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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Sept. 5

Expect 'normal' temperatures after hot Labor Day

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 4, 2021

A honey bee harvests pollen from a Diablo cosmos blossom, not far from the tomato bed. Keep harvesting summer veggies to keep the plants producing. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer with another hot streak.

According to the National Weather Service, expect a string of hot days, topping out around 102 degrees on Monday. Some parts of the Valley will top 105.

It’s a good weekend to take it easy and stay hydrated. That includes your garden, too. Water deeply and limit chores to early morning when temperatures will be coolest.

Starting Tuesday, we’ll see temperatures slide back into the mid and low 90s. Friday’s predicted high is only 89 degrees.

What’s normal for September in Sacramento? For this week, 91 degrees (high) and 61 (low); for the month, 87 and 56, respectively. The all-time record is 108 degrees.

Chance of rain remains slight: Our average total for September is just 0.29 inches.

* September starts another season in the vegetable garden. Plan to plant for fall in the weeks ahead. The warm soil will get these veggies off to a fast start.

* Keep harvesting tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and eggplant.

* 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.

* Divide and replant bulbs, rhizomes and perennials.

* 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 other cool-season veggies.

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

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

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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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