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Insect and art events highlight busy October weekend

Loomis in the spotlight with compost class, High-Hand Nursery event

The Bohart Museum of Entomology celebrates insects in art and culture during its Saturday event.

The Bohart Museum of Entomology celebrates insects in art and culture during its Saturday event. Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis

Another busy October weekend! In addition to the Sierra Foothills Rose Show, which we wrote about earlier this week, these gardening and outdoor events are on tap Saturday:

Free composting workshop, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Loomis Library, 6050 Library Road, Loomis. The Placer County master gardeners will present the basics of backyard composting and how it can improve the soil. Learn how to get started and keep the compost pile healthy.

 — Special talk on “Plants, Insects and Art: Mary Foley Benson's Scientific Illustrations,” 11 a.m. Saturday at the Teaching and Learning Complex (TLC) Building on the UC Davis campus.  This event is part of Spirit Week  for  Aggie students, parents and alumni, but all are welcome.  Srđan Tunić, a candidate for an M.A. in art history  and an associate at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis, will highlight the work of the late artist (1905-1992) and the collection of her work owned by UC Davis. Here’s a link to her beautiful illustration of a harlequin bug.

October Outreach event focusing on “Insects, Art & Culture,” 1-4 p.m. Saturday at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis. The Bohart invites everyone to come learn about insects through the lenses of art and culture. (Spider-Man, anyone?) This event also is part of Spirit Week but the public is welcome. Free admission and parking. The Bohart is in Room 1124, Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis Main Campus. Map here.

– Grand opening of the High-Hand Mercantile, 5-8 p.m. Saturday. High-Hand Nursery and Cafe in Loomis is ready to reveal the renovated Mercantile. Light bites and complimentary wine while it lasts, and 10 percent off all purchases at the High-Hand Flower Market and on all pottery. 3570 Taylor Road, Loomis. Map here

-- 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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