown rot. Apply horticultural oil to control scale, mites and aphids on fruit trees.
* Check soil moisture before resuming irrigation. Most likely, your soil is still pretty damp.
* Feed spring-blooming shrubs and fall-planted perennials with slow-release fertilizer. Feed mature trees and shrubs after spring growth starts.
* Transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.
* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.
* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and cauliflower – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).
* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.
* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.
* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.
* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.
* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.
* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.