Native plants, Arboretum All-Stars and more will be offered
Shoppers and a student volunteer check over the supply of plants at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery during the May plant sale. The nursery has three sales planned this fall. Kathy Morrison
Fall is for planting, Sacramento-region gardeners know. The air temperatures come down but the soil is still warm, giving young plants the best chance to establish good root systems before winter.
The region's fall plant sales are always a big deal, but they're easy to miss once the season gets busy. Here are the late-summer and early-fall dates we know, followed by one expected sale whose date has yet to be announced.
-- American Begonia Society 75th Anniversary Show and Sale, "Diamonds in the Shade." The first fall sale involving the garden clubs that use Sacramento's Shepard Garden & Art Center as their headquarters. 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10. Shepard Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento. https://www.sgaac.org/calendar/2023/9 or https://www.begonias.org/
-- California Native Plant Society. Sacramento Valley Chapter. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, for the in-person sale at the SacValley Nursery at Soil Born Farms in Rancho Cordova. This will be followed by an online sale Sept. 23-25, with plant pickup on Oct. 1. Fabulous source for California native plants. Information: https://www.sacvalleycnps.org/plant-sales/
-- Delta Gesneriad and African Violet Society Show and Sale. A judged show and sale, typically featuring rare and hard-to-find varieties, 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, at the Shepard Garden and Art Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento. Details here.
-- UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery. This series of Saturday sales is hugely popular for its plant selection, which includes natives and the Arboretum All-Stars, aka plants that do well in our region. Join the Friends of the Arboretum to get 10% off all purchases and gain access to members-only sale hours. The sales on Sept. 30 and Oct. 21 will be "split sales," with members only admitted 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., then open to the public from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The fall clearance sale will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 4 and will be open to everyone. https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/plant-sales
-- Shepard Center Fall Sale. The event features all the clubs and groups that use the center. Plants, jewelry, art, food and more. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8. Shepard Garden and Art Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento. https://www.sgaac.org/calendar/
To be announced:
-- American River College Horticulture Department. The department holds a sale each semester of student-propagated plants. Typically bargain prices on annuals and vegetables, but the sales also include natives, shrubs and even trees.
Note: Any Sacramento-area groups or clubs with plant sales planned, or other events for that matter, can email us at Sacramento Digs Gardening: sacdigsgardening@gmail.com, to be added to our calendar.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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.