Sacramento Digs Gardening logo

Sacramento Digs Gardening Articles

Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

General Gardening Articles

Tue, Mar 07, 2023

UC Davis Arboretum hosts Friends-only spring sale

First of the season's four sales features huge selection of water-wise plants

Mon, Mar 06, 2023

Shepard Center hosts annual spring sale

Find plants and much more at this popular event

Fri, Mar 03, 2023

Winter weather warning: More cold rain -- and snow -- are on their way

Weather service says 'expect substantial disruptions to daily life'

Thu, Mar 02, 2023

CNPS chapter kicks off spring plant sale season

Online sale of California natives begins Saturday

Wed, Mar 01, 2023

Learn about attracting bees, butterflies, hummingbirds

Placer County master gardeners offer free pollinator workshop

Tue, Feb 28, 2023

Freezing temperatures forecast for Sacramento region

Overnight lows could reach 29 degrees, kill crops and damage plumbing

Mon, Feb 27, 2023

Sacramento hosts its 99th annual Camellia Show

Despite winter weather, weekend event should feature hundreds of flowers

Fri, Feb 24, 2023

Find a new best friend at Dog Days

Green Acres hosts dog adoption event in Rocklin

Thu, Feb 23, 2023

How'd you like that graupel?

Unusual cold weather inspires some meteorological education

Wed, Feb 22, 2023

Camellia Day blooms again at Folsom's Murer House

Greg Gayton of Green Acres will be featured speaker

Tue, Feb 21, 2023

Snow in Roseville? Sacramento area about to feel big chill

Be prepared; forecast calls for freezing temperatures and strong winds

Mon, Feb 20, 2023

Wild Boar's Brad Gates to talk tomatoes at Green Acres

Tomato breeder extraordinaire will share insights, latest varieties

Fri, Feb 17, 2023

No matter the forecast, it's too early to plant tomatoes

They may be on sale already, but it's not time yet

Thu, Feb 16, 2023

Help count birds this weekend wherever you are

Got 15 minutes to spare? Join the Great Backyard Bird Count

Wed, Feb 15, 2023

Threat of widespread frost threatens new growth

Flavor of oranges may actually get a boost from 'kiss of cold'

Tue, Feb 14, 2023

Green Acres hosts houseplant extravaganza in Auburn

Special event features unique collection and expert advice

Fri, Feb 10, 2023

Learn fruit tree pruning at urban mini-orchards

Alchemist CDC offers two free workshops in Sacramento

Thu, Feb 09, 2023

Kitchen garden talk on Zoom this Saturday

Yolo master gardeners also offer in-person workshop

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

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

Ad for California Local

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

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