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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 June 15

Make the most of this “average” weather; your garden is growing fast! (So are the weeds!)

* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.

* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias. It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Pull weeds before they go to seed.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather. It also helps smother weeds.

* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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