Sacramento Digs Gardening: Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Oct. 10

Perennials such as coneflowers can be planted now to get a good start in the still-

warm soil. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Still no rain, but we’ve got wind – and that’s not necessarily a good thing.

According to the National Weather Service, gusty winds up to 40 mph are forecast for the Central Valley and foothills through Tuesday night. Coupled with extremely dry conditions, those winds intensify fire danger.

Be extra careful while doing any work outside. A lawnmower or edger hitting a rock can cause a spark. If near dry grass or weeds, that little spark can rapidly become a full-blown wildfire, even in suburban areas.

Meanwhile, Sacramento temperatures will be on the cool side with afternoons in the high 60s or low 70s, says the weather service. Overnight lows will dip into the 40s.

That makes for very comfortable gardening weather – after the wind dies down.

* October is the best month to plant perennials in our area. Add a little well-aged compost and bone meal to the planting hole, but hold off on other fertilizers until spring. Keep the transplants well-watered (but not wet) for the first month as they become settled.

* This is also prime time to plant trees or shrubs.

* Dig up corms and tubers of gladioli, dahlias and tuberous begonias after the foliage dies. Clean and store in a cool, dry place.

* Treat azaleas, gardenias and camellias with chelated iron if leaves are yellowing between the veins.

* Clean up the summer vegetable garden and compost disease-free foliage.

* Harvest pumpkins and winter squash.

* Plant seeds for cornflowers, nasturtiums, nigella, poppies, portulaca, sweet peas and stock.

* Plant seeds for radishes, bok choy, mustard, spinach and peas.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansies, snapdragons, primroses and violas.

* Reseed and feed the lawn. Consider reducing your lawn’s size to save water.

CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

Your weekly checklist of activities in the garden.

Keywords:

cool-weather annuals seeds Sacramento winter squash lawn care weather fall planting gardening pumpkins wind perennials flowers

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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