Sacramento video program an award winner
Tips on worm composting -- including the right type of worms -- are in one of the Sacramento County master gardeners' YouTube videos. Screen grab from "Making a Worm Bin"
Darkness has descended on the garden. Even on a clear day now, 4:30 p.m. is dark enough to remind gardeners to put away their tools soon and head indoors.
But the short gardening days of November and December still can be put to use: A wealth of gardening videos awaits. And preferably local ones, filmed for the Sacramento-area climate and gardening culture.
The UCCE master gardeners of Sacramento County have an active YouTube channel, with short, to-the-point videos. And the video program now is an award winner, receiving third place in this year's statewide Search for Excellence competition at the UCCE Master Gardeners Conference last month. The video submitted for the competition will debut at noon Nov. 16 on YouTube. Watch a presentation that day here on Facebook live.
In the meantime, here are suggestions for viewing this time of year:
-- Making a Worm Bin with master gardener Patty Peterson. Start a bin now and you could have rich worm castings to use in the garden next spring. A companion video shows how to harvest the castings.
-- Sharpening Hand Pruners, with master gardener Bill Black. Gardeners use their pruners all year, and it's easy for them to grow dull. This is a clear, concise instructional video that you'll come back to annually.
-- Gardening Year 'Round with Farmer Fred Hoffman. This 18-minute video was Fred's keynote talk for the 2021 all-online Harvest Day celebration. Though filmed for August viewing, it includes pertinent information for November and December on planting radishes, carrots and kale. He also discusses raised beds and cold frames for protecting cool-season vegetables, and advocates cover crops for gardens that are not being planted in winter. "At least feed your soil," indeed.
The statewide Master Gardener Program also has plenty of videos, available here. Happy viewing!
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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 March 16
Make the most of dry breaks between showers. Your garden is in high-growth mode.
* Pull weeds now! Don’t let them get started. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout.
* Prepare vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.
* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.
* Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to help corral blossom blight.
* Feed citrus trees, which are now in bloom and setting fruit. To prevent sunburn and borer problems on young trees, paint the exposed portion of the trunk with diluted white latex (water-based) interior paint. Dilute the paint with an equal amount of cold water before application.
* Feed roses with a balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium available in that product).
* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs and trees after they bloom. Try using well-composted manure, spread 1-inch-thick under the tree (but avoid piling it up around the trunk). This serves as both fertilizer and mulch, retaining moisture while cutting down on weeds.
* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.
* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and cole family plants, such as cauliflower, broccoli, collards and kale.
* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground. (To speed germination, soak beet seeds overnight in room-temperature water before planting.)
* Before the mercury starts inching upward, this is your last chance to plant such annuals as pansies, violas and primroses.
* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.
* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.
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