El Dorado County master gardeners offer free workshop on cool-season crops
Chard does well in the Sacramento region during the fall and winter. Learn about cold-weather vegetable growing this Saturday in Placerville. Kathy Morrison
Every season is veggie season in the greater Sacramento area. But how do you make the most of cooler weather to come?
Find out during a free in-person workshop, offered by the UC Master Gardeners of El Dorado County.
Set for 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, “Fall and Winter Veggies” will cover the basics of what to grow and how to grow it during our cooler months, October through March.
El Dorado County master gardener Zack Dowell will lead the three-hour class, to be held at the Placerville Public Library. Note: This is a new location for this workshop.
“Would you like to continue to harvest luscious, home-grown vegetables even after the heat of summer subsides?” say the master gardeners. “If so, now is the time to plant for a fall and winter harvest. Learn how to grow a successful winter vegetable garden from UC Master Gardener Zack Dowell.”
Among the vegetables that grow well during those cooler months are cole crops – cabbage, broccoli, kale, chard, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, collards, etc. – as well as leafy greens, peas, fava beans, onions and more.
Although it seems counterintuitive, September and October -- while it's still warm -- is the best time to plant many of these crops.
Pre-registration is requested but not required. Register here: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=42973
The Placerville Public Library is located at 345 Fair Lane, Placerville.
Details: https://mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/.
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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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