Sacramento Speakers Series supports scholarships for future farmers and more
Matchbook Wine Co. uses sheep as natural weed-eaters between its vines. Hear Lane Giguiere, owner of the Yolo winery, and other woman in agriculture talk about their work. Courtesy Matchbook Wine Co.
What local gardener hasn’t daydreamed about farming? But what does it take to be a sustainable farmer in the Farm-to-Fork Capital?
How do you grow wine with less waste? What about raising happy cows in healthy pastures? Where can you study to be a sustainable farmer and get some hands-on practice?
Find out at this special event – “Women in Agriculture: Celebrating Sustainable Production.” Set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, this scholarship fundraiser will be held at the Event Center by Bella Bru at the Milagro Centre, 6241 Fair Oaks Blvd., Carmichael.
Tickets are $50 in advance via Eventbrite, $60 at the door. Admission includes one drink coupon and appetizers.
Proceeds from the event will go toward scholarships and grants for women interested in careers in agriculture or the food and beverage industry. The evening is hosted by the Sacramento Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier.
As part of the Les Dames’ Sacramento Speakers Series, an expert panel will share “insights on the people, principles, programs and practices that contribute to a sustainable food system.”
The panel includes: Lane Giguiere, owner of Matchbook Wine Co. in Yolo County; Mary Kimball, CEO of Center for Land-Based Learning; and Karen Stone, manager of Yolo Land and Cattle Co. Food expert, author and nutritionist Amy Myrdal Miller will serve as moderator.
This panel also has lessons that can apply to backyard farmers. Sustainable agriculture protects the environment while working with the land. These methods promote natural resources and help wildlife, too.
It’s sure to be a thoughtful and interesting evening, dedicated to the future of local agriculture. Tickets are available at Eventbrite (https://bit.ly/3O5i9vh).
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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
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 June 22
Mornings this first week of summer will remain comfortably cool – just right for gardening!
* Water early in the morning to cut down on evaporation. Check soil moisture and deep water trees and shrubs. Keep new transplants and veggies evenly moist. Deep water tomatoes to encourage deep roots.
* 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.
* 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.
* Avoid pot “hot feet.” Place a 1-inch-thick board under container plants sitting on pavement. This little cushion helps insulate them from radiated heat.
* 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.