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Placer County master gardeners offer free workshop on straw-bale gardening
This collection of sweet potato plants grew in straw bales at the Far Oaks Horticulture Center a few years back. Once the bales are spent at the end of the growing season, they make great compost material, too. Kathy Morrison
Here’s one creative solution to all those gardening drawbacks – straw-bale gardening!
Learn how at a free in-person workshop, offered by the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Placer County.
Set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 9, at Loomis Library, “Turn Your Straw into Gold” will cover the basics of straw-bale gardening, which uses a bale of straw soaked in liquid organic fertilizer (such as compost tea) as an instant raised bed.
“Growing your veggies and flowers in easily 'conditioned' straw bales means no soil, no digging, no bending, only a trowel needed,” say the master gardeners.
Once the garden season is over, the straw can be recycled, too, they add. “Your used straw bales make great compost!”
As someone who has tried straw-bale gardening, I found it was a very productive method for difficult spots where nothing else seemed to grow. The bale was elevated enough where there was less bending to tend the plants, and weeds never had a chance to take hold. It was perfect for potatoes and sweet potatoes; when harvest time came, these root vegetables were easy to find.
Straw-bale gardening also works well for eggplants, squash, strawberries, beans, carrots and many other favorites.
No advance registration for this one-hour workshop is needed. Loomis Library is located at 6050 Library Drive, Loomis.
For details and directions: https://pcmg.ucanr.edu/.
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Garden Checklist for week of May 19
Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s 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.
* 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.
* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. 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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