Placer County master gardeners to break ground on 11,000-square-foot project
This area behind the Loomis Library will become the demonstration garden for the Placer County master gardeners. Photo courtesy Loomis Library
A huge asset for Placer County gardeners – plus those from neighboring counties – is one step closer to reality.
On Tuesday morning, Sept. 19, the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Placer County will break ground on their own demonstration garden behind Loomis Library. The public is welcome to the 9:30 a.m. ceremony to learn more about the project.
More than a year in the making, the new garden will replace more than 11,000 square feet of lawn with water-wise landscaping plus a demonstration orchard and edible garden.
“In collaboration with the Town of Loomis and the Loomis Library and Community Center, the Master Gardeners will be transforming an existing lawn into a beautiful water-wise garden showcasing California natives, pollinators, and edible plants,” say the master gardeners. “Opportunities for education in the garden will bring a living classroom to the community.”
It takes a community to create such a large new garden, which is being funded mostly via individual donations. The Placer County Water Agency is contributing about $10,000 in rebates and incentives for turf removal and irrigation upgrades. Wood chips and compost for the new garden will be provided by the Town of Loomis.
The Friends of the Loomis Library also are raising money for the garden through their “Buy a Brick” campaign; the engraved bricks will be used in a permanent garden display. You can support the garden by purchasing an engraved brick at https://www.polarengraving.com/floomisl. The bricks cost $120 ($130 with logo).
Or make a contribution directly to the master gardeners at www.pcmg.ucanr.edu.
As its name implies, the new demonstration garden will show how to grow a water-wise and wildlife-friendly garden that looks good year-round while attracting pollinators such as butterflies and bees as well as supporting birds. The garden also will provide space to grow vegetables, fruit, berries and herbs as part of educational displays.
Besides offering a living showcase of the master gardeners’ work, the project will save a significant amount of water by the replacement of all that old lawn. The garden’s design includes places to hold gardening workshops and other events. Signage will identify all the plants and offer tips for home gardeners.
According to library officials, the master gardeners hope to have the first phases of construction including the lawn removal completed in time for fall planting of California natives.
Loomis Library is located at 6050 Library Drive, Loomis.
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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 2
Get out early in the morning and monitor your garden’s moisture needs. Deep water and add temporary shade structures for plants that are feeling a little burned. In particular, protect developing peppers and eggplant.
* Put off fertilization until this heat passes; plants need to concentrate on hydration instead of growth.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don’t let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips. Make sure to keep seeds and seedlings consistently moist.
* Plant potatoes.
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Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
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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