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Got garden questions? Get answers Wednesday

Sacramento County master gardeners host midweek Open Garden

While the front part of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is always accessible during daylight hours, the area beyond the gate will be be open to visitors this Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon during Open Garden Day.

While the front part of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is always accessible during daylight hours, the area beyond the gate will be be open to visitors this Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon during Open Garden Day. Kathy Morrison

Is it too late to plant veggies? Can herbs survive over winter? What happened to my tomatoes this year?

Who doesn’t have garden questions right now? Here’s a place to find answers – and NOT on the weekend. Instead, it’s midweek – on a (hopefully) beautiful fall Wednesday morning.

Fall weekends are busy enough, so the Sacramento County master gardeners will host their October Open Garden on Wednesday, Oct. 16. It’s their final Open Garden of 2024.

From 9 a.m. to noon, the gates of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center will be open as the public is invited to come see the master gardeners at work. Admission and parking are free. (No pets, please.)

“Open gardens are informal free events where you roam the gardens, watch what we are doing, see what we are growing and ask questions,” say the master gardeners. “Bring samples of your problem plants, mystery pests and questions to the ‘Ask the Master Gardeners’ information table.  Get one-on-one advice supported by the most recent research-based sustainable practices.”

Pack any samples in zipped plastic bags. Photos are handy, too.

The Hort Center is looking spectacular, as always. Enjoy the garden while you learn.

“Immerse yourself in nature as you stroll through calming paths of Water Efficient Landscape plants," say the master gardeners. Visitors can smell fragrant pelargoniums in the Herb Garden, check out the ripening pomegranates and persimmons in the Orchard, and learn how to prepare raised beds for fall planting in the Vegetable Garden. In the Berry Patch, find out how to prune berry vines for production.  Visit the composting area and the nearby row of citrus trees.

The master gardeners will present three mini-talks or hands-on demonstrations:

9:30 a.m. – “Preparing Your Garden for Winter: Think Tiny.” How fall leaves provide nesting places for beneficial insects. Meet at the Round Patio in the Water-Efficient Landscape Garden.

10 a.m. – “What Types of Bedding do Worms Like?” The secret to successful worm composting. Presented at the Kiwi/Grape Arbor.

10:30 a.m. – “Garlic Planting Demonstration.” Watch and learn at the Kiwi/Grape Arbor.

Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, in Fair Oaks Park, south of Madison Avenue.

Details and directions: https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/.

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Garden Checklist for week of Feb. 9

Be careful walking or working in wet soil; it compacts easily.

* Keep the irrigation turned off; the ground is plenty wet with more rain on the way.

* February serves as a wake-up call to gardeners. This month, you can transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.

* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and cauliflower – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).

* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.

* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.

* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.

* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.

* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.

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