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Learn how to make a bee house, prune grapes

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED MAR 5, 2019

Mason bees love these kind of "houses." (Photo courtesy

Sacramento County master gardeners)

Sacramento County master gardeners host free demonstrations at Open Garden

Do you want to help bees feel at home? Grow backyard grapes? Make gifts with home-grown herbs?

Learn all those skills and more during a full morning of demonstrations and hands-on opportunities as the Sacramento County master gardeners host an Open Garden, from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 9, at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., in Fair Oaks Park.

Open free to the public, these informal gatherings allow visitors to ask these UC Cooperative Extension experts gardening questions while watching them tackle garden tasks. Rain or shine, the event will be held outdoors, so dress appropriately.

At 10 a.m., master gardeners will conduct demonstrations on:

* How to help pollinators, including construction of “houses” for mason bees;

* Cane and spur pruning of grapes for arbors;

* Herbal gift ideas from the garden; and

* Tips for selection and planting of drought-tolerant woody perennials for the water-efficient landscape.

Throughout the morning, master gardeners will be stationed in various areas of the Hort Center. They’ll demonstrate how to winter prune fruit trees in the orchard. In the vegetable garden, they’ll discuss preparation for spring planting. In the vineyard, they’ll show how to fight disease and grow healthier (and more productive) grapevines.

The Horticulture Center has an extensive display on compost

bins. Check them out Saturday. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Interested in berries? They’ll share how monitoring soil pH and amendments can lead to greater yields. Also get tips for composting success, including which bins are best and fast-cooking compost "recipes."

In the Water-Efficient Landscape, learn how to use WUCOLS (Water Use Classification of Landscape Species) ratings to choose the right plants for the right place in a drought-tolerant makeover.

Got a puzzling pest or mystery plant? Bring a sample in a sealed plastic bag to the Ask a Master Gardener information table. And if you haven’t already, pick up a copy of the 2019 master gardener calendar and gardening guide ($10), packed with need-to-know information for garden success including how to preserve your harvest.

Details: sacmg.ucanr.edu.

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Keywords:

UCCE master gardeners grapevines events fruit trees composting gardening vegetables bees herbs Fair Oaks Horticulture Center pollinators water-wise gardening perennials

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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.

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