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'Mulch Mayhem' returns to Sacramento, Placer counties
Get free mulch for your garden while it lasts! Photo courtesy Placer County Water Agency
One day, it’s feeling like summer. The next, it’s cold and rainy.
What’s a gardener to do?
Try to keep your plants evenly comfortable with a blanket of mulch. This natural insulation not only keeps soil moist but also helps regulate soil temperature – two ways to beat the heat or cold.
Get plenty of free mulch at events on two upcoming Saturday mornings in May.
Sponsored by the Regional Water Authority and local water providers, “Mulch Mayhem” offers free mulch while supplies last from 8 a.m. to noon May 6 and 20 at locations in Sacramento and Placer counties.
“These free events are designed to help local residents get their yards ready for summer,” say organizers. “Mulch slows evaporation, moderates soil temperature, beautifies landscapes and even controls weeds. As it breaks down, mulch also adds helpful nutrients to the soil.”
Mulch also helps save water during the dry months of summer.
“Water managers estimate that residents can save 30 gallons of water for every 1,000 square feet just by adding two to three inches of organic mulch (such as leaves and wood chips) around plants and four to six inches around trees,” say the organizers. When mulching trees or shrubs, take care to keep mulch away from their trunks to avoid crown rot
No reservations are needed. Bring a shovel, containers or tarps and a means to haul your free mulch away. This mulch is for residential use only and not for resale.
On Saturday morning, May 6, get your mulch at these locations:
* Carmichael Water District, 7837 Fair Oaks Blvd., Carmichael.
Information: (916) 483-2452 or carmichaelwd.org.
* Sierra College’s overflow lot, corner of Rocklin Road and El Don Drive opposite the campus, in Rocklin.
Information: (530) 823-4850 or pcwa.net.
* Sacramento Suburban Water District, 917 Enterprise Drive, Sacramento
Information: (916) 972-7171 or sswd.org.
* Sacramento Marina, 2710 Ramp Way (enter from Front Street), Sacramento
Information: (916) 808-5605 or SacWaterWise.com.
On Saturday morning, May 20, mulch will be available at Cokeva Parking Lot, 9000 Foothills Blvd., Roseville. (Enter at 9100 Foothills Blvd.) Open truck and trailer fill only—no shovels required.
Information: (916) 774-5761 or roseville.ca.us/mulchmayhem
More details: BeWaterSmart.info/mulch-mayhem.
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Garden Checklist for week of May 19
Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s 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.
* 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.
* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy 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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