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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Feb. 28

Sunny, dry days continue with little rain in sight

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED FEB 27, 2021

There's still time to plant a crop of cabbage, but get on it soon. Kale

and other cole seedlings also can be planted now. Lettuce, too. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Our streak of sunny, dry weather continues. That’s bad news for our rain totals, but most Sacramento gardeners aren’t complaining.

According to the National Weather Service, February totaled less than an inch (0.9 to be exact) of precipitation in Sacramento – 2.34 inches below normal. That near-inch was a deluge compared to February 2020, which saw no rain in Sacramento at all.

Starting Oct. 1, our rain year has totaled 5.48 inches; that’s 7.68 inches below average for those first five months. It’s also dryer than last year’s drought-like pace, which saw a total of 6.14 inches at this point.

The first week of March looks sunny and dry, too, says the weather service. The first chance of precipitation may come next weekend.

Highs are forecast for the upper 60s, pushing into the 70s Wednesday or Thursday. But don’t plant those tomatoes yet; overnight lows still will be cold, dipping down to 40 degrees.

Average for Sacramento in March: 65-degree highs and 44-degree lows. We also typically see about 2.75 inches of rain in March, although drought watchers hope for a lot more.

Take advantage of this spring-like weather by enjoying some quality time in your garden:

* 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.

* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.

* Seed and renovate the lawn. 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.

* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and cole family plants, such as cabbage, broccoli, collards and kale.

* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground.

* This is your last chance to plant such spring annuals as pansies, violas and primroses.

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

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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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