Why grow a cover crop? Find out Saturday
Free garden education opportunities are all around, especially those offered by the region’s UC master gardener groups.
This Saturday, Oct. 12, at the height of fall planting and planning, four free workshops offer information for gardeners of all levels.
“Cover Crops” is a one-hour workshop presented by the Placer County master gardeners, coinciding with their monthly Open Garden at the Loomis Demonstration Garden, on the grounds of the Loomis Library and Learning Center, 6050 Library Drive.
The workshop will introduce gardeners to the world of cover cropping – what a cover crop is and how to use it in the garden. “Learn the general concepts behind cover crops but also specific types to use to nurture our area soils,” they say. The workshop begins at 10:30 a.m.
The Open Garden event, meanwhile, runs from 10 a.m. to noon; the Placer master gardeners will be working in their garden and available to answer visitors’ questions.
Details on all the Placer County master gardener events can be found here.
The Yolo County master gardeners on Saturday present “Gardening for Year-Round Meals,” from 11 a.m. to noon at Grace Garden. It is located behind the United Methodist Church, 1620 Anderson Road, Davis, near the back of the parking lot. The topic for this month’s workshop is pest management in the garden. Master gardener Janey Santos will discuss how to use integrated pest management techniques to handle pest pressure before it actually becomes a problem.
Yolo County master gardener activities can be found at https://yolomg.ucanr.edu/
In Placerville, the El Dorado County master gardeners also will have their Sherwood Demonstration Garden open to visitors Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Visitors are free to wander through the 16 planting areas and ask questions of the master gardeners. (The garden also is open Friday, Oct. 11, at the same times.)
During their Saturday Open Garden, a free workshop on “Living Among the Oaks” will be presented, from 9 a.m. to noon. Native oaks are “vital to our nature environment,” but can be felled by construction, irrigated lawns and cultivation, the El Dorado master gardeners note.
The workshop will look at “various methods to maintain and protect these wonderful trees and learn how to identify the various species,” they say. “After the presentation we will take a brief walk around the campus to check out the various oak species.”
Registration for the oaks workshop is requested but not required. Register here.
Finally, a workshop on “Compost and Vermiculture” will be presented in Cool, at the Pilot Hill Grange, 1701 State Highway 193. Running from 9 a.m. to noon, it will be taught by El Dorado County master gardener Patrick Daubert.
Attendees can learn how compost provides valuable nutrients for soil, as well as retains moisture, suppresses weeds, prevents soil erosion, and loosens compacted soils for better drainage and water retention. Daubert also will explain how worms can rapidly break down kitchen waste to make worm compost, one of the best organic fertilizers possible. Also covered will be the types of worms needed, how to harvest the compost and how to set up a worm bin.
Registration for the compost and vermiculture workshop is here. Again, it is requested but not required.
For more information on El Dorado County master gardener events, go to https://mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/
—————–
A quick note to Sacramento County residents: Today at 5 p.m. is the application deadline for the 2025 Sacramento County master gardener class. Information and the application form can be found here. My earlier post on the application process is here.
