Planning, planting classes and videos offered by the area's master gardeners
Sacramento County master gardener Tamara Engel demonstrates how to prune a mature blueberry plant in a YouTube video. Screenshot from Sacramento County master gardeners' YouTube channel
We’re back to rain today (and likely Sunday) but even with wet conditions gardeners can still make progress the next several days toward their spring gardens. Choosing and starting seeds, for example, planning irrigation, or learning how to maximize planting spaces will all contribute to success.
The region’s master gardeners have three classes coming up that can help in those pursuits:
– “Gardening in Small Spaces,” 9 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, Feb. 8. This three-hour in-person class from the El Dorado County master gardeners will be held at the Cameron Park Community Center, 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park. Master gardener Mike Pavlick will cover site location, design, raised bed options, container gardening and other methods that will allow anyone to have a vegetable garden in a small backyard setting. No pre-registration required. Information on the El Dorado master gardeners' events can be found here.
– “Growing Spring and Summer Vegetables,” Zoom online class, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Feb. 11. El Dorado master gardener Zack Dowell will discuss garden plant selection, planting times, site selection, soil preparation, proper seed planting techniques, and pest management. Pre-registration is required to get the Zoom link. The registration link can be found under the class listing here: https://mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/Calendar/
– “Improving Water Efficiency in Your Garden,” in-person and Zoom workshop, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. Presented by the Placer County master gardeners, it will include tips and resources for maximizing their water efficiency. Participants will gain water-wise ideas and visuals for transforming their landscape, organizers note. The in-person site is the Loomis Library, 6050 Library Drive, Loomis. The registration link for the simultaneous Zoom workshop can be found here.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento County master gardeners recently posted two helpful YouTube videos for this time of year: “Pruning Mature Blueberry Plants,” with master gardener Tamara Engel, and “Transplanting Nursery Plants for a Healthy Start” with master gardener Lisa Odom. Each is just 5 minutes, succinct and easy to repeat.
– Kathy Morrison
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Garden Checklist for week of April 21
This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.
* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.
* 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? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.
* 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 is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.
* 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.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.
* 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.
* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.
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