Select local vendors, clubs and organizations bring wide range of specialties
Plant lovers browse the offerings of Morningsun Herb Farm during a previous Harvest Day. The Vacaville nursery will be back with herbs, perennials and native plants at Saturday's event, along with nine other vendors of plants and garden-related products. Kathy Morrison
Why go to Harvest Day? There are so many attractions for our gardening community: Informative speakers, hands-on demonstrations, a chance to get personalized advice from local experts plus tours of the Sacramento County master gardeners’ slice of educational paradise – the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center in Fair Oaks Park.
Of course, there’s shopping – one of the best assortments of garden vendors at any Sacramento-area event. The vendors are accompanied by dozens of garden education tables staffed by garden club members and nursery representatives, often offering free gifts. (Patrons also get a wonderful goodie bag at the gate.)
No wonder Harvest Day is our region’s biggest free annual gardening gathering.
Back in person and bigger than ever, Harvest Day is set for Saturday, Aug. 5, with the gates open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; come early to beat the heat.
At least 10 vendors are expected to offer their garden wares in the shade of the trees outside the Hort Center’s main entrance. Among the featured sellers are some local favorites:
* Exotic Plants, Sacramento’s go-to indoor plant store, brings its spectacular selection of orchids, aroids, succulents and tropical favorites.
* Morningsun Herb Farm, Vacaville’s destination nursery for herbs from around the globe, offers a huge assortment of herbs and perennials that thrive in the Central Valley and foothills.
* Miridae Mobile Nursery will wheel in its large, curated assortment of domesticated wildflowers and native plants. Sales support its West Sacramento-based nonprofit education lab.
* Tranquill Gardens, which specializes in turning local backyards into personal sanctuaries, is known for its water-wise gardening expertise as well as drought-tolerant and native plants.
* Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society has hundreds of plants propagated from its members’ vast collections.
* Hummingbird Feeders R Us (aka Yankee Glass Art) turns antique glassware into one-of-a-kind bird feeders and garden art.
* Wild Birds and Gardens offers supplies to keep our feathered friends happy and visiting regularly.
* Full Moon Metal Design of West Sacramento makes evocative garden art out of recycled tools, nails, bolts, sheeting and other castoffs.
* MushyLove sells mushroom-growing kits so gardeners can produce their own oyster mushrooms and other fungal delicacies.
* UC Davis Olive Center, which just won Best of California at the 2023 State Fair’s virgin olive oil competition, sells its award-winning olive oil made with olives harvested on campus.
Besides these vendors, the adjacent education area will have nurseries and garden supplies well represented including Green Acres Nursery & Supply, Kellogg Garden Products, E.B. Stone soil amendments and irrigation experts Hunter Industries.
Looking for advice or a new hobby? Among the clubs on hand will be the Sierra Foothills Rose Society (featuring master rosarian and bug answer man Baldo Villegas), Sacramento Perennial Plant Club, the Renaissance Society, Sacramento County 4-H, Audubon Society and the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society.
Representatives from the Sacramento Tree Foundation, SMUD and local water districts will offer advice on current programs for local residents such as free shade trees and rebates for irrigation upgrades.
All this shopping, browsing and talking can get people hungry (or thirsty). There will be food trucks, too, including Chando’s Tacos, Hefty Gyros, Java Johnny’s and Sweet Tooth Ice Cream Cart.
Admission and parking are free. Kids are welcome. Service dogs are allowed, but no other pets.
Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is located in Fair Oaks Park at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks.
Details, map and full schedule: https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/Harvest_Day/.
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
FALL
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
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Garden checklist for week of Nov. 16
During breaks in the weather, tackle some garden tasks:
* Clear gutters and storm drains.
* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* After the storm, seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Plant bulbs at two-week intervals to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting them. Do leave some (healthy) leaves in the planting beds for wildlife and beneficial insect habitat.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
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