Sacramento County master gardeners host free event Saturday
The orchard at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center includes espaliered fruit trees, above, as well as trees pruned to be "fruit bushes," kept under 7 feet tall to allow easy harvesting. Learn about both types of pruning/training during Open Garden Day. Kathy Morrison
After three weeks of rain, we gardeners have a lot of pent-up energy – and questions. What should we be doing now to help our gardens be their best – or just survive?
Get those answers Saturday morning – and maybe learn some new techniques – during “Open Garden” with the Sacramento County master gardeners. Admission and parking are free.
Set for 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center in Fair Oaks Park, Open Garden is a chance to hang out with experts as they tackle their garden tasks. At various garden stations, see hands-on demonstrations. Here are some of Saturday’s topics:
* Compost: Sorting home food waste – Compost pile? Worm bin? Organic Waste Can?
* Water-Efficient Landscape Garden: Flowering bulbs and colorful foliage.
* Vegetables: Tasty cool weather crops.
* Herbs: Brighten winter dishes with flavorful herbs.
* Proper pruning methods for: cane berries and blueberries; deciduous fruit trees; and grapevines.
And of course, Sacramento County master gardeners will be available to answer questions and offer advice from local experience. Got a mystery pest or problem? Bring photos or a sample, packed in a sealed zippered plastic bag.
The forecast calls for sun although it will be chilly with temperatures in the 40s; dress warmly with closed-toe shoes. Open Garden will go on, rain or shine.
Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is located at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., in Fair Oaks.
For more details: https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/.
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Thanks to Our Sponsor!
Local News
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of July 21
Your garden needs you!
* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.
* Feed vegetable plants bone meal, rock phosphate or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting. (But wait until daily high temperatures drop out of the 100s.)
* 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.
* 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.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
* 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.
Powered by California Local
