Placer master gardeners offer free Valentine’s Day workshop
Whether you live in Placer County or not, Saturday's workshop on soil will include useful gardening information. (Yes, that lighter brown soil is clay -- it holds water extremely well.) Kathy Morrison
Love comes down to understanding; that’s true of people or plants. Gardeners can build a better relationship with their gardens by starting from the ground up.
So, what better time than Valentine’s Day to talk about soil?
At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, the Placer County master gardeners will present “Gardening with Placer County Soils,” a free one-hour workshop at Loomis Library.
Learn about the importance of living soils, especially the soils in Placer County. That includes notorious clay soils, Sierra foothills’ sometimes rocky terrain and loam-rich river zones. Whatever the soil, healthy soil also is rich in microbes – making it very much alive.
“What is soil?” ask the master gardeners. “Come learn about the soil beneath your feet, what it’s made of, and how you can make it healthier and easier to work with. The result could bring you a beautiful garden and landscape.
“Soils are discussed by texture, organic components, mineral content, pH, and the structure that we can enjoy for growing in Placer County. Learn about the ecosystem in your midst, and how the living soil is an important component of all life on earth. See a demonstration of easy, inexpensive soil testing, and what is revealed for a Roseville landscape.”
These concepts work for soils anywhere, not just Placer County. All gardeners are welcome.
Come early or stay late. This workshop coincides with the Placer County master gardeners’ monthly Open Garden Day, 10 a.m. to noon, outside in the Loomis Demonstration Garden. Inside the multi-themed garden, these local experts will be on hand to answer questions. (Bring examples of pests or their damage in a zip-locked bag; photos are good, too.)
Loomis Library is located at 6050 Library Drive, Loomis.
Details: https://ucanr.edu/site/uc-master-gardeners-placer-county
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April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
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April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
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Garden checklist for week of July 12
Get out early in the morning to take care of garden chores. Temperatures are expected to stay below 80 degrees before 10 a.m.
* Remember to water early and deep; your garden depends on you.
* 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.
* 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 before fertilizing vegetables and blooming annuals, perennials and shrubs to give them a boost. Feeding flowering plants every other week will extend their bloom.
* Feed vegetable plants bone meal or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting.
* Don’t let tomatoes 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.
* If your melons and squash aren’t setting fruit, give the bees a hand. With a small, soft paintbrush, gather some pollen from male flowers, then brush it inside the female flowers, which have a tiny swelling at the base of their petals. (That's the embryo melon or squash.) Within days, that little swelling should start growing.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* 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.
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
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
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