Master gardeners offer two free workshops on fall and winter vegetables
It's August, which means it's time to start seeds for many cool-season vegetables. Master gardener workshops on Aug. 12 and 19 will offer tips for success. Kathy Morrison
When our weather is at its hottest, it’s time to focus on cool – as in fall and winter vegetables.
Make the most of our year-round growing season with the help of the UC Cooperative Extension master gardeners with two free workshops – one in person and one via Zoom. (You don’t even need to leave the comfort of your air-conditioned home.)
At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, the master gardeners of Placer County will host “Fall is the New Spring,” a one-hour in-person workshop at Loomis Library, 6050 Library Drive, Loomis.
“Plant cool-season veggies in July or August? REALLY???” posted the master gardeners in their course description. “Come and learn the importance of planting cool-season crops earlier than you ever thought – and why. Meet Persephone and hear her tale of woe.”
No pre-registration is required. Just show up with questions and a notepad.
Details and directions: https://pcmg.ucanr.edu/.
For a more in-depth look (and no driving), the master gardeners of El Dorado County present a three-hour online workshop on the following Saturday via Zoom. At 9 a.m. Aug. 19, the master gardeners will host “Fall and Winter Vegetables,” with plenty of tips for success.
“Would you like to continue to harvest luscious, home-grown vegetables even after the heat of summer subsides?” say the master gardeners. “If so, now is the time to plant for a fall and winter harvest. Learn how to grow a successful winter vegetable garden from UC Master Gardener Zack Dowell.”
Pre-registration is required for this workshop. Sign up in advance to receive the Zoom link. Look for the workshop under “Master Gardener Calendar.”
Details: https://mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/.
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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 12
Once the winds die down, it’s good winter gardening weather with plenty to do:
* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback. Save them until summer.) Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* After the wind stops, apply horticultural oil to fruit trees to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.
* This is also the time to spray a copper-based fungicide to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. (The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.)
* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.
* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.
* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladioli for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.
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