'Mulch Mayhem' open to Sacramento County residents
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Mulch prevents evaporation of soil moisture and helps keep weeds under control.
(Photo: Kathy Morrison)
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Grab a shovel and a container or tarp, and prepare to haul away free mulch Saturday morning during "Mulch Mayhem," hosted by water providers in Sacramento County.
Starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, and until noon or until the mulch is gone, customers of three area water providers can collect up to 1 yard of mulch, about equivalent to the amount that would fit in the back of a pickup truck. (Trailers, back of your SUV, buckets in the truck -- whatever you have, be ready to haul it away.)
The providers and locations for mulch pickup are:
-- Carmichael: Carmichael Water District, 7837 Fair Oaks Blvd., Carmichael. Info: (916) 483-2452 or carmichaelwd.org
-- Sacramento: Sacramento Suburban Water District Facility, 917 Enterprise Drive, Sacramento. Info: (916) 972-7171 or sswd.org
-- Sacramento: City of Sacramento, South Area Corporation Yard Parking Lot, 5730 24th St., Sacramento
Info: (916) 808-5605 or SacWaterWise.com
The mulch is for personal use only and cannot be sold or used for commercial sites.
Why are water districts giving away mulch? Easy answer: Mulching the garden prevents moisture loss, allowing the gardener to use less water to keep everything alive.
For more water-saving tips, visit BeWaterSmart.info
-- Kathy Morrison
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Bonus post: What did you see in your garden today that you've never seen before?
Example: The insect at left was my morning garden surprise, a cicada that had recently emerged from its old exoskeleton (which is underneath it, attached to a grow bag in my backyard). The cicada seemed to be adjusting to its new form, holding still while I snapped photos. It was gone a few hours later.
Got a garden surprise to share? It can be a plant, leaf, flower, insect or something else that made you say, "Wow, look at that!" Send your name, city, a brief (2 or 3 sentences) description and a clear digital photograph to sacdigsgardening@gmail.com with Garden Surprise in the subject line. We'll publish them as time allows; anonymous submissions will not be published.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
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April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
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March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
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Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
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Garden Checklist for week of May 4
Enjoy this spring weather – and get gardening!
* 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.
* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
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