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Green Acres goes to the (virtual) dogs

'Dog Days of Summer' returns as online event

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED AUG 3, 2021

Rambo knows how to stay cool during the Dog Days of

Summer. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

It’s time to celebrate the dog days of summer in a uniquely Sacramento kind of way.

This week, Green Acres Nursery & Supply salutes hot weather gardening and our best canine friends during its annual “Dog Days of Summer,” Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 7-9.

This year’s celebration will be a virtual garden party with online activities and presentations plus special offers and prizes. (Follow Green Acres at @idiggreenacres to join the fun.)

Among the highlights will be “Cool Combos,” a live streaming event on Facebook and Instagram at 11 a.m. Friday. Participants will learn how to create beautiful, eye-catching container gardeners while also enjoying music and recipes for a cool summer get-together.

Saturday will feature a new addition to Green Acres’ “Garden Talk” series on YouTube. The theme is timely and practical: “What to Do in your Garden in August.”

Of course, dogs will have their turn in the spotlight, too – after all, it’s Dog Days! Green Acres is saluting “Canine Crusaders” with a nod to local pet organizations and ways people can help. See some of these organizations here: https://idiggreenacres.com/pages/dog-days-of-summer-canine-crusaders .

Coinciding with some of the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest weather of the year, Dog Days are an ancient tradition and get their name from the position of Sirius – the Dog Star – in the sky. Sirius is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, the “Greater Dog.” The Romans believed Sirius gave off warmth as well as brightness, causing the summer to heat up. (Actually, it’s the Earth’s tilt towards the sun. During summer, the sun’s rays hit Northern Hemisphere at a more direct angle for more hours, creating longer and hotter days.)

In Roman lore, Dog Days encompass the 20 days before and after Sirius’ alignment with the sun. This year, that’s July 3 to Aug. 11, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

What plants can take the heat of Dog Days in Sacramento? Find out this week with the help of Green Acres’ experts.

For more details and links: https://idiggreenacres.com/pages/dog-days-of-summer .

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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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