Small investments, big yields for gardeners with patience
Learn how to grow more -- and save more, too
New! Vegan soup is loaded with vegetables and spices
After dry January, February gets off to soggy start
ReScape invites participants to share their landscape dilemmas (and send photos)
Farm and Garden Club hosts speaker at monthly meeting
Placer County master gardeners offer free workshop on bare-root fruit trees
Urban farm in South Oak Park hosts Winter Clearance Sale
NorCal Home & Landscape Expo opens Friday
New! Cabbage rolls stuffed with rice pilaf, mushrooms, raisins and lemon
Frosty and (maybe) damp forecast reminds Sacramento gardeners it’s still winter
Sacramento gardener creates notebook to make detailed record-keeping simpler
Three events scheduled to help boost campus landscape
Three local events invite gardeners to swap seeds; one includes plants
That's the last day to put green waste in the street for pick-up
Add to your indoor jungle and knowledge with three workshops
Blood oranges and navels with a lavender-lemon syrup
Chilly mornings (and frost danger) continue for Sacramento area
Most plants survived, including hundreds headed for Sacramento
Sunday tour is free but requires registration
Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Food in My Back Yard Series
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of March 16
Make the most of dry breaks between showers. Your garden is in high-growth mode.
* Pull weeds now! Don’t let them get started. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout.
* Prepare vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.
* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.
* Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to help corral blossom blight.
* Feed citrus trees, which are now in bloom and setting fruit. To prevent sunburn and borer problems on young trees, paint the exposed portion of the trunk with diluted white latex (water-based) interior paint. Dilute the paint with an equal amount of cold water before application.
* Feed roses with a balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium available in that product).
* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs and trees after they bloom. Try using well-composted manure, spread 1-inch-thick under the tree (but avoid piling it up around the trunk). This serves as both fertilizer and mulch, retaining moisture while cutting down on weeds.
* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.
* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and cole family plants, such as cauliflower, broccoli, collards and kale.
* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground. (To speed germination, soak beet seeds overnight in room-temperature water before planting.)
* Before the mercury starts inching upward, this is your last chance to plant such annuals as pansies, violas and primroses.
* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.
* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.