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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 April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons,  radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

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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

Starting in seed starting

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

Potatoes from the garden

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