Sacramento Tree Foundation needs volunteers of all ages for gathering acorns
The annual acorn harvest celebrates the beginnings of the life cycle of native oaks. These are acorns and leaves from a blue oak, which is found on the edges of the Sacramento Valley and throughout the foothills. Kathy Morrison
It must be (almost) fall; the acorns are dropping.
Will it be a mast year with a bumper crop of acorns? (That could be a harbinger of a wet, cold winter.) Or will be oak fruit be hard to find?
Either way, the Sacramento Tree Foundation needs those tree nuts to grow a new crop of oaks to plant throughout the region and reforest habitat.
SacTree is hosting two Acorn Harvest Saturdays, Sept. 24 and Oct. 1. Each will be morning-long events, from 8:45 a.m. to noon, but in different locations. Sept 24 will concentrate on Folsom oaks. Oct 1 will harvest trees in Natomas. Specific locations will be provided at registration.
The annual acorn harvest is an important part of SacTree’s mission.
“At the Sacramento Tree Foundation, we steward our urban forest from seed to slab,” say the organizers. “The annual acorn harvest celebrates the beginnings of the life cycle of our native oaks. Acorns are harvested by volunteers, carefully sorted by interns, grown into seedlings by schoolchildren, planted at reforestation sites by volunteers, and stewarded by our staff.
“When trees reach the end of their lifespans, we salvage and sell their wood to further support education and programming around the life cycle of the urban forest.”
This crop of acorns will “grow the next generation of oak trees,” they added. “We provide all the necessary training and supplies to harvest acorns. Participants will receive a short hands-on training on site.
“Register now! The week before this event, we will send a logistics and directions email with detailed information about how to get to the site. You will receive this email only if you are signed up for this planting.
“Anyone but those who live or work nearby are especially encouraged to attend! This event is open to the general public, you do not need any prior experience to join us and on-site training will be provided. Families with children are welcome.”
Space is limited, SacTree adds. Volunteers under 18 years of age must have their parent or legal guardian sign their consent form during registration. Volunteers under 16 years of age must be accompanied and supervised by an adult. One adult chaperone is required for every six youths under age 16, or for every two children under 10.
Volunteers should wear long pants, long sleeves, closed-toe hiking boots or shoes, and sun protection. Dress comfortably and appropriately for the weather. Bring water. Contact with poison oak, ticks, snakes, bees or other wildland hazards is possible. Check in on time at 8:45 a.m. Volunteers must be present for the tool safety demonstration at the start of the event.
For details and registration: https://sactree.org/events/
– Debbie Arrington
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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 2
Get out early in the morning and monitor your garden’s moisture needs. Deep water and add temporary shade structures for plants that are feeling a little burned. In particular, protect developing peppers and eggplant.
* Put off fertilization until this heat passes; plants need to concentrate on hydration instead of growth.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don’t let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips. Make sure to keep seeds and seedlings consistently moist.
* Plant potatoes.
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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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