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

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

Seize the day? How about 366 of them?

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED OCT 30, 2019

An invaluable calendar, and a bargain, to boot. (Photo:

Kathy Morrison)

Master gardener calendars are filled with expert advice

Next year is a leap year, so we get an extra day of gardening. But it's in February, so maybe it'll be an extra day of watching the rain and making gardening plans. (Why isn't Leap Day in April? or June?)

In any case, there are two great 2020 calendars available right now that are stuffed full of advice from gardeners who know our climate and growing conditions. The calendars have been available for a few months, but this time of year is when folks really focus on the coming year. (And if you have your calendar already, they do make great gifts.)

The Sacramento County master gardeners' new Gardening Guide and Calendar has a theme of "Blossoms," with great photos of all kinds of blooming plants. It's sold for the bargain price of $10 (including tax), with proceeds supporting the UCCE master gardener events such as Harvest Day.

The calendar is like having your own master gardener right at your desk. It includes monthly gardening tasks, planting tips, advice for cutting flowers and even (from the UCCE master food preservers) recipes that include flowers. The bulb planting guide alone is worth the money: advice to chill or not, what depth to plant and when, etc. The Gardening Guide and Calendar can be ordered online here or purchased at several of the Sacramento-area nurseries; see the list on the website.

The Placer County calendar is appropriate for Valley and

foothill gardeners. (Photo courtesy pcmg.ucanr.org)

"Gardening With a Purpose: Enrich Your Yard and Our Community" is the focus of the Placer County master gardeners calendar. Each month includes suggestions of what to plant, what's in season, timely reminders and irrigation tips, plus gorgeous photos and QR codes for additional information. It's also just $10.

You can find a list of local vendors who sell the Placer County Gardening Guide and Calendar at http://pcmg.ucanr.org/2020_Calendar/ or order it online at the same website.

Both master gardener groups also sell their calendars at their staffed events, including farmers markets and festivals.

-- Kathy Morrison

The website address for the Placer master gardeners is now correct. Apologies for the earlier error!

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

UCCE master gardeners gardening Sacramento calendar planting fundraiser Central Valley Placer County foothills gardening advice

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Thanks to our sponsor!

Sites We Like

Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!