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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of March 21

Spring starts sunny, warm and dry -- so get to work!

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAR 20, 2021

Seed packages for beets, chard and radishes

Get growing! Perfect time to plant beets, chard and radishes from seed. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Happy first day of spring! Expect flowers (and weeds!) to be popping up everywhere – especially with another wave of warm weather on its way.

According to the National Weather Service, this first week of spring will be dry and sunny with temperatures back in the low 70s by Tuesday. In other words, it’s ideal spring planting weather.

On the downside, no rain is in the seven-day forecast and looks unlikely before month’s end. That’s not good news for water watchers.

So far in March, Sacramento has received 1.06 inches of rain, far short of the month’s 3.4-inch average. For 2021, Sacramento’s total rainfall measures only 4.46 inches, less than half of normal.

Our water year, which started Oct. 1, has totaled 6.54 inches, 8.77 inches below average. It’s even drier than the 2019-20 water year, which had totaled 7.55 inches at this point. And that was a very dry year.

That’s something to keep in mind when planting for late spring and summer. In the meantime, enjoy this first week of spring by showing your garden some TLC.

* Seed and renovate the lawn (if you still have one). Feed cool-season grasses such as bent, blue, rye and fescue with a slow-release fertilizer. Check the irrigation system and perform maintenance. Make sure sprinkler heads are turned toward the lawn, not the sidewalk.

* Fertilize roses, annual flowers and berries as spring growth begins to appear.

* Pull weeds now! Don’t let them get started. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout.

* Start preparing vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.

* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.

* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and kale.

* Seed chard, radishes and beets directly into the ground.

* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.

* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries. They can be transplanted now while the soil remains relatively cool.

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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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