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Got garden questions? Get answers Wednesday

Sacramento County master gardeners host midweek Open Garden

While the front part of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is always accessible during daylight hours, the area beyond the gate will be be open to visitors this Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon during Open Garden Day.

While the front part of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is always accessible during daylight hours, the area beyond the gate will be be open to visitors this Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon during Open Garden Day. Kathy Morrison

Is it too late to plant veggies? Can herbs survive over winter? What happened to my tomatoes this year?

Who doesn’t have garden questions right now? Here’s a place to find answers – and NOT on the weekend. Instead, it’s midweek – on a (hopefully) beautiful fall Wednesday morning.

Fall weekends are busy enough, so the Sacramento County master gardeners will host their October Open Garden on Wednesday, Oct. 16. It’s their final Open Garden of 2024.

From 9 a.m. to noon, the gates of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center will be open as the public is invited to come see the master gardeners at work. Admission and parking are free. (No pets, please.)

“Open gardens are informal free events where you roam the gardens, watch what we are doing, see what we are growing and ask questions,” say the master gardeners. “Bring samples of your problem plants, mystery pests and questions to the ‘Ask the Master Gardeners’ information table.  Get one-on-one advice supported by the most recent research-based sustainable practices.”

Pack any samples in zipped plastic bags. Photos are handy, too.

The Hort Center is looking spectacular, as always. Enjoy the garden while you learn.

“Immerse yourself in nature as you stroll through calming paths of Water Efficient Landscape plants," say the master gardeners. Visitors can smell fragrant pelargoniums in the Herb Garden, check out the ripening pomegranates and persimmons in the Orchard, and learn how to prepare raised beds for fall planting in the Vegetable Garden. In the Berry Patch, find out how to prune berry vines for production.  Visit the composting area and the nearby row of citrus trees.

The master gardeners will present three mini-talks or hands-on demonstrations:

9:30 a.m. – “Preparing Your Garden for Winter: Think Tiny.” How fall leaves provide nesting places for beneficial insects. Meet at the Round Patio in the Water-Efficient Landscape Garden.

10 a.m. – “What Types of Bedding do Worms Like?” The secret to successful worm composting. Presented at the Kiwi/Grape Arbor.

10:30 a.m. – “Garlic Planting Demonstration.” Watch and learn at the Kiwi/Grape Arbor.

Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, in Fair Oaks Park, south of Madison Avenue.

Details and directions: https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/.

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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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