search this website   Now Available online and at local nurseries: The Sacramento County Master Gardener 2014 Gardening Guide and Calendar   And, for foothill gardeners: check out the 2014 Gardener's Companion Calendar from the Placer Co. Master Gardeners here!   Plants and Pest Problems: Links Other Garden Websites NOW: February Garden Chores March Garden Chores Sacramento Area Planting Guide for Flower and Vegetable Seeds Growing Winter Vegetables Plants for Late Fall / Winter Color Frost/Freeze Tips For Citrus   The Drought and Your Garden Gardening With Limited Water Water Efficient Plants for Sacramento Other Water Efficient Plant Resources EPA Guide to Water-Smart Landscapes Water-Wise CA Regional Garden Sites Tips For Growing Native Plants   Frost, Freeze Tips Protecting Plants from Frost or Freeze The Quick Guide: When a Frost is Forecast Frost Protection for Citrus and Other Subtropical Plants After a Freeze: What Should You Do in the Garden?  Quick Clicks Sunset Plant Finder Plant Lists Categorized by their Water Needs Dave's Garden Plant Search National Pesticide Information Center Roses For Shade The Top Ten Roses for Sacramento 100 Roses for the Valley and Foothills Vegetable Planting Calendar Tomato Taste Test Trials Fruit Tree Varieties Nut Tree Varieties Fruit & Nut Harvest Dates Fruit Taste Test Winners Citrus Tree Info Plants that Attract Beneficial Insects Plants to Attract Pollinating Insects 20 Great Trees for the Sacramento Area Small Trees for Small Yards Shade Tree Selection Guide Weather Websites   Winter Growing Winter Vegetables Best Soil Temperatures for Vegetable Seeds Why Rotate Your Crops? Plant a Fruit Tree...Or Two! Choosing and Planting Bare Root Fruit Trees Threat to Citrus Trees: the Asian Citrus Psyllid Christmas Tree Care Plants for Late Fall / Winter Color ROSES Rose Pruning, California Style Roses For Shade The Top Ten Roses for Sacramento 100 Roses for the Valley and Foothills Rose Planting Basics   Fall Fall is Lawn Renovation Time Best Soil Temperatures for Vegetable Seeds Why Rotate Your Crops? Sacramento Area Planting Guide for Flower and Vegetable Seeds Growing Fall/Winter Vegetables Plants for Late Fall/Winter Color Greenhouse Tomatoes in the Fall/Winter Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects Attracting Bees To Your Garden UC Davis Arboretum All-Stars Easy Care Plants for Privacy 20 Great Trees for the Sacramento Area Small Trees for Small Yards Pruning Q&A's   LANDSCAPING How Much Water Does Your Lawn and Garden Really Need? Plant Lists Categorized by their Water Needs Growing Fall/Winter Vegetables Greenhouse Tomatoes in the Fall/Winter Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects Attracting Bees To Your Garden 20 Great Trees for the Sacramento Area Small Trees for Small Yards Hiring an Arborist: Tips from the Sacramento Tree Foundation Landscaping Tips UC Davis Arboretum All-Stars Easy Care Plants for Privacy Shows for the Nose: Other Fragrant Plants Deer Resistant Plants (Alleged)   VEGETABLES Growing Winter Vegetables Tomato Gardening: Tips and Hints Tomato Gardening Basics Tomato Troubleshooting Tips Blossom End Rot on Tomatoes  Recipes for Your Home Grown Produce Help Plants Beat the Heat Grow your Own Popcorn ! How To Grow Giant Pumpkins FRUIT Fruit and Nut Links from UC Avocado Trees for Northern California? How to Increase the Size of Your Table Grapes How To Get Bigger Fruit From Your Fruit Trees Citrus Tips from the Pros UC: Growing Blueberries in the Sacramento Region Blueberries for the Valley Fruit Tree Care Calendar Plant a Fruit Tree...Or Two! Choosing and Planting Bare Root Fruit Trees U.C. Davis Tips on Fruit Tree Pruning & Training How To Prune Overgrown Deciduous Fruit Trees    GARDEN HELPERS The Garden "Good Guys" Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects Attracting Bees To Your Garden GardenInsects.Com Free Publications From UC's Farm and Garden Experts    TREES 20 Great Trees for the Sacramento Area Small Trees for Small Yards Hiring an Arborist: Tips from the Sacramento Tree Foundation Finding an ISA-Certified Arborist After the storm: Leaning Trees Need Your Attention, Now! Oak Tree Care Planting Under Oaks Pruning Q&A's Christmas Tree Care   More Garden Features

-,  Lifetime Master Gardener Fred Hoffman is the host of the "KFBK Garden Show" on 1530-AM/93.1-FM KFBK in Sacramento, California each Sunday morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Pacfic Time, followed by "Get Growing" on Talk 650 KSTE in Sacramento, 10 a.m. to Noon. And, you can listen to the shows, live, via the KFBK.com and KSTE.com websites. Available as podcasts! Previous editions of "The KFBK Garden Show" and "Get Growing". Podcast links for Itunes users: KFBK Garden Show and Get Growing Southern Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin County gardeners can also get current gardening information from Fred in his Saturday gardening column in the Lodi News-Sentinel.; also available at the Farmer Fred Rant! Blog page. UPCOMING GUESTS ON THE "KFBK GARDEN SHOW" & "GET GROWING"   Mar. 2: Steve Zien, Living Resources Co. "Spring into the (thirsty) Organic Garden"; Leon Springer - Dripworks: "Drip Irrigation Basics"; Warren Roberts - UC Davis Arboretum;   Mar. 9: Gisele Schoniger - Kellogg Garden Products: "Understanding your garden soil"; Gary Headley, Sac. Co. Master Gardener: "Events at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center"    A Clue for the Garden Grappler! Caller #5 in Sunday's Garden Grappler will win a High Hand Nursery gift certificate & baseball cap; and, two tickets to the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, March 19-23 Visit the Farmer Fred Rant Blog Page for These Garden Tips and More: Vegetables: Some Vegetables Require Less Water Than Others Interactive Vegetable Planting Calendar Planting Your First Vegetable Garden? Some Tips Will Those Green Tomatoes Turn Red This Fall? Before You Plant, Check the Soil Temperature Make Your Own Planting Mix Starting Tomatoes, Peppers From Seed More Tips on Starting Tomatoes from Seed Pepper Seeds Slow to Germinate? Some Tips Heirloom Vegetables Are Better For You Tomato Troubleshooter Crop Rotation Plan for the Home Garden Crop Rotation for the Garden, Pt. 2 The Hazards of Overfeeding Your Plants  Hand-Pollinating Squash Plants How to Grow Giant Pumpkins Grow Your Own Popcorn   Fruits: Avocado Trees for Sacramento? A Guide Frost/Freeze Protection Ideas for Citrus Choosing and Planting Bare Root Fruit Trees Mulch Under a Citrus Tree: Pros and Cons Bareroot Fruit Tree Shopping? Buyer Beware! Harvest Fruits By Look and Feel, Not the Calendar Know Your Fruit Tree Rootstocks Growing Blueberries in Container Anatomy of a Professional Fruit Tasting Why Are the Blackberries Turning White?   Bad Bugs, Diseases, Weeds: Why are Blackberries Turning White? Ants! A Cure for the Cherry Maggot? Controlling Snails and Slugs Peach Leaf Curl: It's Back! Battling Peach Leaf Curl Battling Sooty Mold & Scale on Citrus Controlling Fungus Gnats on Houseplants Crane Flies vs. Mosquitoes Leaf Spot Problem? Here's What to Do Cat Proofing Your Garden Yellowjacket Fun Facts! Control Tips, Too Weedkillers: Read the Label!   ETC. How To Find Garden Answers Online Garden Shoes...or Gardening Shoes? The Garden Good Guys: Plants that Attract Beneficial Insects Bring on the Bees! Plants to Attract Pollinating Insects This Blog is for the Birds The Good Bug Hotel What's Killing the Bees? A New Study Offers Clues Landscaping, Lawns, Flowers Getting the Yard Ready for a Rain and Wind Storm Watering Tips for Drip Irrigation A Tour of Maple Rock Gardens The Heart-Healthy Garden Plants for Privacy The Cure for Non-Performing Daffodils WELO is coming. Start Planning to Save Water Now Plants Wilting in the Heat? Check Before You Water Water-Saving Tips For Your Yard Get Rid of Your Lawn with Soil Solarization How to Kill Your Lawn in 2 Easy Steps Droopy Plants on a Hot Day. Water...or Not?   Trees and Shrubs How To Stake a New Tree Holy Jumping Oak Galls, Batman!    Fall & Winter: What to Do AFTER a Hard Freeze What to Do When a Hard Freeze is Forecast New Year's Resolutions for Gardeners Persimmons: THE Edible Ornamental of Fall Innovative Peach Leaf Curl Controls Frost, Freezes Ahead. Get Your Yard Ready After a Freeze, What Should a Gardener Do? Fall-Winter Houseplant Care Tips Drain the Rain Away from the House & Garden Get Your Garden Storm-Ready What to Do in Your Yard AFTER the Storm Tips for the Fall-Winter Vegetable Garden Add Color for the Cold, Gray Days of Winter  Winter Storms and Trees: Inspect Them Now! How to Grow Oak Trees from Acorns What NOT to do in the Garden in Fall Dead Foliage Now? Leaf it Alone! Problem Plants Have Horses? Avoid These Plants! Safe Plants for You, But They're Poison to Your Pets Mistletoe Control Tips Garden Data (thru Feb. 28, 2014) Avg. evapotranspiration rate this past week : .66" valley; .70" foothills. Soil Temperature: 55 (F) valley. 55 (F) foothills. 49 (F) upper foothills. Click Here for more Information about soil temperature and evapotranspiration rates   Chilling hours (hours at 45 degrees or less, necessary for deciduous fruit tree production, from Nov.-Feb.) 2013-2014 Chill Season, Nov. 1 - Feb. 27: Valley (Sac., SJ, Yolo, Sutter, Solano Cos.): 868-1230 hours Foothills (Amador, El Dorado, Placer Cos.): 567-1129 hours  2012-2013 Chill Season Totals: VALLEY: 1028-1325 hours; FOOTHILLS: 877-1863 hours   ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   Wondering when is the right time to plant? The online Farmer Fred Interactive Vegetable Planting Calendar for Northern & Central California is for you! Click on each vegetable for specific planting information. Also, download the printable planting calendar!   ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   Looking for lists and pictures of plants that don't require much water? Go to: Water-Wise Gardening Websites This is a project undertaken in conjunction with the municipalities and water districts in many California locales. The website has a wealth of local residential photography and plant information to help the homeowner improve their garden in a water efficient way. Sacramento, El Dorado and Placer residents: click on the link - Be Water Smart .   ========================================   Find a Green Gardener-certified landscaper near you: http://www.ecolandscape.org/programGG/GreenGardenerRefList.html    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++    UPCOMING EVENTS  Saturday, March 1 All Things Acacia 2 p.m., Putah Creek Lodge, UC Davis campus Enjoy an early spring display of yellow blossoms on this guided tour of the Eric E. Conn Acacia Grove. The grove features more than 50 different acacias from around the world. The event is free; parking is free and available in nearby Putah Creek Lodge Visitor Parking Lot on Putah Creek Lodge Drive off of La Rue Road on the UC Davis campus. For more information and directions visit http://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/calendar.aspx or call (530) 752-4880.  ====================================== Date:  Saturday, March 1, 2014 Event:  Master Gardener Public Class:  Propagation by Seed Time and Location:  Folsom Lake College's El Dorado Center, 6699 Campus Dr., Placerville, Room a-105.  9:00 AM to Noon Details:The various methods of propagating plants by seed will be taught by Master Gardeners Gail Fulbeck and Debbie Hillel. Covered will be selection and germination, starting media, planting containers, hardening off and transplanting seedlings, and common reasons for germination and seedling failure.  If time permits, a discussion of seed saving techniques will be included.  Hands-on demonstrations in the MG Demonstration Garden next door. Contact: Master Gardener office: (530) 621-5502 or check website:  http://ucanr.edu/sites/edc_mastergardeners/  or email: mgeldorado@ucdavis.edu ============================== Thursday, March 6 @ 7:30 pm  Sierra Foothills Rose Society Address: Maidu Community Center, 1550 Maidu Drive, Roseville SPEAKER: Steve Jones, President of the World Federation of Ross Societies, and his wife Susie TOPIC:  Their trip to New Zealand (roses) Contact: (916) 316-5873 =========================== Date:  Saturday, March 8, 2014 Event:  Master Gardener Public Class: Working with Soils Time and Location:  Veterans Memorial Building, 130 Placerville Dr. , Placerville.  9:00 AM to Noon Details: Healthy soil means healthy plants. Come find out what your soil needs to keep your plants healthy and growing strong and why it is so important to our overall environmental health. Feed the Soil, and the plants take care of themselves! Instructors are Shilo Nielson and Cindy Young.   Contact: Master Gardener office: (530) 621-5502 or check website:  http://ucanr.edu/sites/edc_mastergardeners/  or email: mgeldorado@ucdavis.edu ================================= Saturday, March 8 Gardening Workshops: Choosing UC Arboretum All-Star Plants 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Roseville Utility Exploration Center, 1501 Pleasant Grove Blvd. Gardening workshops at the Utility Exploration Center will focus on learning more about the UC Davis Arboretum All-Stars. All plants are not created equal! Learn how to choose UC Arboretum All-Star plants that will provide years of beauty &emdash; even in our hot climate. Join us for two classes: Composting Basics to Improve Soil Health (8:30 a.m. &endash; 10:30 a.m.) and Selecting and Caring for UC Arboretum All-Star Plants (11 a.m. &endash; 1 p.m.). Advanced registration deadline is March 4. $6 Roseville residents, $8 non-residents. For more information, or to register, call 916-746-1550. www.roseville.ca.us/explore/workshops/gardening_workshops.asp ===================== Wednesday, March 12 Walk with Warren:  Warren G. Roberts Redbud Collection 12-1 p.m., UC Davis Arboretum Headquarters (Valley Oak Cottage on La Rue Road), UC Davis campus Join Warren Roberts, the Superintendent Emeritus of the Arboretum and famous storyteller and punster for an always-engaging noontime exploration of the Arboretum's Warren G. Roberts Redbud Collection in spring. The event is free; parking is available in nearby Visitor Parking Lot 47 where parking can be paid by meter or by purchase of an $8 daily pass. For more information and directions, please call (530) 752-4880 or visit http://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/calendar.aspx. ________________________________________ Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 Event: Capitol Park Tree Tour 12:00 to 1:00pm Capitol Park, 10th & L Street, 95814 Meet: at the North steps of the Capitol (on L Street). Details: Celebrate spring and explore the City of Trees on a guided tree tour with the Sacramento Tree Foundation. Tree Tours begin promptly and happen rain or shine. The tour is free, but to ensure that you're included, please RSVP to www.sactree.com/events to register. Contact: Sacramento Tree Foundation www.sactree.com/events or 916-924-8733 ================================ Date:  Saturday, March 15, 2014 Event:  Master Gardener Public Class: Fire Safe Landscaping Time and Location:  Veterans Memorial Building, 130 Placerville Dr. , Placerville.  9:00 AM to Noon Details: Do you want to create an attractive and fire-wise landscape?  Join Master Gardener Robin Stanley and retired CALFIRE Chief Deputy Director Mark Stanley to learn how to balance aesthetics and safety to increase the chance that your property and home can withstand a wildfire.  You'll leave with an individualized list of recommended changes Contact: Master Gardener office: (530) 621-5502 or check website:  http://ucanr.edu/sites/edc_mastergardeners/  or email: mgeldorado@ucdavis.edu ================================ Saturday, March 15 Raising Worms for Better Plants and Gardens 10 a.m.-noon, Roseville Utility Exploration Center, 1501 Pleasant Grove Blvd. Help your plants and gardens by adding worm compost and castings to the soil in a fun, clean and family-oriented activity. Play with red wigglers and find out about a worm bin for the home! Ages 6 and up. Advanced registration deadline is March 11. $12 Roseville residents, $15 non-residents. For more information, or to register, call 916-746-1550. www.roseville.ca.us/explore/workshops/kids_craft_workshops.asp   ================================ Saturday, March 15th Pollinator Gardening Workshop: 7:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m., UC Davis campus, Giedt Hall Room 1001, Bioletii Way. This informative workshop will help attendees learn how to identify common bee pollinators, how to make a landscape pollinator friendly, and which plants bee pollinators prefer. It will also contain the latest research about honey bee health. Following the workshop (and lunch) meet experts in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven garden to see how UC Davis is helping honey bees. There will also be a special plant sale for attendees at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery. The event cost is $40, parking is free in nearby parking lot #40. To sign up, please visit http://ccuh.ucdavis.edu/events/public/pollinator-workshop-2014 or call 530-752-6642. =============================================  Saturday, March 15 Member Appreciation Plant Sale & 5-Year Anniversary Celebration 9 a.m.-1 p.m., UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery (Garrod Drive near La Rue Road, across from Vet Med), UC Davis campus Thanks to our members and support from our campus and community the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is celebrating its 5th anniversary of operation at our expanded facility where we offer the public the area's largest selection of attractive, low-water, easy-care, regionally-appropriate plants at our Teaching Nursery. At this sale we invite members of the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum to replace their lawns or refresh their landscapes while enjoying 10% off all their purchases and an additional appreciation gift of $10 off their plant sale purchases. =========================================== Date:  Saturday, March 22, 2014 Event:  Master Gardener Public Class: Toward Sustainable Gardening:  Rainwater harvesting and Greywater Reuse Time and Location:  Veterans Memorial Building, 130 Placerville Dr., Placerville.  9:00 AM to Noon Details:Tap into free water sources that readily available on your own property:  rainwater and greywater.  You will learn various methods of collecting rain, and creating a rain garden.  MG Alice Cantelow tells you how to safely and legally use greywater&emdash;the water from your shower and bathroom sinks. Resource and real life examples from our area discussed.   Contact: Master Gardener office: (530) 621-5502 or check website:  http://ucanr.edu/sites/edc_mastergardeners/  or email: mgeldorado@ucdavis.edu ================================= Date:  Saturday, March 29, 2014 Event:  Master Gardener Public Class: Water Efficient Gardening in the Urban Landscape Time and Location:  Government Center Hearing Room, Building C, 2850 Fairlane Ct. Placerville, Details: Join Master Gardener and retired meteorologist Steve Savage to explore how water moves in plants; the effects of soils, fertilizing, and mulch; how to water in special situations; when to water; creating hydro-zones; measuring water loss; programming irrigation controllers; conserving water; rain harvesting; and how to design an irrigation plan.  Contact: Master Gardener office: (530) 621-5502 or check website:  http://ucanr.edu/sites/edc_mastergardeners/  or email: mgeldorado@ucdavis.edu ===================================== Saturday April 5th Bob Hamm, perennial grower and founder of The Benefit Plant Sale announces that The Valley Benefit Plant Sales, benefiting the kids summer camp programs of Sunburst Projects (http://www. sunburstprojects.org ) will have a Spring Plant Sale on in the back patio area of the Sheppard Garden & Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95816 on Saturday April 5. The Sale will run from 10 am to 4pm and will feature a wide range of perennials for the yard including many new, rare and hard to find varieties in sizes ranging from starters to one gallon containers. Cash and checks will be accepted, sorry, no credit cards. ========================================== Saturday, April 26th & Sunday, April 27, 2014 - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Folsom Garden Club's 14th Annual Garden Tour, "Gardens of Folsom". Tickets are $15 for attendees 16 and over - available at various local nurseries and businesses and online at the club's website. See http://folsomgarden.ipage.com/ftp.ipage.com/Grdn_Tour.html for more. =========================================== Date: Saturday, April 26, 2014 Event: Riverpark Neighborhood Tree Tour 10:00 to 11:30am, Meet: at the shopping center on Carlson near Lovella (near CSUS). Details: Celebrate spring and explore the City of Trees on a guided tree tour with the Sacramento Tree Foundation. Tree Tours begin promptly and happen rain or shine. The tour is free, but to ensure that you're included, please RSVP to www.sactree.com/events to register. Contact:  Sacramento Tree Foundation  www.sactree.com/events or 916-924-8733  ============================================== Date: Saturday, May 10, 2014 Event: Capitol Park Tree Tour 10:30 to 12:00 Capitol Park, 10th & L Street, 95814 Meet: at South steps of the Capitol on N Street Details: Celebrate spring and explore the City of Trees on a guided tree tour with the Sacramento Tree Foundation. Tree Tours begin promptly and happen rain or shine. The tour is free, but to ensure that you're included, please RSVP to www.sactree.com/events to register. Contact: Sacramento Tree Foundation  www.sactree.com/events or 916-924-8733 ===================================== May 13th, Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Roseville Better Gardens Club annual plant sale. Selling plants and garden related items at the Maidu Community Center, 1550 Maidu Drive, off of Rocky Ridge in Roseville.  Rocky Ridge is between Douglas Boulevard and Cirby Way.  The plant sale is the garden club's major fund raising activity each year. Proceeds go to the club's community service projects.   ==================================== Date: Saturday, May 24, 2014 Event: Southside Park Tree Tour 1:00 to 2:30 Southside Park, 8th & T Street, 95814 Meet: at the Amphitheatre Details: Celebrate spring and explore the City of Trees on a guided tree tour with the Sacramento Tree Foundation. Tree Tours begin promptly and happen rain or shine. The tour is free, but to ensure that you're included, please RSVP to www.sactree.com/events to register. Contact: Sacramento Tree Foundation  www.sactree.com/events or 916-924-8733         ==============================

Date Last Modified: 2/28/14
© 2014 Fred Hoffman

"Farmer Fred": is a registered trademark of Fred Hoffman