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Get started on cool-season veggies

Online workshop tackles 'Broccoli, Lettuce & Kale, Oh My!'

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED AUG 25, 2021

Still summer outside, but on the vegetable-planting calendar,

it's time for lettuce and other greens. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

It’s time to think cool (and we don’t mean air conditioning).

During the heat of August while we’re still (hopefully) picking tomatoes, turn your attention to lettuce – plus other cool-season greens and winter vegetables.

Where to start – and how? Learn the basics during a free Zoom workshop at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 28.

Presented by the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Nevada County, this one-hour webinar will pay special attention to the challenges of cool-season gardening at higher elevations. But there will be plenty of tips and valuable information for gardeners in the Valley, too.

“Broccoli, Lettuce & Kale, Oh, My! Growing Cool-Season Vegetables in the Foothills” will discuss transitioning from summer to cool-season vegetables, planning, soil preparation, seed starting, planting and more. The master gardeners also will share secrets of extending summer veggies into late fall or winter and likewise stretching lettuce season deep into spring (and maybe even summer).

“It’s hot right now, and time for sitting in the shade and enjoying summer vegetables,” say the master gardeners in their workshop introduction. “And a great time for planning your cool season garden! Join us now to learn how to get broccoli, lettuce and kale from your garden in the winter and spring.

“What do you want to grow? We'll talk about cool-season garden planning and preparation, microclimates, season extenders and much more. Join us to learn how to keep your garden more fertile and productive almost year round.”

Anyone with an Internet connection is invited to Zoom in. No advance reservations are necessary.

For the link and more details: http://ncmg.ucanr.org/ .

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leafy greens UCCE master gardeners seeds gardening Sacramento free class workshop cool-weather vegetables online events planting schedule Nevada County

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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