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Celebrate farm-to-fork fun in Sacramento, Davis

Street Festival takes over Capitol Mall; The Village Feast returns to Davis Central Park

Cooking demonstrations and gardening workshops will be featured on two stages Saturday, Sept. 21, during the Farm to Fork Festival on Capitol Mall.

Cooking demonstrations and gardening workshops will be featured on two stages Saturday, Sept. 21, during the Farm to Fork Festival on Capitol Mall. Courtesy Sacramento Farm to Fork Festival

It’s time for some farm-to-fork fun!

Food and farmers will be saluted on both sides of the Sacramento River this weekend as two celebrations embrace our sense of place and purpose.

Sacramento’s farm-to-fork festivities conclude Friday and Saturday with the return of the Sacramento Farm-to-Fork Street Festival.

Starting at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, Capitol Mall will be packed with vendors, food demonstrations and music, stretching from Fourth to Seventh streets. The Street Festival continues all day Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., with food-inspired contests and lots of free samples. Dozens of local restaurants and food purveyors are expected to participate. (A full list of participating vendors and their locations can be found here: https://www.farmtofork.com/about/festival-vendors/.)

Saturday’s presenters on the UC Davis Health Demonstration Stage include some tips for backyard farmers such as “Compost and Climate: Farm to Fork to Farm,” at 11:30 a.m. with David Baker of ReSoil Sacramento; or a hands-on workshop, “How to Create a Wicking Bed for Container Gardening,” at 5:30 p.m. Over on the SMUD Stage, learn about vermiculture from “The Worm Whisperer,” at 6:30 p.m. The demonstration schedule can be found here: https://www.farmtofork.com/2024-demo-stage-schedule/.

Access to the street festival is free, but there are charges for some food and drink. This is a cashless event; bring a debit or credit card.

Besides all the free stuff, Friday’s Street Festival also includes “The Grand Tasting” showcasing 20 local chefs representing many of the Sacramento region’s best restaurants. Guests get two drink tickets and as many samples as they can eat. Tickets are $125 and should be bought in advance: https://www.farmtofork.com/events/the-grand-tasting/.

For more on the festival: https://www.farmtofork.com.

But there’s more! At noon Sunday, Sept. 22, the farm-to-fork love continues in Yolo County at the 21st annual Village Feast.

Diners at long outdoor table
The Village Feast takes place Sunday, Sept. 22, under
the trees at Davis Central Park.

Presented by the Sacramento chapter of the women-in-food sorority, Les Dames d’Escoffier International, and Davis Farm to School, this event caps off the farm-to-fork celebration with an outdoor communal dinner, Provencal style, in Davis Central Park. Proceeds support food education programs in Davis schools (including school gardens and fresh produce in the cafeteria) as well as scholarships and grants for future farmers and food entrepreneurs.

Tickets ($165) are still available. Deadline is midnight Friday.

In addition to its locally sourced harvest meal, the Village Feast is renowned for its online silent auction, which is open to everyone – no ticket necessary. The auction features a wide range of unique restaurant- and food-related experiences and items such as a seven-course tasting dinner for six at Mulvaney’s B&L, trips to Spain and Big Sur, gift baskets, a beekeepers’ starter kit (including two hives and bees) and more. (You can even bid on three hours of Debbie’s gardening expertise!)

For Village Feast tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-village-feast-2024-tickets-932555226787?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

For auction details: auctria.events/thevillagefeast2024

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Garden checklist for week of May 10

Take it easy during that high heat – then get to work! Your garden is calling.

* Remember to irrigate your tender transplants. Seedlings need consistent moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants. Water early in the morning for best results.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly feeding program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.

* Don’t forget to weed! Those invaders are growing fast.

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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

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 

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Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

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Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

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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