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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Oct. 3

Water year ends dry, but rain could (finally) be on its way

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED OCT 2, 2021

Harvest pumpkins and winter squash when you can no longer made a mark in the skin with your fingernail. These cute Little October variety of pumpkins are about the size of a fist and do well grown on a trellis. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Is rain finally on its way? According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento has a “slight chance of showers” on Thursday. If any measurable precipitation materializes, it would end the longest dry spell in Downtown Sacramento history – 197 days (as of Saturday) and counting.

This drought has been one for the record books, too. California’s water year (Oct. 1-Sept. 30) officially ended Thursday. For the water year just completed, Sacramento totaled 7.87 inches – about 10 inches below average.

That followed a very dry 2019-20 water year: 10.95 inches. By comparison, Sacramento’s historic water year average: 17.8 inches.

Friday started a new water year with (hopeful) expectations of wetter months ahead. October averages 0.95 inches of rain.

October starts warm with high temperatures forecast in the low 90s through Monday. But then, it will start to feel like fall; Thursday’s predicted high is only 71 – 20 degrees lower. Next weekend may top out in the high 60s. Overnight lows will be colder, too, but still staying in the 50s.

With this dip in temperatures, expect to see a sudden change in your garden, too, as it gets its cue to prepare for winter.

* October is the best month to plant trees, shrubs and perennials. 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.

* 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.

* Now is the time to plant seeds for many flowers directly into the garden, including cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, portulaca, sweet pea and stock.

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

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.

* Transplant broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, Brussels sprouts and other cool-season favorites.

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CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

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Food in My Back Yard Series

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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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