Placer County master gardeners offer expertise at several locations during the month
This image of showy milkweed and a bee is the cover photo for the Placer County master gardeners' 2024 Gardening Guide and Calendar, now on sale. Screenshot from video by UCCE master gardeners of Placer County
This time of year, gardeners have plenty of questions: What happened to my tomatoes? How can I keep my peppers producing? Is this bug a good guy or a bad guy?
The best people to field those questions? Master gardeners. They’re prepared with the latest university research as well as countless hours of experience. When it comes to local backyard mysteries, they (usually) have the answers.
This late summer and fall, Placer County master gardeners are bringing their services to the public via local farmers markets. They’ll staff information tables at 10 farmers markets in September plus one more in August: Tuesday, Aug. 29, at The Fountains of Roseville, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Best of all, the service is free. Bring examples (in a sealed plastic bag or container) or photos to help with plant diagnosis or insect identification.
You also can catch the master gardeners at these locations:
-- Auburn Farmers Market, 150 Auburn Folsom Road, Auburn; 8 a.m. to noon Sept. 2 and 16.
-- Fowler Ranch Farmers Market, Fowler Nursery, 3111 Lincoln Newcastle Highway, Lincoln; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 3 and 17.
-- The Fountains Farmers Market, 1198 Roseville Parkway, Roseville; 8:30 to 1 p.m. Sept. 5, 12, 19 and 26.
-- Sun City Lincoln Farmers Market, 965 Orchard Creek Lane, Lincoln; 8 a.m. to noon Sept. 13 and 27.
In addition, they will have a booth at the Auburn Fall Home Show, Sept. 22-24, at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn.
More dates are scheduled for October. Check the master gardeners’ website for details: https://pcmg.ucanr.edu/.
Besides getting expert advice, these outreach events are a wonderful opportunity to pick up a copy of the master gardeners’ award-winning 2024 Gardening Guide and Calendar. The theme: “Try Something New … Ever-Changing Gardens.” The master gardeners will sell this invaluable guide at many of their upcoming appearances. Watch the short video they filmed about the Gardening Guide and Calendar here.
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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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