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Sacramento Digs Gardening Recipe Index

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Recipe Index

Sun, Aug 06, 2023

Turn fresh figs into versatile topping

Recipe: Easy fig compote with orange and vanilla

Sun, Jul 30, 2023

Oh-so-ripe tomatoes make an easy garden sauce

Recipe: Chunky or smooth, it's the fresh flavor of summer

Sun, Jul 23, 2023

Juice fresh tomatoes, then make Bloody Mary with a twist

Recipe: Cocktail features just-squeezed tomato juice

Sun, Jul 16, 2023

Whip up a summer cake that takes no baking

Recipe: Peaches and cookies chill in a cool treat

Sun, Jul 09, 2023

Flavorful frittata is good for any meal

Recipe: Spinach-mushroom-pancetta frittata for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Sun, Jul 02, 2023

Chilled berry soup a winner

Cool fruity appetizer for a hot summer night

Sun, Jun 25, 2023

Chocolate and zucchini belong together every summer

Bread is a greatest hit from the early days of the blog

Sun, Jun 18, 2023

These roast potatoes have a colorful difference

NEW Roasted purple potatoes with Provencal herbs

Sun, Jun 11, 2023

Love blueberry muffins? This coffee cake is for you

NEW Blueberry-lemon coffee cake with streusel topping.

Sun, Jun 04, 2023

Enjoy fresh apricots in an easy appetizer

NEW No cooking involved in this seasonal creation

Sun, May 28, 2023

Make a small batch of easy, lemony strawberry preserves

NEW Sunny strawberry-Meyer lemon preserves without added pectin

Sun, May 21, 2023

Bake a puffy cherry-berry pancake

NEW Ricotta and lemon zest give brunch dish some tang

Sun, May 14, 2023

Easy fresh cherry muffins with an almond twist

NEW Almond flavor three ways enhances the fruit-filled muffins

Sun, May 07, 2023

Mellow radishes by applying some heat

NEW Roast these little root veggies with garlic

Sun, Apr 16, 2023

These easy orange scones are for citrus lovers

NEW Orange-raisin sour cream scones with orange-vanilla glaze

Sun, Apr 09, 2023

Light and lemony, a potato salad for spring

NEW Celery adds crunch; mint lends an herbal note

Sun, Apr 02, 2023

Beets add unique color to breakfast hash

NEW Purple flannel hash patties with roasted beets

Sun, Mar 26, 2023

A sunny orange pie from a backyard windfall

This light dessert requires minimal stove time

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Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

Garden checklist for week of May 10

Take it easy during that high heat – then get to work! Your garden is calling.

* Remember to irrigate your tender transplants. Seedlings need consistent moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants. Water early in the morning for best results.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly feeding program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.

* Don’t forget to weed! Those invaders are growing fast.

Contact Us

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

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

Find our summer 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

Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air 

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24:  Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

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