Master gardeners present special workshop
These wigglers are hard at work, making rich castings from kitchen and garden waste. Kathy Morrison
It's time to get wiggly! Become a worm wrangler and make garden gold.
Learn about worm composting during a special workshop Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. Advance registration is required and space is limited. The deadline to register is Oct. 14.
Presented by thr UCCE Sacramento County master gardeners, this fun workshop will show how to harness worm power to make rich, high-qaulity compost. According to the master gardeners, this neat, easy and odorless method of composting is ideal for indoor and outdoor locations."
Ideal for beginners, this class covers bin construction, bedding and food needs for worms, and how to "harvest" their castings.
Registration is $30, which includes all instructional materials, a worm bin and worms -- everything you need to get started.
The two-hour course starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, and will be held outdoors, rain or shine, at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. No drop-ins are allowed and no refunds will be offered.
The Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, just south of the Fair Oaks Library. For more information on UCCE master gardener activities, go to https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/?calitem=537195
P.S. SDG's Kathy Morrison offers this tip: Get a preview of what worm composting (and other composting) is all about by visiting the Composting Area during Open Garden Day on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 9 a.m. to noon at the Horticulture Center.
-- Debbie Arrington
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Food in My Back Yard Series
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden Checklist for week of April 27
Once the clouds clear, get to work. Spring growth is in high gear.
* Set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash. Plant onion sets.
* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.
* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.
* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.
* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.
* Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.
* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.
* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.
* Start thinning fruit that's formed on apple and stone fruit trees -- you'll get larger fruit at harvest (and avoid limb breakage) if some is thinned now. The UC recommendation is to thin fruit when it is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 6 inches apart; smaller fruit such as plums and pluots can be about 4 inches apart. Apricots can be left at 3 inches apart. Apples and pears should be thinned to one fruit per cluster of flowers, 6 to 8 inches apart.
* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.
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