Watch master gardeners in action at three locations and learn
The E Dorado master gardeners' Sherwood Demonstration Garden, which includes this charming scene, will be open for visitors both Friday, May 9, and Saturday, May 10, from 9 a.m. to noon. Kathy Morrison
Spring is in full force – and so are local master gardeners.
On Saturday, May 10, master gardeners at demonstration gardens in three counties – Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado – will host Open Gardens, an opportunity for the public to learn by watching. Admission is free and no advance registration is necessary. Just show up – with questions and possibly some samples of puzzling plants or pests. (Photos are good, too.)
From 9 a.m. to noon, the Sacramento County master gardeners will be busy at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, which is now in full bloom. Bring your questions, samples of your problem plants or bagged insects to the “Ask the Master Gardeners” information table. Get one-on-one advice based on the most recent research-based sustainable practices. Learn about berries and grapes. Smell some fragrant herbs.
Special mini-talks are also scheduled at various times and locations:
* 9:45 a.m. in the Lower Arbor: “Rooted for Success – How to Propagate Your Favorite Herbs.”
* 10:15 a.m. in the Kiwi Arbor: “Worm Composting – How to Harvest the Castings.”
* 10:45 a.m. in the WEL Round Patio: “May Beauties in the Water Efficient Landscape – Planting and Maintenance.”
* 11:15 a.m. in the Orchard: “Orchard Irrigation Basics and Demonstration.”
Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is located at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, in Fair Oaks Park.
Details and directions: https://ucanr.edu/site/uc-master-gardeners-sacramento-county/event/may-open-garden-fohc
On Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, the Placer County master gardeners will be hosting Open Garden at their new Loomis Demonstration Garden at the Loomis Library. The Loomis Demonstration Garden is a living classroom for the Placer County community that emphasizes sustainable gardening, integrated pest management and backyard food production.
Like their Sacramento counterparts, the Placer County master gardeners will answer questions and offer garden advice.
Loomis Library is located at 6050 Library Road, Loomis.
Details and directions: https://ucanr.edu/site/uc-master-gardeners-placer-county
El Dorado County master gardeners will host Open Garden days not only on Saturday, but on Friday, May 9, too. Their Sherwood Demonstration Garden offers the public a hands-on, interactive experience about research-based, sustainable gardening practices specific to foothill communities. Sherwood includes 16 individual demonstration gardens, ranging from the Shade Garden to the Rock Garden. The gardens will be open from 9 a.m. to noon Friday and Saturday. Admission is free; parking, $2.
On Saturday at 9 a.m., the El Dorado County master gardeners also will host a free workshop at Sherwood: “Landscape Grasses.”
“Are you looking for plants that are almost care-free? Virtually deer-proof and pest-free? Join Master Gardeners to learn about Ornamental Grasses and how to incorporate them into a landscape,” say the master gardeners. “Most grasses need very little care and, in fact, thrive on neglect, so they are perfect for even novice gardeners. You will learn which grasses grow best in our area, which ones tolerate shade or sun and how to care for them.”
Participants will see examples at Sherwood, too. Advance registration is not required, but requested. Sign up here: https://ucanr.edu/site/uc-master-gardeners-el-dorado-county/event/central-sierra-landscape-grasses-edc-mg
Sherwood Demonstration Garden is located at 6699 Campus Drive, Placerville.
Details and directions: https://ucanr.edu/site/uc-master-gardeners-el-dorado-county
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Food in My Back Yard Series
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
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
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Garden Checklist for week of May 11
Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch-to-1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.
* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.
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