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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of March 28

Warm temperatures inspire summer planting (but wait on tomatoes)

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAR 27, 2021

Small purple buds and leaf on lemon tree

Citrus trees, like this Genoa lemon, are starting to bud, which means it's time
to fertilize them. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

Suddenly, it feels like tomato planting weather. But check the soil temperature before putting out your tender seedlings.

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento is going to warm up to the low 80s, starting Sunday. We'll stay warm most of the week with at least four days forecast to be 80 degrees or above -- more than 10 degrees above normal for late March.

Gusty winds on Monday will keep that afternoon in the low 70s, but otherwise expect very warm and sunny conditions all week.

Soil thermometer showing 55 degrees in soil

The air temperature was 70 degrees when this photo was taken,

but the soil is still just 55 degrees -- still too cold for tomatoes, which

prefer a soil temp of 60 degrees and above. Peppers and melons

require even warmer soil temperature.

That makes it extra tempting to transplant tomatoes, peppers and other summer favorites. But the overnight lows will still be dipping down into the mid 40s. Likewise, the soil temperature hasn't warmed up enough yet to make summer vegetables feel really comfortable. Wait until overnight low temperatures stay reliably in the 50s before planting tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

If this heat persists, soil temperatures will start warming up, too. Perhaps set out a few trial tomato plants next week to see what happens?

Meanwhile, there's plenty to keep you busy:
* Pull weeds now! Don’t let them get started. Take a hoe and whack them before they flower and go to seed.
*Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to cut down on blossom blight.
* Feed citrus trees, which are now in bloom and setting fruit. To prevent sunburn and borer problems on young trees, paint the exposed portion of the trunk with diluted white latex (water-based) interior paint. Dilute the paint with an equal amount of cold water before application.
* 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.
* Plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

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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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