Placer County master gardeners host two Saturday events in Loomis
Want plenty of ripe tomatoes this summer? Placer County master gardeners have a free workshop for you. Debbie Arrington
It’s tomato planting season – and gardeners have questions.
Placer County master gardeners are ready to help with two Saturday events.
On Saturday, April 12, the master gardeners will host an Open Garden at their Loomis Demonstration garden at Loomis Library.
From 10 a.m. to noon, the public is invited to drop by the garden, learn by watching the experts at work and ask questions about spring gardening tasks.
The Loomis Demonstration Garden is a living classroom for the Placer County community (and neighboring counties, too) that emphasizes sustainable gardening, integrated pest management and backyard food production, say the master gardeners. Admission and parking are free.
Loomis Library is located at 6050 Library Drive, Loomis.
Also on April 12, the master gardeners will host what’s sure to be a popular workshop: “Tomato Mastery: The Art and Science of Growing Delicious Tomatoes.” This free one-hour workshop will be held at 10:30 a.m. at Loomis Veterans Memorial Hall. No advance registration is necessary.
Growing great tomatoes is a source of pride for local master gardeners, who will share some of their secrets to success.
“Learn about planting, growing, and caring for this delicious staple as well as how to control problems before they happen,” they say.
Loomis Veterans Memorial Hall is located at 5945 Horseshoe Bar Road, Loomis.
Details and directions: https://ucanr.edu/site/uc-master-gardeners-placer-county
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Food in My Back Yard Series
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
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
Local News
Thanks to Our Sponsor!
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of April 20
Before possible showers at the end of the week, take advantage of all this nice sunshine – and get to work!
* Set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, 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.
* Plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.
* 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.
* 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.
* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Give shrubs and trees a dose of a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.
* Start thinning fruit that's formed on apple and stone fruit trees -- you'll get larger fruit at harvest (and avoid limb breakage) if some is thinned now. The UC recommendation is to thin fruit when it is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 6 inches apart; smaller fruit such as plums and pluots can be about 4 inches apart. Apricots can be left at 3 inches apart. Apples and pears should be thinned to one fruit per cluster of flowers, 6 to 8 inches apart.
* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.
Powered by California Local
