Sacramento County master gardeners host area’s biggest free garden event of its kind
New! Spoon cake combines blackberries, blueberries
Make the most of cooler weather before another heat wave
Relief from triple-digit temperatures coming this weekend, but smoky skies may linger
Patricia Carpenter welcomes visitors to her garden Sunday, Aug. 4
Discolored berries are another example of crops affected by intense summer heat
Triple-digit temperatures and smoky conditions can create high pollutant levels
El Dorado County master gardeners offer free workshop at Sherwood Demonstration Garden
Summer stone fruit flavors a quick-cooking sauce
Try to stay cool; relief is on its way
Surviving triple-digit temperatures comes down to moisture, mulch
Master gardeners field queries from State Fair visitors
Don’t let bindweed overwhelm your garden; tips on how to cope with this invasive plant
Tiny pests thrive during hot, dry, dusty conditions
Add a rainbow of color to your water-wise garden with easy-care bearded irises
New! Banana blueberry pancakes (with one banana lots of blueberries).
After record-setting heat, Sacramento gardeners may be getting a break
Tips to rescue vegetables, shrubs, container plants and more after too much sun, heat
Free event includes speakers, demonstrations, vendors
How to give bees a hand and pollinate squash, cucumber, melon and pumpkin flowers
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Garden Checklist for week of Dec. 15
Get outside early this week to check on your garden and take care of issues before the rain starts up again:
* Between showers this week, take advantage of soft soil; it’s not too late to plant cool-season annuals. But be careful of soggy ground; it can compact easily. Soggy soil also will rot newly planted bulbs. Wait until the soil is moist but not dripping wet.
* Rake leaves away from storm drains and gutters. Recycle those leaves as mulch or add to compost.
* Brighten the holidays with winter bloomers such as poinsettias, amaryllis, calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies and primroses.
* Keep poinsettias in a sunny, warm location; bring them inside at night or if there’s rain. (They don’t like cold, wet weather.)
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they’re dormant.
* Clean and sharpen garden tools before storing for the winter.
* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.
* Seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Trees and shrubs can be planted now, especially bare-root varieties such as fruit trees or rose bushes. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from winter rains.
* Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.