Pumpkin contests, workshops and games are part of garden fun for the whole family
Pumpkins and squash and gourds galore are available at all seven Green Acres locations. This Saturday, during the Fall Festival, each site will hold a pumpkin decorating/carving contest. Photo courtesy Green Acres Nursery & Supply
From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 30, all seven Green Acres locations will host gardening fun for the whole family. Admission and parking are free.
Each location is hosting a pumpkin decorating contest. Decorate and/or carve the pumpkin in advance and enter it before 9:30 a.m. at the store’s contest table. “Your pumpkin may be large or small, painted or carved, it's up to your imagination,” says Green Acres. Categories include Scariest, Silliest and Most Creative. Winners will be announced Monday, Oct. 2.
Need a pumpkin? Pumpkin patches are already open at each Green Acres. Among the featured varieties: Carving, Fairytale, Lumina, Lil’ Pump-Ke-Mon, Cinderella, Jarrahdale, Big Max, Cronus, Iron Man, Knucklehead, One Too Many and Lunch Lady plus mini pumpkins, winged gourds and gooseneck gourds.
On Saturday, kids can paint a pumpkin at special activity stations. Kids of all ages can play pumpkin bowling or corn hole. Listen to live music, take part in a scavenger hunt or try to win dessert in a pie walk. In addition, the Auburn store will host a petting zoo.
DIY workshops will show how to plant a pumpkin with succulents or pot up mums combined with other fall flowers for a container garden with instant pops of autumn color.
Local garden groups will host information tables. The Sacramento County master gardeners will be on site at the Sacramento and Elk Grove stores from 9 a.m. to noon to answer gardening questions. Get advice on what to plant now and other seasonal gardening tips.
The line-up of entertainment and activities is a little different at each location. Find it here: https://idiggreenacres.com/pages/fall-festival-2023.
Green Acres is located in Sacramento, Auburn, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Rocklin and Roseville.
For addresses and directions: https://idiggreenacres.com/.
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Local News
Thanks to our sponsor!
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of April 21
This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.
* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.
* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.
* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.
* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.
* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.
* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.
* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.
* Plant onion sets.
* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.
* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.
* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.
* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.
Powered by California Local
