Learn how to make your own 'garden gold'
Compost makes great mulch for plants already growing, and will improve the soil over time, too. Kathy Morrison
One of the best ways to help your garden get through the heat of summer: Mulch.
This blanket of organic matter not only keeps roots cooler, but maintains moisture and feeds soil microbes.
Some of the best mulch? Well-aged compost – especially if made with your own kitchen scraps and garden waste.
Find out more, including how to make your own “garden gold,” during two free workshops offered by the Roseville Utility Exploration Center.
“Compost and Mulch” will be held on two Saturdays: Aug. 19 at the RUEC Tech Lab, 1501 Pleasant Grove Blvd., and repeated on Sept. 23 at the Maidu Community Center, 1550 Maidu Drive, Roseville. Each 90-minute class starts at 10 a.m.
Registration is required. Roseville’s workshops fill up quickly and seating is limited, so sign up now.
Here’s the class description: “Did you know yard debris and kitchen scraps can improve your soil? It’s true! Composting reduces waste sent to the landfill, helps you create your own free fertilizer, and saves water. Learn about bins, equipment, and materials used in a variety of composting styles.”
To sign up for “Compost and Mulch” or other free Roseville workshops: https://www.roseville.ca.us/residents/utility_exploration_center.
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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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