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Learn how to start vegetables, flowers from seed

Green Acres offers free seed-starting workshop at all seven locations

So many seed varieties! Learn how to germinate them and get seedlings off to the best start during a Feb. 10 workshop at all seven area Green Acres sites.

So many seed varieties! Learn how to germinate them and get seedlings off to the best start during a Feb. 10 workshop at all seven area Green Acres sites. Kathy Morrison

Here’s a tip for every budget-conscious gardener: What can greatly expand the diversity of your garden while saving a lot of money? Grow plants from seed.
But how do you get those seeds off to a healthy start? Which varieties are easiest to grow? When do you set your baby plants outdoors and how do you assure that they’ll thrive?

Find out at free workshops at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, offered by Green Acres Nursery & Supply.

All seven Green Acres locations will host “Starting from Seed,” part of the chain’s Garden Talk series. Green Acres garden gurus will offer their expert advice on how to get seeds off to their best beginnings, then keep them growing strong.

These workshops will focus on the basics: How to get seeds to sprout and then keep them going. Green Acres staff also will offer tips on which vegetables and flowers are easiest to grow and shortcuts for success. Find out what are the best growing mediums for seed starting and other needs such as light and warmth. Also learn how to avoid seed starting pitfalls such as “damping off.”

No advance registration is necessary; just show up with your questions and the ability to take notes.

Green Acres are located in Sacramento, Auburn, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Rocklin and Roseville.

For details and directions: https://idiggreenacres.com/.

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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.

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