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General Gardening Articles

Tue, Dec 02, 2025

FIMBY: Plant artichokes now, enjoy for years to come

Mediterranean perennial makes eye-catching and bee-friendly addition to edible gardens

Mon, Dec 01, 2025

Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour returns to Fabulous Forties

East Sacramento celebrates the season with very popular tour and Sacramento-centric boutique

Fri, Nov 28, 2025

Good forecast for real Christmas trees this year

Fresh firs -- pre-cut or choose your own -- are now available and a comparative bargain

Thu, Nov 27, 2025

Holiday Open House this weekend at The Plant Foundry

Santa's appearance a highlight of the nursery's Small Business Saturday event

Wed, Nov 26, 2025

Be ready for weather whiplash; plant for resilience

Choose trees, shrubs and perennials that can take wet or dry conditions

Tue, Nov 25, 2025

FIMBY: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Leaf curl fungus must be fought during the tree's dormancy

Mon, Nov 24, 2025

High-Hand hosts annual tree lighting extravaganza

Destination nursery, café and brewery flips the switch Saturday evening

Mon, Nov 24, 2025
DRAFT

High-Hand hosts annual tree lighting extravaganza

Destination nursery, café and brewery flips the switch Saturday evening

Sat, Nov 22, 2025

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Nov. 23

Chill – and fog – are in the air; expect to see major changes in garden

Fri, Nov 21, 2025

Help pollinators at River District planting party

Sacramento’s find out farms leads volunteer effort to plant California natives

Thu, Nov 20, 2025

Sunny days ahead for Mountain Mandarin Festival

Annual citrus celebration again at the Grounds in Roseville

Wed, Nov 19, 2025

The Secret Garden to host ‘Small Business Saturday’ celebration

On Nov. 29, find fun and garden gifts for the whole family

Tue, Nov 18, 2025

FIMBY: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Turn those piles into mulch or compost; soil compaction a concern after storm

Mon, Nov 17, 2025

Get ready for poinsettia season; tips from expert growers

How to keep festive plants looking their best throughout the holidays

Fri, Nov 14, 2025

Mosquitoes in November? How to fight the bite

Weather conditions have produced late-season buzz in Sacramento area

Thu, Nov 13, 2025

Too wet to garden? Catch up on UC master gardeners' videos

Sacramento and other counties' experts offer invaluable tips

Wed, Nov 12, 2025

UC Davis Arboretum hosts fall clearance sale

Get great buys on new Arboretum All-Stars and other water-wise plants

Mon, Nov 10, 2025

Sacramento Chrysanthemum Society celebrates 78th annual show

Spectacular mums on display plus potted plants for sale.

Fri, Nov 07, 2025

'Art to Wear' offers one-of-a-kind sale

Sacramento textile arts group hosts annual showcase of wearable arts and crafts

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

Local News

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Taste Summer! E-cookbook

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Find our summer recipes here!

Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

Contact Us

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event.  sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Muffins and pumpkin

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Lemon coconut pancakes

Find our winter recipes here!

Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening

WINTER

Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

Potatoes from the garden

Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Add asparagus to your edible garden

Soggy soil and what to do about it

Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Change is in the autumn air 

We don't talk (enough) about beets

Fava beans do double duty

Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Time to shut it down? 

How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

: Put worms to work for you

Grow food while saving water

Enhance your food with edible flowers

Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

Does this plant need water?

 Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

How to grow summer salad greens

 Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

Help pollinators help your garden

Battling early-season tomato pests

Make your own compost

Where are the bees when you need them?

How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

Grow culinary herbs in containers

When to plant summer vegetables

Don't be fooled by these garden myths

Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth