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Turn autumn leaves into garden gold


Gorgeous gold leaves can have a second life as garden gold, also known as compost. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)


Master gardeners offer free composting classes

Got leaves? Make garden gold.

Think of all that fallen foliage as an autumn harvest of compost ingredients.

Brown leaves alone aren't enough to cook up nutrient-rich compost, but part of the overall mix. When started in November, compost will be ready for spring planting.

Want to learn how to turn your yard and kitchen waste into natural fertilizer? Take a composting class from local master gardeners.

* For gardeners in Yolo County, the UCCE Yolo County master gardeners will present a free composting workshop at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Esparto Regional Library, 17065 Yolo Ave., Esparto. Details: http: yolomg.ucanr.edu

* Interested in worm composting? At 10 a.m. Saturdyam Nov. 17, the UCCE Yolo County master gardeners and EnviroWoodland present a free two-hour composting workshop that tackles both backyard and worm composting. It will be at the Woodland Community College garden, Building 400, 2300 E. Gibson Road, Woodland. Free worms will be available. Woodland residents who sign up in advance can take home a free worm bin, too. Details: yolomg.ucanr.edu

For more garden events and workshops checkout Sac Digs Gardening's expanded Garden Calendar . Got an event? Send it to us at sacdigsgardening@gmail.com .

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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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