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'Farm to Fork' on wheels at Sacramento County Fair


The wheelbarrow gardens created by schools and other student groups will be on display during the Sacramento County Fair at Cal Expo. (Photo courtesy Sacramento County Fair)

Wheelbarrow gardens teach about food

You can haul a lot of learning in a wheelbarrow.

See plenty of examples during a memorable exhibit at the Sacramento County Fair, which opens Thursday for its annual five-day run at Cal Expo.

On display will be several wheelbarrows turned into mobile gardens and planted by local students. Called "Farm Garden in a Wheelbarrow," the program provides free wheelbarrows to public, private or charter schools, preschools, home school groups, after-school programs and 4-H clubs. Teachers also get free soil, seeds and teaching materials to create a portable salad garden.

Designed to help teach how food grows, the wheelbarrow gardens can be rolled in and out of classrooms, allowing planting and seed sprouting indoors before being transferred outside. Salad greens, radishes, onions and other spring veggies grow fast, keeping even young kids engaged. Most of the wheelbarrows on display were planted in February.

As for the fair itself, Sacramento celebrates Memorial Day weekend with a wide range of entertainment, from monster trucks to bull riding to live concerts. This year's theme: "Let's Eat, Have Fun and Celebrate the Red, White and Blue."

Admission is $8; children under 12 years admitted free. Parking is $10. Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, May 23-26, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Memorial Day, Monday, May 27.
Cal Expo is located at 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento. Details: www.sacfair.com .

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Garden Checklist for week of May 5

Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:

* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.

* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.

* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* 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, pumpkins, 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.

* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

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