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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Sept. 19

Say goodbye to summer garden; get ready for fall and beyond

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Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 18, 2021

Orange, red and yellow Gypsy peppers
Peppers such as these Gypsy peppers at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center are still producing, but many summer vegetables are done. Any of those can be removed and composted. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)


Our last days of summer may see something we haven’t seen much of in six months – rain.

Scattered showers are in Sacramento’s Sunday forecast.

If the National Weather Service can measure even a trace at its Downtown Sacramento station, it will break a rainless streak going back to March 19. (Executive Airport got 0.05 inches from that thunderstorm that hit late Sept. 9, but any measurable rain passed over downtown.)

Sunday’s anticipated moisture won’t be much. According to the weather service, it will be followed by gusty winds and dry conditions – adding to already high fire danger.

This last summer weekend may feel like fall, but September will still have some more heat. After two days in the mid 70s this weekend, the predicted high for Monday is 89 degrees. The rest of the week is expected to see highs in the low 90s.

Say goodbye to your summer garden; fall officially starts Wednesday.

* Compost annuals and vegetable crops that have finished producing.

* Cultivate and add compost to the soil to replenish its nutrients for fall and winter vegetables and flowers.

* Fertilize deciduous fruit trees.

* Plant onions, lettuce, peas, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, bok choy, spinach and potatoes directly into the vegetable beds.

* Transplant cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce and cool-season greens.

* Sow seeds of California poppies, clarkia and African daisies.

* Transplant cool-weather annuals such as pansies, violas, fairy primroses, calendulas, stocks and snapdragons.

* Divide and replant bulbs, rhizomes and perennials.

* Dig up and divide daylilies as they complete their bloom cycle.

* Divide and transplant peonies that have become overcrowded. Replant with "eyes" about an inch below the soil surface.

* Late September is ideal for sowing a new lawn or re-seeding bare spots.

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CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

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cool-weather annuals fertilizing seeds Sacramento trees garden cleanup wildflowers garden checklist weather fall planting gardening lawns compost perennials flowers

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Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

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