Propagation I Saturday, March 5: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The various methods of propagating plants will be taught by Master Gardeners Gail Fulbeck & Debbie Hillel. Discussion will be held about how, when and under what conditions seeds should be germinated, perennials divided and cuttings taken. There will be hands-on demonstrations.
Location: Bethel-Delfino Ag. Bldg. – 311 Fair Lane, Placerville
Backyard Chickens Saturday, March 12: 9 a.m. – noon
You might ask, why raise chickens? Join Master Gardener Thorne Barrager as he talks about how easy and inexpensive it is to maintain chickens, how they provide chemical-free bug and weed control in a garden, and manufacture one of the world’s best fertilizers.
Location: Veterans Memorial Bldg. – 130 Placerville Drive, Placerville
Organic Gardening I Saturday, March 19: 9 a.m. – noon
Learn to create a healthy natural environment in your garden. Master Gardener Virginia Feagans will teach you how to have a productive garden without the use of inorganic fertilizers or synthetic pesticides. She will discuss how to group plants and how to encourage natural predators.
Location: Veterans Memorial Bldg. – 130 Placerville Drive, Placerville
Organic Gardening II Saturday, March 26: 9 a.m. – noon
Master Gardener Virginia Feagans will continue last week’s presentation on organic gardening methods. This class will cover how to take care of your soil organically
Location: Veterans Memorial Bldg. – 130 Placerville Drive, Placerville
Home to the Biggest Tomato Contest. If you would like to receive newletter updates via e-mail. Please e-mail me at: Caminogardencenter@hotmail.com
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Pre-Emergent Time
The past few weeks of warm weather combined with these rains makes for perfect conditions for the germination of weed seeds. Now is the time to apply a pre-emergent to your garden, pathways, and lawns.
Try Green Light Amaze granules for your garden beds and pathways. Amaze Grass & Weed Preventer2 provides four months of a broad spectrum of preemergent weed control of grassy and broadleaf weeds. It allows for multiple application sites, including over the top of ornamentals.
Irrigation is needed to activate Amaze.
Control: crabgrass lambsquarters common purslane other broadleaf weeds and grass weeds
Use Prohibit Pre-Emergent Weed Preventer & Lawn Food on your lawn to fertilize and feed your lawn. A pre-emergent herbicide that provides residual control of many broad leaf weeds, grass and crabgrass in turf grass. New to homeowners, but widely used in the landscape and golf course industry. Prevents weeds and feeds the lawn all in one step.
Irrigation is needed to activate Amaze.
Control: crabgrass lambsquarters common purslane other broadleaf weeds and grass weeds
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Carrots
Carrots are a trouble-freebackyard crop, as long as the soil conditions are right. The soil needs to be light (add compost if you have heavy soil), loose, deeply dug to 12 inches, and free of stones. For a gourmet treat, you can pull carrots as soon as the roots are as thick as a pencil, leave them a little longer for fresh full sized carrots, or keep the in the ground through fall. If you have a small space, harvest them young for the sweetest baby carrots you'll ever taste.
Sow
For fresh carrots, choose an early variety and make several sowings at intervals from early spring until early fall. Sow seeds directly into the soil. Make a seed furrow 1/2 inch deep. If the soil is dry, water the furrow; let it drain. Space rows 12 inches apart. Scatter the seeds thinly to avoid having to thin them out later. As a guide, space seeds every 1/2 inch. Then cover with soil and lightly water.
Grow
Keep down weeds down until the carrot plants are well established by pulling weeds by hand. Thin the seedlings to about 1 inch apart. Wait until they are large enough to handle and avoid disturbing the remaining plants or you risk attracting bugs. One way is to cut off tops with scissors. Water deeply once a week to keep the soil evenly moist at a good depth, which will encourage deep rooting.
Harvest
You can start pulling roots as soon as the tops of the roots reach 1/2 inch across. Either carefully pull up the larger roots, leaving the rest to grow, or dig sections of a row together. Use a garden fork to loosen the soil and avoid breacking longer roots. If you don't use carrots immediately, cut off the tops or the roots will wilt. They should keep for a day or two in the refrigerator. The best way to store carrots is to leave them in the ground. If temperatures are expected to drop below freezing, mulch with straw or leaves to extend the season.
Sow
For fresh carrots, choose an early variety and make several sowings at intervals from early spring until early fall. Sow seeds directly into the soil. Make a seed furrow 1/2 inch deep. If the soil is dry, water the furrow; let it drain. Space rows 12 inches apart. Scatter the seeds thinly to avoid having to thin them out later. As a guide, space seeds every 1/2 inch. Then cover with soil and lightly water.
Grow
Keep down weeds down until the carrot plants are well established by pulling weeds by hand. Thin the seedlings to about 1 inch apart. Wait until they are large enough to handle and avoid disturbing the remaining plants or you risk attracting bugs. One way is to cut off tops with scissors. Water deeply once a week to keep the soil evenly moist at a good depth, which will encourage deep rooting.
Harvest
You can start pulling roots as soon as the tops of the roots reach 1/2 inch across. Either carefully pull up the larger roots, leaving the rest to grow, or dig sections of a row together. Use a garden fork to loosen the soil and avoid breacking longer roots. If you don't use carrots immediately, cut off the tops or the roots will wilt. They should keep for a day or two in the refrigerator. The best way to store carrots is to leave them in the ground. If temperatures are expected to drop below freezing, mulch with straw or leaves to extend the season.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Asparagus
Planting
Perhaps the ultimate gourmet vegetable, asparagus spears are at their best when freshly harvested. Plant asparagus roots in the spring. As a rough guide, ten well-established plants should yield about 7 pounds of spears each season. Because asparagus is such a long-term crop, spend some time getting the soil right. Asparagus prefers a light, free-draining soil with neutral pH (6.5-7.5); add lime to your soil to make the your garden less acidic. Cultivate the soil as deeply as you can, working in at least an inch of compost. Take care to remove every scrap of perennial weed and hoe off annual weeds couple of times. Add generous amounts of potassium and phosphate fertilizer. Dig a trench 6-8 inches deep and 12 inches wide. Make a ridge of compost down the center of the trench. Space the crowns 18 inches apart, straddling the ridge of the compost so their roots spread down either side. Cover the crowns with soil and gradually fill the trench once the shoots start to appear.
Grow
If you want more than one row, space them at least 3 feet apart. The major work involved in growing asparagus is keeping the weeds under control. Mulch with a weed-free compost around the plants. Or hoe between rows but not too close to the base of the plants. Water newly established beds regularly - setting up a drip system is most efficient. After two years, the plants will not need to much care. Feed the plants in late spring or early summer when you stop cutting. Apply a balanced fertilizer or dress with compost. This will feed the fronds that, in turn, will supply next year's spears. Leave the ferns until they die back completely after a couple hard frosts. Then cut them back to 12 inches and mulch the rows. You can pull out dry stems in spring.
Harvest
In the first year, don't be tempted to pick any spears. Let them all grow into ferny fronds to help build up the crowns. In the second year, you can cut spears for a limited period. After a month, let the fronds grow. In the third year, you can start to harvest for a full 6-8 weeks. Wait until the spears are 6-8 inches tall and the tips are still tight . Snap them cleanly at soil level or cut them with a knife just below soil level. Because the spears grow so quickly, harvest every other day. If you do not pick a sufficient amount, keep them in a refridgerator until you have enough for a meal. If needed asparagus freezes well.
Jersey King asparagus produces a medium sized spear best harvested 7-8 inches while spears are still tight. The Jersey King asparagus are great for salads, stir fry, soups, steaming, breading, and roasting.
Mary Washington asparagus, is a strong grower with large spears produced in spring. This asparagus is a favorite of gardeners that are looking for excellent taste. It is good for cooking and canning.
Camino Garden Center is currently open on our winter hours Friday through Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We will open on our Spring/Summer hours on March 1, 2011.
Perhaps the ultimate gourmet vegetable, asparagus spears are at their best when freshly harvested. Plant asparagus roots in the spring. As a rough guide, ten well-established plants should yield about 7 pounds of spears each season. Because asparagus is such a long-term crop, spend some time getting the soil right. Asparagus prefers a light, free-draining soil with neutral pH (6.5-7.5); add lime to your soil to make the your garden less acidic. Cultivate the soil as deeply as you can, working in at least an inch of compost. Take care to remove every scrap of perennial weed and hoe off annual weeds couple of times. Add generous amounts of potassium and phosphate fertilizer. Dig a trench 6-8 inches deep and 12 inches wide. Make a ridge of compost down the center of the trench. Space the crowns 18 inches apart, straddling the ridge of the compost so their roots spread down either side. Cover the crowns with soil and gradually fill the trench once the shoots start to appear.
Grow
If you want more than one row, space them at least 3 feet apart. The major work involved in growing asparagus is keeping the weeds under control. Mulch with a weed-free compost around the plants. Or hoe between rows but not too close to the base of the plants. Water newly established beds regularly - setting up a drip system is most efficient. After two years, the plants will not need to much care. Feed the plants in late spring or early summer when you stop cutting. Apply a balanced fertilizer or dress with compost. This will feed the fronds that, in turn, will supply next year's spears. Leave the ferns until they die back completely after a couple hard frosts. Then cut them back to 12 inches and mulch the rows. You can pull out dry stems in spring.
Harvest
In the first year, don't be tempted to pick any spears. Let them all grow into ferny fronds to help build up the crowns. In the second year, you can cut spears for a limited period. After a month, let the fronds grow. In the third year, you can start to harvest for a full 6-8 weeks. Wait until the spears are 6-8 inches tall and the tips are still tight . Snap them cleanly at soil level or cut them with a knife just below soil level. Because the spears grow so quickly, harvest every other day. If you do not pick a sufficient amount, keep them in a refridgerator until you have enough for a meal. If needed asparagus freezes well.
Jersey King asparagus produces a medium sized spear best harvested 7-8 inches while spears are still tight. The Jersey King asparagus are great for salads, stir fry, soups, steaming, breading, and roasting.
Mary Washington asparagus, is a strong grower with large spears produced in spring. This asparagus is a favorite of gardeners that are looking for excellent taste. It is good for cooking and canning.
Camino Garden Center is currently open on our winter hours Friday through Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We will open on our Spring/Summer hours on March 1, 2011.
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