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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Food in My Back Yard Series

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

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Garden Checklist for week of April 27

Once the clouds clear, get to work. Spring growth is in high gear.

* Set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Start thinning fruit that's formed on apple and stone fruit trees -- you'll get larger fruit at harvest (and avoid limb breakage) if some is thinned now. The UC recommendation is to thin fruit when it is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 6 inches apart; smaller fruit such as plums and pluots can be about 4 inches apart. Apricots can be left at 3 inches apart. Apples and pears should be thinned to one fruit per cluster of flowers, 6 to 8 inches apart.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

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