Calendar is packed with gardening and related events
The outdoors is calling. It may not be this nice to hike at Deer Creek Hills Preserve, but it should be clear. PHOTO COURTESY SACRAMENTO VALLEY CONSERVANCY
Yes, we will see the sun again.
The clouds that have taken up seemingly permanent residence in the region are expected to move along, leaving clear skies by Saturday, just in time for a plethora of outdoor events. (The gray ceiling is due back Sunday, but a certain football game dominates that day, so not much else is scheduled.)
If you haven't yet decided how to spend this clear but cold day, here are a few suggestions:
-- 13th Annual Biodiversity Museum Day at UC Davis, generally from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, but times vary depending on the site. Ten of the collections on campus will be open (follow this link for the schedule and a map) for viewing and special programs, with many appealing to children and young adults. The attraction for gardeners will be the events in the Habitat Gardens near the Teaching Nursery from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Here's what planners say: "We’re featuring Climate-Ready Gardening tips and activities for all ages! We’re excited to share how you can make a big impact in your garden and in our local landscapes!"
-- Bird Walk, Soil Born Farms, 2140 Chase Drive, Rancho Cordova. 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Cost is $15, which benefits the American River Ranch Restoration & Development Fund. Naturalist Cliff Hawley leads the walk around Soil Born's American River Ranch. Suitable for beginning and intermediate birders. Register here.
-- Effie Yeaw Nature Center, inside Ancil Hoffman Park, 2850 San Lorenzo Way (off Tarshes Drive), Carmichael. The center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day but Monday. Admission is free but there is a county fee for parking. The trails, which are open from dawn to dusk, should have dried out enough to enjoy a walk through the area, which is a local treasure. More details here.
-- Deer Creek Hills Preserve, Saturday trail hikes. One of the largest nature preserves in the Sacramento region, this site near Sloughhouse in eastern Sacramento County is open only on select days. From February through May, Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Taking a self-guided hike on one of three trail options requires pre-registration by 6 p.m. Friday. $10 fee. (Shortest loop must be started by 11:30 a.m., others must be started earlier.) Details can be found here.
-- And of course, Open Garden Day, 9 a.m. to noon, at the Sacramento master gardeners' Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks. Read more in our earlier blog post.
If you're not ready to venture outdoors this weekend, there are still plenty of activities for gardeners. Check out all the listings for Saturday on our Calendar, including classes on growing blueberries or growing flowers, workshops on seed starting, and the textile show and sale at the Shepard Center.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden Checklist for week of May 11
Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.
* 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.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* 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.
* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. 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.
* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.
* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.
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