Learn how to improve soil, get questions answered during 'Let's Talk Dirt'
Garden soil is more than dirt: Plants new and old depend on its nutrients, water-holding ability and root support. Learn the details in new workshops from the City of Sacramento. Kathy Morrison
Gardening success starts with soil – but what’s the difference between barren dirt and rich loam?
Find out during free July workshops hosted by the City of Sacramento’s Community Garden Program.
“Let’s Talk Dirt” will cover the basics of healthy soil and how gardeners can make the most of this basic building block. The workshop is free and open to the public; no advance registration is necessary.
“Let’s Talk Dirt” will be presented four times in July at four different Sacramento locations:
8 a.m. Saturday, July 5: Blackbird Park Community Garden, 3765 Hovnanian Drive;
8 a.m. July 12: Brooks Truitt Community Garden, 1818 Q St.;
12:30 p.m. July 12: Marisol Community Garden, 601 Pipevine St.
12:30 p.m. July 19: Elmhurst-Medical Center Community Garden, 2375 49th St.
“Join us for a series of enriching classes delving into the fascinating world of soil and soil health in our community garden program,” say the organizers. “Let’s explore the secrets beneath the ground together.”
Topics will include: soil types; soil amendments; finding pH; and commonly asked soil questions.
William Fredericksen, Sacramento’s community garden coordinator, is slated to lead the discussion. He’s also the person to contact with any questions. Email him at communitygardens@cityofsacramento.org.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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
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
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 June 29
We're into our typical summer weather pattern now. Get chores, especially watering, done early in the morning while it's cool.
* It’s not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers. Plant Halloween pumpkins now.
* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.
* Water, then fertilize vegetables and blooming annuals, perennials and shrubs to give them a boost. Feeding flowering plants every other week will extend their bloom.
* Don’t let tomato plants wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week.
* Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* Harvest tomatoes, squash, peppers and eggplant. Prompt picking will help keep plants producing.
* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.
* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
* Give vegetable plants bone meal or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting.
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