Sacramento master gardeners will be available for questions, tips during Open Garden
The Water-Efficient Landscape at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is open to the public daily during daylight hours, but the remainder of the center is open only during Harvest Day and Open Gardens, including this Saturday. Kathy Morrison
After a long hot summer, it's so nice to be in the garden again. With almost-fall weather settling into the region, the Sacramento County master gardeners will open the entire Fair Oaks Horticulture Center to visitors this Saturday morning.
Open Garden Day is held monthly through most of the year. From 9 a.m. to noon, visitors can wander the Horticulture Center and observe the work master gardeners are engaged in. The public is welcome to ask questions and seek advice, either in the FOHC's various gardens or at the "Ask a Master Gardener" table. (Bring samples of problem plants or unknown insects in a zip-top plastic bag.)
Mini talks also are held during the morning. This Saturday's topics and times are:
-- 9:30 a.m. Preparing Your Garden for Winter: Think Tiny (Lower Arbor)
-- 10 a.m. How to Harvest Black Gold from Your Worm Bin (Upper Arbor)
-- 10:30 a.m. Transplanting Nursery Plants for a Healthy Start (WEL Round Arbor)
The master gardeners' 2025 Gardening Guide and Calendar will be on sale during the Open Garden events, as well. It sells for $12, cash or check only at the Open Garden. It's more than a calendar -- it's a whole year of gardening advice in one publication.
Interested in becoming a Sacramento County master gardener? This Open Garden also offers the opportunity to find out about the program from the folks already in it. The application period for the 2025 class opened recently and will run through Oct. 10. (The application form and training information can be found here.)
The Fair Oaks Horticulture Center includes the Water-Efficient Landscape (open daily during daylight hours) and these areas that are open only during Harvest Day and Open Gardens: Orchard, Herb Garden, Berry Patch, Composting, Vegetable Garden and Vineyard. Each area will be staffed Saturday morning.
The Horticulture Center is at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, just south of the Fair Oaks Library. For more information on Sacramento master gardener events, go to https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/
The final FOHC Open Garden of 2024 will be Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to noon.
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
WINTER:
Jan. 20: Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Jan. 13: Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Jan. 6: Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Dec. 30: Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
Dec. 23: Is edible gardening possible indoors?
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
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 Jan. 18
Make the most of these rain-free breaks. Your garden needs you!
* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.
* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
* Plant bare-root roses and fruit trees.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladiolus for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Now is the time to prune fruit trees, except cherry and apricot trees. Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.
* Prune Christmas camellias (Camellia sasanqua), the early-flowering varieties, after their bloom. They don’t need much, but selective pruning can promote bushiness, upright growth and more bloom next winter. Give them an acid-type fertilizer. But don’t fertilize your Japonica camellias until after they finish blooming next month. Doing that while camellias are in bloom may cause them to drop unopened buds.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
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