Rio Linda Grange presents Zucchini Festival on Saturday
Hey, Zuke, wanna race? The Zucchini Festival in Rio Linda this weekend welcomes big squash -- maybe much bigger than these -- to its Zucchini Races event. Kathy Morrison
The Rio Linda Grange may have created the most delightful use for giant overgrown zucchini squash.
The fun will be on view this Saturday, Aug. 10, as the Grange presents its annual Zucchini Festival & Races.
The festival of course will have food and vendors and kids activities, running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rio Linda Library parking lot, 6th and M streets in Rio Linda.
But the big draw undoubtably will be the races. These are somewhat like pinewood derby races, although the dominant car material is not a block of wood but a giant, woody zucchini (or other variety of summer squash). They are attached to wheeled toys, skate wheels or anything else that falls within the guidelines (see below) and decorated.
Registration will start at 9 a.m. Anyone who brings in a ready-to-race vehicle will be registered free; zucchini-less entrants can pay $5 for creation supplies while they last.
Here are the guidelines for building a zucchini car:
-- Maximum height is 14 inches; maximum width is 12 inches; maximum length is 14 inches.
-- No motorized vehicles; gravity is the only "power" allowed.
-- No intact skateboards.
-- No added weights.
-- One entry per person.
The builder tables open at 9 a.m. with registration. Between 10 and 10:15 a.m. judging for Best in Show creation will be held, along with the public-voted Greatest of All Time (GOAT) Award.
The races will kick off at 10:15, with kids' entries first, followed by adults' entries.
At 12:30 p.m., the judged awards are handed out, as well as an award for the heaviest zucchini. (If you have a big one growing right now, give it some extra water!)
The finale will be a face-off race between the top youth entry and the top adult entry.
Admission and parking for the festival are free.
For information on Rio Linda Grange #403, which is celebrating its 100th year, and the festival, go to https://www.facebook.com/RioLindaGrange
And by the way, Happy National Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch today to all who celebrate ... but keep the biggest one for the races.
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Garden checklist for week of July 19
Remember to water early and deeply; your garden depends on you.
* It’s not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers.
* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.
* Water, then fertilize vegetables and blooming annuals, perennials and shrubs to give them a boost.
*Fertilizing flowering plants every other week will extend their bloom. Give vegetable plants bone meal or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting.
* Don’t let tomatoes wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week. Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.
* If your melons and squash aren’t setting fruit, give the bees a hand. With a small, soft paintbrush, gather some pollen from male flowers, then brush it inside the female flowers, which have a tiny swelling at the base of their petals. (That's the embryo melon or squash.) Within days, that little swelling should start growing.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.
* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves. New leaves have the best flavor.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
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Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
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Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
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Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
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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
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Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
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Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
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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?
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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?
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May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
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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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