Students' portable food gardens compete
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This gingham-wrapped wheelbarrow is an example of the
portable gardens entered in the Sacramento County Fair. Note
the pictures of students around the bottom of the wheelbarrow. (Photo courtesy Sacramento County Fair) |
After a two-year hiatus, the Sacramento County Fair returns this week to Cal Expo – and so does one of its most popular garden-inspired events.
Dozens of portable gardens created by local students will compete in the fair’s “Farm Garden in a Wheelbarrow” contest.
“Farm Garden in a Wheelbarrow is an educational program designed to educate young children, grades K-6, about the importance of agriculture, where their food comes from and how it grows,” according to fair organizers.
Making that connection is vital for kids to understand so they have a better appreciation of food and farming, especially in the Farm-to-Fork Capital.
“If our children don’t understand where our food comes from, where will our food come from in the future?” say the organizers.
The program is open to both public and private schools as well as after-school programs, 4-H clubs and home school groups. Each wheelbarrow garden is a multi-month project, usually planted in winter or early spring.
What grows in a wheelbarrow? Just about anything that can sprout and root in a container. Among the favorite crops featured in these movable raised beds: Radishes, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, beets, carrots, even corn -- plus several varieties of flowers and herbs.
Classrooms add their own often-whimsical touches to make their wheelbarrow garden stand out, such as photos of students, an over-sized fork or toy roller coaster. See for yourself; the competing gardens will be displayed in one of the fair exhibit halls.
Meanwhile, the fair will be packed with many old-time favorites such as livestock judging, horse show, free entertainment (including duck and pig races) and carnival rides. The fair also will unveil a new attraction: “Dinosaurs Throughout the Ages,” featuring life-size replicas as well as “living fossils” – real reptiles such as alligators and horned lizards.
The 86th annual Sacramento County Fair runs Thursday through Memorial Day, May 26-30. Fair hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday. Admission is $12; youth, ages 12-16, $10; children age 11 and younger admitted free. Seniors Day is Thursday with $8 admission for patrons age 60 and older. Parking is $10.
Cal Expo is located at 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento.
Details and directions: www.sacfair.com .
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Garden checklist for week of Feb. 8
Dodge those raindrops and get things done! Your garden needs you.
* Start your spring (and summer) garden. 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 Brussels sprouts – 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.
* This is the last chance to spray fruit trees before they bloom. 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 soon after a rain. But remember: Oils need at least 24 hours to dry to be effective. Don’t spray during foggy weather or when rain is forecast.
* Feed spring-blooming shrubs and fall-planted perennials with slow-release fertilizer. Feed mature trees and shrubs after spring growth starts.
* Remove aphids from blooming bulbs with a strong spray of water or insecticidal soap.
* Fertilize strawberries and asparagus.
Contact Us
Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it
Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?
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
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