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Prepare for spring during Open Garden Day

Master gardeners will be available to answer questions

Fair Oaks Horticulture Center with gate and people
The gates will be open and master gardeners on hand this Saturday during Open
Garden at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

How can I keep bugs from eating my vegetables? Can I plant an orange tree now? What are these weeds popping up? Which plants will bring hummingbirds to my garden? Do herbs grow well in pots? Which fertilizer is best for blueberries? How do I start a compost pile?

Spring is the busiest time for garden questions. If you have any of the ones above, or any others, the March Open Garden this Saturday at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is the place to get them answered.

From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 12, the Sacramento County master gardeners will be on site in all areas of the Horticulture Center, with tips and advice for spring planting.

Bring plant samples or unidentified insects (in plastic bags) to the Ask a Master Gardener table. The last copies of the 2022 Gardening Guide and Calendar will be on sale for the bargain price of $10.

The Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks. south of Madison Boulevard, in Fair Oaks Park next to the library.

If you are unable to attend this Open Garden, these are scheduled for the rest of spring:

-- A mid-week Open Garden, 9 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, April 13;

-- Saturday morning Open Garden, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 14;

-- An afternoon/evening Open Garden, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.,  Wednesday, May 18;

-- Saturday morning Open Garden, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, June 18.

And save the date, Saturday, Aug. 6, for Harvest Day. The master gardeners' big annual event at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center will be held in person this year for the first time since 2019.

-- Kathy Morrison

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Garden Checklist for week of May 12

Get your gardening chores and irrigation done early in the day before temperatures rise.

* 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. This heat will cause leafy greens and onions to flower; pick them before they bolt.

* 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.

* Got fruit trees? If you haven't already done so, thin orchard fruit such as apples, peaches, pears, pluots and plums before they grow too heavy, breaking branches or even splitting the tree. Leave the largest fruit on the branch, culling the smaller ones, and allow for 5 to 6 inches (or a hand's worth) between each fruit.

* Thin grape bunches, again leaving about 6 inches between them. For the remaining bunches, prune off the "tail" end, about the bottom third of the bunch, so that the plant's energy is concentrated in the fruit closest to the branch.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier 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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