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Lifetime Master Gardener Fred Hoffman is the host of the "KFBK Garden Show"
on NewsTalk 1530 KFBK in Sacramento, California each Sunday morning from
8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., 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.
Now available as podcasts: previous editions of "The KFBK Garden Show"
and "Get Growing".
Each week on the "KFBK Garden Show" and "Get Growing, "Farmer Fred",
an award-winning member of the California Association of Nurseries and
Garden Centers, interviews garden experts from throughout Northern
and Central California, tackles your gardening questions and problems,
and offers prizes for answers to the weekly "Garden Grappler".
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.
Sign Up for
Daily Garden Bulletins (and Single Malt Scotch
suggestions) from Farmer
Fred on Twitter!
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The Latest
Posts at the Farmer
Fred Rant! Blog
page:
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UPCOMING
GUESTS ON THE "KFBK GARDEN SHOW" & "GET
GROWING"
Heard each Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to
Noon:
Mar. 14:
Saul Wiseman, Sharon Patrician,
Sacramento
Perennial Plant
Club
Mar. 21:
Don Shor, Redwood
Barn
Nursery-Davis:
"Springtime Garden Tips"
Mar.
28: Steve Zien,
Living Resources
Co.:
"Spring in the Organic Garden".
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Garden Data (thru Mar. 10,
2010)
Avg. evapotranspiration rate this past week :
0.60" valley; 0.50" foothills.
Soil Temperature: 52 (F) valley. 51 (F) foothills.
45 (F) upper foothills.
Click Here for more
Information about soil temperature and evapotranspiration
rates
Chilling
hours (Nov. 1, 2009 - Feb. 28, 2010): hours
at 45 degrees or less, for deciduous fruit tree production,
Chill Season: Nov. 1- Feb. 28)
VALLEY: 690-935 hours
FOOTHILLS: 935-1404 hours
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Looking for lists and pictures of
plants that don't require much water?
Check out the
website...
Water-Wise
Gardening in the Gold Country
Region
This is a project undertaken in conjunction
with the municipalities and water districts in three
counties: Sacramento,
El Dorado and Placer as well as local
horticulturists. The website has a wealth of local
residential photography and plant
information to help the homeowner improve
their garden in a water efficient way.
Saturday, March
13
Member Appreciation Plant
Sale
9:00 a.m.&endash;1:00 p.m.,
Arboretum Teaching Nursery, Garrod Drive, UC
Davis
Get the first pick of beautiful spring garden plants at the
Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum Member Appreciation Plant
Sale on Saturday, March 13, 9:00 a.m.&endash;1:00 p.m. The
event is open to members only; anyone may join at the door,
and all members will receive a free plant and a 10% discount
on their purchases. Enjoy live music, refreshments, and
children's activities. Expert garden advice is available.
The event will take place at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery,
on Garrod Drive across from the School of Veterinary
Medicine on the UC Davis campus. Free parking is available
in Visitor Lot 55. For more information, please call (530)
752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
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Sunday, March
14
Guided Tour: Signs of
Spring
2:00 p.m., Buehler Alumni &
Visitors Center, Old Davis Road, UC Davis
Spring is here, and the natural
world is bursting with new life and renewal. Visitors can
enjoy the signs of spring on an informal walk in the UC
Davis Arboretum on Sunday, March 14, at 2:00 p.m. The tour
will focus on the California native plants of the Mary
Wattis Brown Garden. The tour guide will point out new
growth, swelling buds and flowers, and discuss the bird, bat
and insect pollinators that keep the whole ecosystem
humming. The tour will begin at the Buehler Alumni and
Visitors Center, located on Old Davis Road at Mrak Hall
Drive, across from the Mondavi Center for the Performing
Arts on the UC Davis campus. There is no charge for the tour
and free parking is available in Visitor Lots 1 and 2 and
the Mondavi Center parking structure. For more information,
please call (530) 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
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Friday, March
19
Folk Music Jam
Session
12:00&endash;1:00 pm, Wyatt Deck,
Old Davis Road, UC Davis
Folk musicians are invited to play together informally
during an acoustic jam session on Friday, March 19, noon to
1:00 p.m. at the Wyatt Deck, located on Old Davis Road next
to the redwood grove in the UC Davis Arboretum. Pull out
your fiddles, guitars, mandolins, penny whistles, pipes,
flutes, squeezeboxes (you name it) and join your fellow
musicians for a little bluegrass, old-time, blues, Celtic,
klezmer, and world music over the lunch hour. All skill
levels welcome. Listeners welcome! Parking is available for
$6 in Visitor Lot 5, at Old Davis Road and A Street. For
more information, please call (530) 752-4880 or visit
arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
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Saturday, March
20
Guided Tour: Meet Some California
Native Plants
11:00 a.m., Buehler Alumni &
Visitors Center, Old Davis Road, UC Davis
California is home to more than 5,000 species of plants
native to the state. Many of these native plants respond to
our cool, wet winters by bursting into spectacular bloom in
the early spring. Standouts in the spring native plant
garden will be the focus of a tour at the UC Davis Arboretum
on Saturday, March 20 at 11:00 a.m. The tour guide will
point out the beauty and variety of these plants and discuss
how well they can fit into any home landscape. The tour will
begin at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center, located on
Old Davis Road at Mrak Hall Drive, across from the Mondavi
Center for the Performing Arts on the UC Davis campus. There
is no charge for the tour and free parking is available in
Visitor Lots 1 and 2 and the Mondavi Center parking
structure. For more information, please call (530) 752-4880
or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
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Date: Saturday, March
27
Event: Calaveras Master
Gardeners Open Garden Day
Time: 10 am to 2
pm
Place: Demonstration Garden,
891 Mountain Ranch Rd., San Andreas
Cost: Free
Call: 754-6477 or
728-0106
Details: With the approach of
spring it is time to prepare those raised beds for
planting. "Waking Up Your Beds" is this month's
featured topic which will include information about planning
your garden, composting, a demonstration of sheet
composting, mulching, and installing a drip irrigation
system. For those not familiar with sheet composting,
it is also called composting in place. Materials are
layered - manure, mulch, grass clippings, etc. - and allowed
to decompose to eventually create a bed which can be
planted. To find out more about sheet composting come
to this event on March 27. The presentation begins at
10:30 am. Master Gardeners will also be available from
10 am to 2 pm to answer general gardening questions and
plants will be available for sale. Event will be held
rain or shine.
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Sunday, March
28
Guided Tour: All-Stars in the
Garden
2:00 p.m., Gazebo, Garrod Drive, UC
Davis
Learn about the Arboretum All-Stars, the UC Davis
Arboretum's top recommended plants for Central Valley
gardens, during a free public tour at the Arboretum on
Sunday, March 28. All-Stars are great plants for home
gardens because they require less water, are easy to
maintain and look attractive year round. The tour will also
focus on Valley-Wise gardening&emdash;sustainable gardening
practices for our region. The tour will start at 2:00 p.m.
at the Gazebo, on Garrod Drive on the UC Davis campus. There
is no charge for the tour, and free parking is available
along Garrod Drive and in Visitor Lot 55. For more
information, please call (530) 752-4880 or visit
arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
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The Complete List of Garden Writers Association Media Award Winners for 2009
===============================================================================================
HOW
TO HIRE AN ARBORIST
information
from the Sacramento Tree
Foundation
Improper pruning can
cause irreparable damage to your tree and may end up costing
you a considerable amount of time and money. Hire a
Certified Arborist as if your tree's life depends on
it!
An Arborist is a
specialist in the care of individual trees. Arborists are
knowledgeable about routine needs of trees, and are trained
and equipped to provide proper diagnostic and remedial
measures as well.
After certification
with the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), each
Arborist is assigned a number, which is retained throughout
the professional life of an Arborist. It is the right of
those hiring an Arborist to ask for this number, and to
check
the status of that Arborist with the
ISA.
Hire someone who is
licensed, bonded and insured. Examine these credentials and
feel free to check with the appropriate agencies to verify
the validity of the credentials.
Remember that almost
anybody can obtain a business license, and that this alone
is no guarantee of quality.
Do ask for references
and take the time to check them out.
Get more than one bid
and examine the written specifications of the
bids.
If you are not
familiar with the terminology used, ask for clarification.
Ask questions!
Take your time and
select a company that is reputable. Determine the best
combination of price, work to be done, skill and
professionalism to protect your investment.
Membership in
professional organizations demonstrates a willingness on the
part of the Arborist to stay abreast of Arboricultural
information. It is not however, a guarantee of satisfied
work. Check references.
Remember that improper
tree care can take many years to correct itself. If pruning
is too severe, it may never be corrected.
Beware of anyone
that recommends topping a tree. A reliable Arborist will
try to talk you out of topping a tree if it is requested.
Never allow a climber to use spikes or spurs to climb your
tree unless the tree is scheduled for
removal.
Note: It is the policy
of the Sacramento Tree Foundation to not endorse private
arborists, tree service companies or consultants. Many fine
tree care companies exist in the Sacramento area. It is
recommended that you obtain several quotes, check the
professional status of individuals or firms with the ISA,
check references, and request evidence of insurance from
each company you consider.
Make pruning cuts
outside of the branch collar. No flush
cuts.
To prevent large
branches to be pruned from tearing the tree bark below it,
use the three-cut method for removing large branches. The
first cut is from the bottom, going up less than halfway.
The second cut is outside of the first cut, from top to
bottom. The third cut cleans up the remaining stump, but is
made outside the branch collar.
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