Welcome!

2024 Gardening Guide and Calendar

It's HERE!

Our 2024 edition is available now online (credit card), at one of our upcoming events (see the Calendar on the right) and at local retailers.

For only $12 you can have a whole year of gardening advice. Learn more and buy.

Open Garden

Wednesday, October 11, 9 AM - Noon
Fair Oaks Horticulture Center

Wander around the demonstration gardens, ask questions and get advice on water-efficient plants, cool season vegetables and much more.

We are here for you!

Video library of gardening topics.
Publications. Enjoy!
Facebook updated every day.
YouTube Channel with all the past Virtual Harvest Days and Master Gardener videos.

Snap a pic of your problem plant or mystery bug and email it to the Help Desk: mgsacramento@ucanr.edu

October Horticulture Center Updates

In the orchard

Pomegranates are ripening. Try to pick them before rain causes cracks in the skin.

See more October orchard activities.

The vegetable garden

It’s not too late to plant cool-season vegetables. Check the October column of our Vegetable Planting Chart (PDF). Visit garden stores for plants.

This is the month to harvest pumpkins and winter squash for cooking and for fall decorations. Harvest after the vines have dried and before the first frost.

In the WEL

October is a lovely time in the water-efficient landscape gardens at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center.

For more favorites, please visit our plant list for Fall.

Grow herbs!

Pineapple sage blooms late in summer just when hummingbirds (and humans) need a bright pop of color and delightful fragrance.

Composting

The end of the summer vegetable garden can provide the beginnings of a beautiful compost pile. Put only disease- and pest-free plants and vegetables in the pile.

Are manures right for the compost pile?

Backyard berries

Want a better blueberry crop next year? Watch our video explaining how to test and amend soil pH.

Fertilize all berries this month. See more berry tips for October.

The vineyard

October is the time to eat grapes and inspect plants for leaf problems.

See what to do in October in your vineyard.

Pest Alerts!

Japanese beetle

This highly destructive insect has been confirmed in Sacramento County areas of Arden-Arcade and Rancho Cordova.

Report suspected finds to the Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner office or call the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Pest Hotline at 1 (800) 491-1899.

Read more on the Japanese beetle from UC IPM.

March, 2022

Asian citrus psyllid

The Asian citrus psyllid has been found in Sacramento causing a County-wide quarantine. The tiny insect damages citrus fruit but of more importance, it can transmit the deadly citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening. For more: