Sacramento Digs Gardening logo

Sacramento Digs Gardening Articles

Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

All Articles

Wed, Oct 09, 2024

Sacramento Home & Garden Show returns to Cal Expo

Find scores of vendors and local home experts

Tue, Oct 08, 2024

Big Oak Nursery hosts Fall Festival

Local vendors, artisans offer crafts, food and more at destination nursery

Mon, Oct 07, 2024

What a gourd! Elk Grove crowns giant pumpkin winner

Repeat champion wins $7,000 for 1,967-pound pumpkin

Sun, Oct 06, 2024

Like apple pie filling without the crust

New! Maple sautéed apples make a great topping for waffles, pound cake and more

Sat, Oct 05, 2024

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Oct. 6

Record heat zaps end of summer garden; time to focus on fall

Fri, Oct 04, 2024

The Secret Garden offers spooky workshop and more

Get in the seasonal spirit with these creative classes

Thu, Oct 03, 2024

Loomis celebrates agricultural heritage with Fruit Shed Fest, formerly Eggplant Festival

Placer master gardeners present Fall Open House in sync with community event

Wed, Oct 02, 2024

Hot days (and no rain) start our new Water Year

Thanks to wet winter, Sacramento's annual rain total for 2023-24 almost average

Tue, Oct 01, 2024

Shepard Center hosts huge fall sale

Dozens of plant and crafts clubs offer plants, books, jewelry, artwork and more

Mon, Sep 30, 2024

Will a one-ton pumpkin show up Saturday?

Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival returns Oct. 5 and 6

Sun, Sep 29, 2024

Flavorful stir fry dresses up green beans

New! Toasted coconut, mustard seeds and nuts provide crunch

Sat, Sep 28, 2024

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Sept. 29

After September heat, October starts out with triple digits

Fri, Sep 27, 2024

Want water-wise plants? These sales are for you

UC Davis Arboretum celebrates 50 years of fall plant sales.

Thu, Sep 26, 2024

So many cool events this weekend

Water-wise gardening, lavender crafts, fascinating insects and a river habitat celebration

Wed, Sep 25, 2024

Green Acres hosts giant 'Pumpkin Party'

All seven locations will offer seasonal family fun, garden workshops

Tue, Sep 24, 2024

Making the most of a sunny opportunity

After oak falls on her house, Auburn teacher turns once-shady space into pollinator paradise

Mon, Sep 23, 2024

Amador Flower Farm hosts annual Fall Fun Days

Mazes, pumpkin patch, free tram tours plus gardening experts

Sun, Sep 22, 2024

Squash and carrots team in flavorful fritters

New! End-of-summer squash in a side dish or appetizer

Sat, Sep 21, 2024

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Sept. 22

Fall gets off to a hot start; it’s time to plant for cool weather ahead

Fri, Sep 20, 2024

Plan and plant ahead with 2025 Gardening Guide

Placer County master gardeners will sell new information-packed calendar at Auburn Home and Harvest Fest

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

WINTER:

Jan. 20: Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Jan. 13: Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Jan. 6: Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Dec. 30: Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

Dec. 23: Is edible gardening possible indoors?

FALL

Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air 

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24:  Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

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

WINTER

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

Ad for California Local

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Lemon coconut pancakes

Find our winter recipes here!

Thanks to Our Sponsor!

Cleveland sage ad for Be Water Smart

Garden checklist for week of Feb. 1

Take advantage of this week's “normal” February weather and get to work!

* February serves as a wake-up call to gardeners. This month, you can transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots. Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts – as well as lettuce (both loose-leaf and head varieties).

* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.

* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions. Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips. (Hint: Soak the beet seeds first.)

* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.

* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.

* This is the last chance to spray fruit trees before they bloom. Treat peach and nectarine trees with copper-based fungicide. Spray apricot trees at bud swell to prevent brown rot. Apply horticultural oil to control scale, mites and aphids on fruit trees soon after a rain. But remember: Oils need at least 24 hours to dry to be effective. Don’t spray during foggy weather or when rain is forecast.

* Give spring-blooming shrubs and fall-planted perennials some slow-release fertilizer. Fertilize mature trees and shrubs after spring growth starts.

* Remove aphids from blooming bulbs with a strong spray of water or insecticidal soap.

* Fertilize strawberries and asparagus.

Contact Us

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event.  sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Muffins and pumpkin

Find our fall recipes here!